7 This document describes :term:`Ceph Client` users, and their authentication and
8 authorization with the :term:`Ceph Storage Cluster`. Users are either
9 individuals or system actors such as applications, which use Ceph clients to
10 interact with the Ceph Storage Cluster daemons.
16 +--+--+ /---------\ /---------\
18 ---+---*----->| |<------------->| |
19 | uses | Clients | | Servers |
20 | \---------/ \---------/
27 When Ceph runs with authentication and authorization enabled (enabled by
28 default), you must specify a user name and a keyring containing the secret key
29 of the specified user (usually via the command line). If you do not specify a
30 user name, Ceph will use ``client.admin`` as the default user name. If you do
31 not specify a keyring, Ceph will look for a keyring via the ``keyring`` setting
32 in the Ceph configuration. For example, if you execute the ``ceph health``
33 command without specifying a user or keyring::
37 Ceph interprets the command like this::
39 ceph -n client.admin --keyring=/etc/ceph/ceph.client.admin.keyring health
41 Alternatively, you may use the ``CEPH_ARGS`` environment variable to avoid
42 re-entry of the user name and secret.
44 For details on configuring the Ceph Storage Cluster to use authentication,
45 see `Cephx Config Reference`_. For details on the architecture of Cephx, see
46 `Architecture - High Availability Authentication`_.
52 Irrespective of the type of Ceph client (e.g., Block Device, Object Storage,
53 Filesystem, native API, etc.), Ceph stores all data as objects within `pools`_.
54 Ceph users must have access to pools in order to read and write data.
55 Additionally, Ceph users must have execute permissions to use Ceph's
56 administrative commands. The following concepts will help you understand Ceph
63 A user is either an individual or a system actor such as an application.
64 Creating users allows you to control who (or what) can access your Ceph Storage
65 Cluster, its pools, and the data within pools.
67 Ceph has the notion of a ``type`` of user. For the purposes of user management,
68 the type will always be ``client``. Ceph identifies users in period (.)
69 delimited form consisting of the user type and the user ID: for example,
70 ``TYPE.ID``, ``client.admin``, or ``client.user1``. The reason for user typing
71 is that Ceph Monitors, OSDs, and Metadata Servers also use the Cephx protocol,
72 but they are not clients. Distinguishing the user type helps to distinguish
73 between client users and other users--streamlining access control, user
74 monitoring and traceability.
76 Sometimes Ceph's user type may seem confusing, because the Ceph command line
77 allows you to specify a user with or without the type, depending upon your
78 command line usage. If you specify ``--user`` or ``--id``, you can omit the
79 type. So ``client.user1`` can be entered simply as ``user1``. If you specify
80 ``--name`` or ``-n``, you must specify the type and name, such as
81 ``client.user1``. We recommend using the type and name as a best practice
84 .. note:: A Ceph Storage Cluster user is not the same as a Ceph Object Storage
85 user or a Ceph File System user. The Ceph Object Gateway uses a Ceph Storage
86 Cluster user to communicate between the gateway daemon and the storage
87 cluster, but the gateway has its own user management functionality for end
88 users. The Ceph File System uses POSIX semantics. The user space associated
89 with the Ceph File System is not the same as a Ceph Storage Cluster user.
93 Authorization (Capabilities)
94 ----------------------------
96 Ceph uses the term "capabilities" (caps) to describe authorizing an
97 authenticated user to exercise the functionality of the monitors, OSDs and
98 metadata servers. Capabilities can also restrict access to data within a pool,
99 a namespace within a pool, or a set of pools based on their application tags.
100 A Ceph administrative user sets a user's capabilities when creating or updating
103 Capability syntax follows the form::
105 {daemon-type} '{cap-spec}[, {cap-spec} ...]'
