Here is a quick introduction to NFSv4 Authentication Methods. Our Server Support team is available to help you with your questions and concerns.

About NFSv4 Authentication Methods

If we try to access a network storage device, it needs to check if we have permission to access the files. This is done via a process called authentication. The NFS server, is a storage device. It uses two ways to identify the user requesting access:

• IP address
• Host name

For instance, if we are using the Kerberos authentication method, the we have to enter username and password to gain access to the files.

According to our experts, NFS V4 authenticates clients at the user level. The two user authentication methods are:

• auth_sys (UNIX authentication)
• RPCSEC_GSS (Kerberos)

In fact, the user is authenticated at the client in the auth_sys security method with a login name and password. Furthermore, the user and group identities presented by the clients are trusted by the NFS server.

For instance when the NFS client and server use Kerberos 5 authentication, they have to establish a security context for NFS requests.

Additionally, this security context indicates that the client and server have completed a mutual authentication procedure. In some scenarios, it may also contain the encryption keys used for protecting exchanged data. Furthermore, the security context has a lifetime and has to be refreshed by the client.

Here are some of the authentication methods supported by NFSv4:

• Kerberos
• SPKM-3
• RPCSEC_GSS
• AUTH_SYS:

Furthermore, NFSv4 supports a combination of authentication methods. In other words, we can choose according to the security needs. For instance, Kerberos is ideal for strong authentication, and AUTH_SYS works well for for authentication in trusted environments.

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Conclusion

To sum up, our Support Techs introduced us to NFSv4 Authentication and the different methods available.