107 - **Monitor Caps:** Monitor capabilities include ``r``, ``w``, ``x`` access
108 settings or ``profile {name}``. For example::
110 mon 'allow {access-spec} [network {network/prefix}]'
114 The ``{access-spec}`` syntax is as follows: ::
118 The optional ``{network/prefix}`` is a standard network name and
119 prefix length in CIDR notation (e.g., ``10.3.0.0/16``). If present,
120 the use of this capability is restricted to clients connecting from
123 - **OSD Caps:** OSD capabilities include ``r``, ``w``, ``x``, ``class-read``,
124 ``class-write`` access settings or ``profile {name}``. Additionally, OSD
125 capabilities also allow for pool and namespace settings. ::
127 osd 'allow {access-spec} [{match-spec}] [network {network/prefix}]'
129 osd 'profile {name} [pool={pool-name} [namespace={namespace-name}]] [network {network/prefix}]'
131 The ``{access-spec}`` syntax is either of the following: ::
133 * | all | [r][w][x] [class-read] [class-write]
135 class {class name} [{method name}]
137 The optional ``{match-spec}`` syntax is either of the following: ::
139 pool={pool-name} [namespace={namespace-name}] [object_prefix {prefix}]
141 [namespace={namespace-name}] tag {application} {key}={value}
143 The optional ``{network/prefix}`` is a standard network name and
144 prefix length in CIDR notation (e.g., ``10.3.0.0/16``). If present,
145 the use of this capability is restricted to clients connecting from
148 - **Manager Caps:** Manager (``ceph-mgr``) capabilities include
149 ``r``, ``w``, ``x`` access settings or ``profile {name}``. For example: ::
151 mgr 'allow {access-spec} [network {network/prefix}]'
153 mgr 'profile {name} [{key1} {match-type} {value1} ...] [network {network/prefix}]'
155 Manager capabilities can also be specified for specific commands,
156 all commands exported by a built-in manager service, or all commands
157 exported by a specific add-on module. For example: ::
159 mgr 'allow command "{command-prefix}" [with {key1} {match-type} {value1} ...] [network {network/prefix}]'
161 mgr 'allow service {service-name} {access-spec} [network {network/prefix}]'
163 mgr 'allow module {module-name} [with {key1} {match-type} {value1} ...] {access-spec} [network {network/prefix}]'
165 The ``{access-spec}`` syntax is as follows: ::
169 The ``{service-name}`` is one of the following: ::
173 The ``{match-type}`` is one of the following: ::
177 - **Metadata Server Caps:** For administrators, use ``allow *``. For all
178 other users, such as CephFS clients, consult :doc:`/cephfs/client-auth`
181 .. note:: The Ceph Object Gateway daemon (``radosgw``) is a client of the
182 Ceph Storage Cluster, so it is not represented as a Ceph Storage
185 The following entries describe each access capability.
189 :Description: Precedes access settings for a daemon. Implies ``rw``
195 :Description: Gives the user read access. Required with monitors to retrieve
201 :Description: Gives the user write access to objects.
206 :Description: Gives the user the capability to call class methods
207 (i.e., both read and write) and to conduct ``auth``
208 operations on monitors.
213 :Descriptions: Gives the user the capability to call class read methods.
219 :Description: Gives the user the capability to call class write methods.
225 :Description: Gives the user read, write and execute permissions for a
226 particular daemon/pool, and the ability to execute
229 The following entries describe valid capability profiles:
231 ``profile osd`` (Monitor only)
233 :Description: Gives a user permissions to connect as an OSD to other OSDs or
234 monitors. Conferred on OSDs to enable OSDs to handle replication
235 heartbeat traffic and status reporting.
238 ``profile mds`` (Monitor only)
240 :Description: Gives a user permissions to connect as a MDS to other MDSs or
244 ``profile bootstrap-osd`` (Monitor only)
246 :Description: Gives a user permissions to bootstrap an OSD. Conferred on
247 deployment tools such as ``ceph-volume``, ``ceph-deploy``, etc.
248 so that they have permissions to add keys, etc. when
249 bootstrapping an OSD.
252 ``profile bootstrap-mds`` (Monitor only)
254 :Description: Gives a user permissions to bootstrap a metadata server.
255 Conferred on deployment tools such as ``ceph-deploy``, etc.
256 so they have permissions to add keys, etc. when bootstrapping
259 ``profile bootstrap-rbd`` (Monitor only)
261 :Description: Gives a user permissions to bootstrap an RBD user.
262 Conferred on deployment tools such as ``ceph-deploy``, etc.
263 so they have permissions to add keys, etc. when bootstrapping
266 ``profile bootstrap-rbd-mirror`` (Monitor only)
268 :Description: Gives a user permissions to bootstrap an ``rbd-mirror`` daemon
269 user. Conferred on deployment tools such as ``ceph-deploy``, etc.
270 so they have permissions to add keys, etc. when bootstrapping
271 an ``rbd-mirror`` daemon.
273 ``profile rbd`` (Manager, Monitor, and OSD)
275 :Description: Gives a user permissions to manipulate RBD images. When used
276 as a Monitor cap, it provides the minimal privileges required
277 by an RBD client application; this includes the ability
278 to blacklist other client users. When used as an OSD cap, it
279 provides read-write access to the specified pool to an
280 RBD client application. The Manager cap supports optional
281 ``pool`` and ``namespace`` keyword arguments.
283 ``profile rbd-mirror`` (Monitor only)
285 :Description: Gives a user permissions to manipulate RBD images and retrieve
286 RBD mirroring config-key secrets. It provides the minimal
287 privileges required for the ``rbd-mirror`` daemon.
289 ``profile rbd-read-only`` (Manager and OSD)
291 :Description: Gives a user read-only permissions to RBD images. The Manager
292 cap supports optional ``pool`` and ``namespace`` keyword
299 A pool is a logical partition where users store data.
300 In Ceph deployments, it is common to create a pool as a logical partition for
301 similar types of data. For example, when deploying Ceph as a backend for
302 OpenStack, a typical deployment would have pools for volumes, images, backups
303 and virtual machines, and users such as ``client.glance``, ``client.cinder``,
309 Access may be restricted to specific pools as defined by their application
310 metadata. The ``*`` wildcard may be used for the ``key`` argument, the
311 ``value`` argument, or both. ``all`` is a synony for ``*``.
316 Objects within a pool can be associated to a namespace--a logical group of
317 objects within the pool. A user's access to a pool can be associated with a
318 namespace such that reads and writes by the user take place only within the
319 namespace. Objects written to a namespace within the pool can only be accessed
320 by users who have access to the namespace.
322 .. note:: Namespaces are primarily useful for applications written on top of
323 ``librados`` where the logical grouping can alleviate the need to create
324 different pools. Ceph Object Gateway (from ``luminous``) uses namespaces for various
327 The rationale for namespaces is that pools can be a computationally expensive
328 method of segregating data sets for the purposes of authorizing separate sets
329 of users. For example, a pool should have ~100 placement groups per OSD. So an
330 exemplary cluster with 1000 OSDs would have 100,000 placement groups for one
331 pool. Each pool would create another 100,000 placement groups in the exemplary
332 cluster. By contrast, writing an object to a namespace simply associates the
333 namespace to the object name with out the computational overhead of a separate
334 pool. Rather than creating a separate pool for a user or set of users, you may
335 use a namespace. **Note:** Only available using ``librados`` at this time.
337 Access may be restricted to specific RADOS namespaces using the ``namespace``
338 capability. Limited globbing of namespaces is supported; if the last character
339 of the specified namespace is ``*``, then access is granted to any namespace
340 starting with the provided argument.
346 User management functionality provides Ceph Storage Cluster administrators with
347 the ability to create, update and delete users directly in the Ceph Storage
350 When you create or delete users in the Ceph Storage Cluster, you may need to
351 distribute keys to clients so that they can be added to keyrings. See `Keyring
352 Management`_ for details.
358 To list the users in your cluster, execute the following::
362 Ceph will list out all users in your cluster. For example, in a two-node
363 exemplary cluster, ``ceph auth ls`` will output something that looks like
366 installed auth entries:
369 key: AQCvCbtToC6MDhAATtuT70Sl+DymPCfDSsyV4w==
370 caps: [mon] allow profile osd
373 key: AQC4CbtTCFJBChAAVq5spj0ff4eHZICxIOVZeA==
374 caps: [mon] allow profile osd
377 key: AQBHCbtT6APDHhAA5W00cBchwkQjh3dkKsyPjw==
382 key: AQBICbtTOK9uGBAAdbe5zcIGHZL3T/u2g6EBww==
383 caps: [mon] allow profile bootstrap-mds
385 key: AQBHCbtT4GxqORAADE5u7RkpCN/oo4e5W0uBtw==
386 caps: [mon] allow profile bootstrap-osd
389 Note that the ``TYPE.ID`` notation for users applies such that ``osd.0`` is a
390 user of type ``osd`` and its ID is ``0``, ``client.admin`` is a user of type
391 ``client`` and its ID is ``admin`` (i.e., the default ``client.admin`` user).
392 Note also that each entry has a ``key: <value>`` entry, and one or more
395 You may use the ``-o {filename}`` option with ``ceph auth ls`` to
396 save the output to a file.
402 To retrieve a specific user, key and capabilities, execute the
405 ceph auth get {TYPE.ID}
409 ceph auth get client.admin
411 You may also use the ``-o {filename}`` option with ``ceph auth get`` to
412 save the output to a file. Developers may also execute the following::
414 ceph auth export {TYPE.ID}
416 The ``auth export`` command is identical to ``auth get``.
423 Adding a user creates a username (i.e., ``TYPE.ID``), a secret key and
424 any capabilities included in the command you use to create the user.
426 A user's key enables the user to authenticate with the Ceph Storage Cluster.
427 The user's capabilities authorize the user to read, write, or execute on Ceph
428 monitors (``mon``), Ceph OSDs (``osd``) or Ceph Metadata Servers (``mds``).
430 There are a few ways to add a user:
432 - ``ceph auth add``: This command is the canonical way to add a user. It
433 will create the user, generate a key and add any specified capabilities.
435 - ``ceph auth get-or-create``: This command is often the most convenient way
436 to create a user, because it returns a keyfile format with the user name
437 (in brackets) and the key. If the user already exists, this command
438 simply returns the user name and key in the keyfile format. You may use the
439 ``-o {filename}`` option to save the output to a file.
441 - ``ceph auth get-or-create-key``: This command is a convenient way to create
442 a user and return the user's key (only). This is useful for clients that
443 need the key only (e.g., libvirt). If the user already exists, this command
444 simply returns the key. You may use the ``-o {filename}`` option to save the
447 When creating client users, you may create a user with no capabilities. A user
448 with no capabilities is useless beyond mere authentication, because the client
449 cannot retrieve the cluster map from the monitor. However, you can create a
450 user with no capabilities if you wish to defer adding capabilities later using
451 the ``ceph auth caps`` command.
453 A typical user has at least read capabilities on the Ceph monitor and
454 read and write capability on Ceph OSDs. Additionally, a user's OSD permissions
455 are often restricted to accessing a particular pool. ::
457 ceph auth add client.john mon 'allow r' osd 'allow rw pool=liverpool'
458 ceph auth get-or-create client.paul mon 'allow r' osd 'allow rw pool=liverpool'
459 ceph auth get-or-create client.george mon 'allow r' osd 'allow rw pool=liverpool' -o george.keyring
460 ceph auth get-or-create-key client.ringo mon 'allow r' osd 'allow rw pool=liverpool' -o ringo.key
463 .. important:: If you provide a user with capabilities to OSDs, but you DO NOT
464 restrict access to particular pools, the user will have access to ALL
465 pools in the cluster!
468 .. _modify-user-capabilities:
470 Modify User Capabilities
471 ------------------------
473 The ``ceph auth caps`` command allows you to specify a user and change the
474 user's capabilities. Setting new capabilities will overwrite current capabilities.
475 To view current capabilities run ``ceph auth get USERTYPE.USERID``. To add
476 capabilities, you should also specify the existing capabilities when using the form::
478 ceph auth caps USERTYPE.USERID {daemon} 'allow [r|w|x|*|...] [pool={pool-name}] [namespace={namespace-name}]' [{daemon} 'allow [r|w|x|*|...] [pool={pool-name}] [namespace={namespace-name}]']
482 ceph auth get client.john
483 ceph auth caps client.john mon 'allow r' osd 'allow rw pool=liverpool'
484 ceph auth caps client.paul mon 'allow rw' osd 'allow rwx pool=liverpool'
485 ceph auth caps client.brian-manager mon 'allow *' osd 'allow *'
487 See `Authorization (Capabilities)`_ for additional details on capabilities.
493 To delete a user, use ``ceph auth del``::
495 ceph auth del {TYPE}.{ID}
497 Where ``{TYPE}`` is one of ``client``, ``osd``, ``mon``, or ``mds``,
498 and ``{ID}`` is the user name or ID of the daemon.
504 To print a user's authentication key to standard output, execute the following::
506 ceph auth print-key {TYPE}.{ID}
508 Where ``{TYPE}`` is one of ``client``, ``osd``, ``mon``, or ``mds``,
509 and ``{ID}`` is the user name or ID of the daemon.
511 Printing a user's key is useful when you need to populate client
512 software with a user's key (e.g., libvirt). ::
514 mount -t ceph serverhost:/ mountpoint -o name=client.user,secret=`ceph auth print-key client.user`
520 To import one or more users, use ``ceph auth import`` and
523 ceph auth import -i /path/to/keyring
527 sudo ceph auth import -i /etc/ceph/ceph.keyring
530 .. note:: The ceph storage cluster will add new users, their keys and their
531 capabilities and will update existing users, their keys and their
538 When you access Ceph via a Ceph client, the Ceph client will look for a local
539 keyring. Ceph presets the ``keyring`` setting with the following four keyring
540 names by default so you don't have to set them in your Ceph configuration file
541 unless you want to override the defaults (not recommended):
543 - ``/etc/ceph/$cluster.$name.keyring``
544 - ``/etc/ceph/$cluster.keyring``
545 - ``/etc/ceph/keyring``
546 - ``/etc/ceph/keyring.bin``
548 The ``$cluster`` metavariable is your Ceph cluster name as defined by the
549 name of the Ceph configuration file (i.e., ``ceph.conf`` means the cluster name
550 is ``ceph``; thus, ``ceph.keyring``). The ``$name`` metavariable is the user
551 type and user ID (e.g., ``client.admin``; thus, ``ceph.client.admin.keyring``).
553 .. note:: When executing commands that read or write to ``/etc/ceph``, you may
554 need to use ``sudo`` to execute the command as ``root``.
556 After you create a user (e.g., ``client.ringo``), you must get the key and add
557 it to a keyring on a Ceph client so that the user can access the Ceph Storage
560 The `User Management`_ section details how to list, get, add, modify and delete
561 users directly in the Ceph Storage Cluster. However, Ceph also provides the
562 ``ceph-authtool`` utility to allow you to manage keyrings from a Ceph client.
568 When you use the procedures in the `Managing Users`_ section to create users,
569 you need to provide user keys to the Ceph client(s) so that the Ceph client
570 can retrieve the key for the specified user and authenticate with the Ceph
571 Storage Cluster. Ceph Clients access keyrings to lookup a user name and
572 retrieve the user's key.
574 The ``ceph-authtool`` utility allows you to create a keyring. To create an
575 empty keyring, use ``--create-keyring`` or ``-C``. For example::
577 ceph-authtool --create-keyring /path/to/keyring
579 When creating a keyring with multiple users, we recommend using the cluster name
580 (e.g., ``$cluster.keyring``) for the keyring filename and saving it in the
581 ``/etc/ceph`` directory so that the ``keyring`` configuration default setting
582 will pick up the filename without requiring you to specify it in the local copy
583 of your Ceph configuration file. For example, create ``ceph.keyring`` by
584 executing the following::
586 sudo ceph-authtool -C /etc/ceph/ceph.keyring
588 When creating a keyring with a single user, we recommend using the cluster name,
589 the user type and the user name and saving it in the ``/etc/ceph`` directory.
590 For example, ``ceph.client.admin.keyring`` for the ``client.admin`` user.
592 To create a keyring in ``/etc/ceph``, you must do so as ``root``. This means
593 the file will have ``rw`` permissions for the ``root`` user only, which is
594 appropriate when the keyring contains administrator keys. However, if you
595 intend to use the keyring for a particular user or group of users, ensure
596 that you execute ``chown`` or ``chmod`` to establish appropriate keyring
597 ownership and access.
600 Add a User to a Keyring
601 -----------------------
603 When you `Add a User`_ to the Ceph Storage Cluster, you can use the `Get a
604 User`_ procedure to retrieve a user, key and capabilities and save the user to a
607 When you only want to use one user per keyring, the `Get a User`_ procedure with
608 the ``-o`` option will save the output in the keyring file format. For example,
609 to create a keyring for the ``client.admin`` user, execute the following::
611 sudo ceph auth get client.admin -o /etc/ceph/ceph.client.admin.keyring
613 Notice that we use the recommended file format for an individual user.
615 When you want to import users to a keyring, you can use ``ceph-authtool``
616 to specify the destination keyring and the source keyring.
619 sudo ceph-authtool /etc/ceph/ceph.keyring --import-keyring /etc/ceph/ceph.client.admin.keyring
625 Ceph provides the `Add a User`_ function to create a user directly in the Ceph
626 Storage Cluster. However, you can also create a user, keys and capabilities
627 directly on a Ceph client keyring. Then, you can import the user to the Ceph
628 Storage Cluster. For example::
630 sudo ceph-authtool -n client.ringo --cap osd 'allow rwx' --cap mon 'allow rwx' /etc/ceph/ceph.keyring
632 See `Authorization (Capabilities)`_ for additional details on capabilities.
634 You can also create a keyring and add a new user to the keyring simultaneously.
637 sudo ceph-authtool -C /etc/ceph/ceph.keyring -n client.ringo --cap osd 'allow rwx' --cap mon 'allow rwx' --gen-key
639 In the foregoing scenarios, the new user ``client.ringo`` is only in the
640 keyring. To add the new user to the Ceph Storage Cluster, you must still add
641 the new user to the Ceph Storage Cluster. ::
643 sudo ceph auth add client.ringo -i /etc/ceph/ceph.keyring
649 To modify the capabilities of a user record in a keyring, specify the keyring,
650 and the user followed by the capabilities. For example::
652 sudo ceph-authtool /etc/ceph/ceph.keyring -n client.ringo --cap osd 'allow rwx' --cap mon 'allow rwx'
654 To update the user to the Ceph Storage Cluster, you must update the user
655 in the keyring to the user entry in the the Ceph Storage Cluster. ::
657 sudo ceph auth import -i /etc/ceph/ceph.keyring
659 See `Import a User(s)`_ for details on updating a Ceph Storage Cluster user
662 You may also `Modify User Capabilities`_ directly in the cluster, store the
663 results to a keyring file; then, import the keyring into your main
664 ``ceph.keyring`` file.
670 Ceph supports the following usage for user name and secret:
672 ``--id`` | ``--user``
674 :Description: Ceph identifies users with a type and an ID (e.g., ``TYPE.ID`` or
675 ``client.admin``, ``client.user1``). The ``id``, ``name`` and
676 ``-n`` options enable you to specify the ID portion of the user
677 name (e.g., ``admin``, ``user1``, ``foo``, etc.). You can specify
678 the user with the ``--id`` and omit the type. For example,
679 to specify user ``client.foo`` enter the following::
681 ceph --id foo --keyring /path/to/keyring health
682 ceph --user foo --keyring /path/to/keyring health
687 :Description: Ceph identifies users with a type and an ID (e.g., ``TYPE.ID`` or
688 ``client.admin``, ``client.user1``). The ``--name`` and ``-n``
689 options enables you to specify the fully qualified user name.
690 You must specify the user type (typically ``client``) with the
691 user ID. For example::
693 ceph --name client.foo --keyring /path/to/keyring health
694 ceph -n client.foo --keyring /path/to/keyring health
699 :Description: The path to the keyring containing one or more user name and
700 secret. The ``--secret`` option provides the same functionality,
701 but it does not work with Ceph RADOS Gateway, which uses
702 ``--secret`` for another purpose. You may retrieve a keyring with
703 ``ceph auth get-or-create`` and store it locally. This is a
704 preferred approach, because you can switch user names without
705 switching the keyring path. For example::
707 sudo rbd map --id foo --keyring /path/to/keyring mypool/myimage
716 The ``cephx`` protocol authenticates Ceph clients and servers to each other. It
717 is not intended to handle authentication of human users or application programs
718 run on their behalf. If that effect is required to handle your access control
719 needs, you must have another mechanism, which is likely to be specific to the
720 front end used to access the Ceph object store. This other mechanism has the
721 role of ensuring that only acceptable users and programs are able to run on the
722 machine that Ceph will permit to access its object store.
724 The keys used to authenticate Ceph clients and servers are typically stored in
725 a plain text file with appropriate permissions in a trusted host.
727 .. important:: Storing keys in plaintext files has security shortcomings, but
728 they are difficult to avoid, given the basic authentication methods Ceph
729 uses in the background. Those setting up Ceph systems should be aware of
732 In particular, arbitrary user machines, especially portable machines, should not
733 be configured to interact directly with Ceph, since that mode of use would
734 require the storage of a plaintext authentication key on an insecure machine.
735 Anyone who stole that machine or obtained surreptitious access to it could
736 obtain the key that will allow them to authenticate their own machines to Ceph.
738 Rather than permitting potentially insecure machines to access a Ceph object
739 store directly, users should be required to sign in to a trusted machine in
740 your environment using a method that provides sufficient security for your
741 purposes. That trusted machine will store the plaintext Ceph keys for the
742 human users. A future version of Ceph may address these particular
743 authentication issues more fully.
745 At the moment, none of the Ceph authentication protocols provide secrecy for
746 messages in transit. Thus, an eavesdropper on the wire can hear and understand
747 all data sent between clients and servers in Ceph, even if it cannot create or
748 alter them. Further, Ceph does not include options to encrypt user data in the
749 object store. Users can hand-encrypt and store their own data in the Ceph
750 object store, of course, but Ceph provides no features to perform object
751 encryption itself. Those storing sensitive data in Ceph should consider
752 encrypting their data before providing it to the Ceph system.
755 .. _Architecture - High Availability Authentication: ../../../architecture#high-availability-authentication
756 .. _Cephx Config Reference: ../../configuration/auth-config-ref