amps-python-client 5.3.4.1__zip → 5.3.4.3__zip

amps-python-client-5.3.4.1/docs/user-guide/html/_sources/chapters/securing.rst.txt

@@ -1,657 +0,0 @@
-.. include:: ../macros.inc
-
-.. index:: securing AMPS; overview,
-
-
-.. _#ug-securing:
-
-.. _securing:
-
-Securing AMPS
-===============================
-
-
-One of the most important considerations when using AMPS in production
-is keeping your data safe. This means both ensuring that subscribers
-only have access to the data that they are allowed to have access to and that
-only authorized publishers are allowed to publish messages into the system.
-This chapter describes the mechanisms within AMPS to protect access to
-AMPS resources through client, administrative and replication
-connections.
-
-
-In this chapter, we describe the AMPS security infrastructure and
-present general information about securing an AMPS installation. AMPS
-uses a plugin model for providing authentication and entitlement, and
-allows a great deal of freedom in how a given module implements
-security checks. This chapter discusses the concepts, principles, and
-guarantees that AMPS provides. The specific steps and configuration you
-use to secure an installation of AMPS depend on the plugin you use to
-secure AMPS.
-
-There are three aspects to securing connections to AMPS:
-
-1. Authentication assigns an identity to a connection and verifies that
-   identity
-
-2. Entitlement enforces permission to access AMPS and read or write AMPS
-   resources, based on the identity assigned to a connection
-
-3. The AMPS process may also need to provide credentials to another AMPS
-   instance (for example, to secure outgoing replication)
-
-AMPS installations typically create custom plugins for securing AMPS.
-These plugins integrate with the enterprise authentication and
-entitlement system, and are designed to enforce the policies for the
-specific site. For more information on developing modules for use with
-AMPS, contact 60East support for the AMPS Server SDK.
-
-The AMPS distribution includes an auxiliary module that contacts a web
-service for authentication and entitlement. This module is described in
-the section :ref:`#ug-auth-module`.
-
-The AMPS distribution also contains an entitlement module that can
-be used to restrict access to specific topics for all users. This
-module is described in the section :ref:`#ug-simple-access`.
-
-For applications that need to connect with an existing Kerberos or LDAP system
-for authentication, the AMPS distribution includes an auxiliary module that can 
-use either a Kerberos or LDAP system for authentication. This module is described 
-in the section :ref:`#ug-multi-authentication`.
-
-If an installation uses Kerberos for replication security, the AMPS server must
-be able to provide a Kerberos token to authenticate itself to a downstream instance. 
-For this situation, the AMPS distribution includes an authenticator that can provide 
-Kerberos tokens, as described in the section :ref:`#ug-multi-authenticator`.
-
-.. index:: authentication, securing AMPS; verifying identity,
-
-.. _#ug-authentication:
-
-Authentication
---------------
-
-The first part of securing AMPS is developing a strategy to verify the
-identity of connected clients. AMPS maintains an identity for each
-client connection, and uses that identity for entitlement requests. Once
-an identity is assigned to a connection, that identity stays the same
-for the lifetime of the connection. If an application needs to use
-different identities to work with AMPS, that application needs to make a
-separate connection for each identity.
-
-There are two ways that AMPS assigns an identity to a client:
-
-1. When an application explicitly sends a ``logon`` command, AMPS uses
-   the credentials in the message for the authentication process. If
-   authentication is successful, AMPS associates the username provided
-   in the initial logon with the connection. If authentication fails,
-   AMPS closes the connection.
-
-2. When an application issues any other command after connecting, but
-   before sending a ``logon`` command, AMPS treats this as an *implicit*
-   logon and begins the authentication process with an empty username
-   and password. If authentication is successful, AMPS associates an
-   empty username with the connection. If authentication fails, AMPS
-   closes the connection. AMPS does not allow implicit logon by default
-   in 5.0 and later versions. However, you can enable implicit logon as
-   described below.
-
-In both cases, authentication occurs through the AMPS security
-infrastructure.
-
-When authenticating a client, AMPS locates the authentication module in
-use for the client's ``Transport`` (or, for the admin interface, the special
-``amps-admin`` transport). If there is an authentication module
-specified for that ``Transport``, AMPS uses that module. Otherwise, the
-``Transport`` uses an instance of the authentication module specified for
-the instance. When the configuration for the instance doesn't include an
-instance level authentication module, the default module for the
-``Transport`` is ``amps-default-authentication-module``, which requires a
-logon, but accepts any username and password provided and sets the
-authenticated username to an empty string.
-
-Once AMPS has located the module instance, AMPS provides the username
-and the password to that instance of the module. The module can accept
-the credentials, reject the credentials, or return a challenge that the
-application must respond to. When the module returns a challenge, the
-connection remains unauthenticated until the application requesting
-authentication responds to the challenge and the module accepts the
-response.
-
-For most production systems, AMPS security is integrated with the
-overall security fabric of the organization. 60East provides the *AMPS
-Server SDK* to help developers create authentication modules that
-implement the unique policies and procedures required by a particular
-organization.
-
-AMPS does not, itself, enforce an explicit timeout on the authentication
-process. However, the thread used to authenticate is managed by AMPS, so
-if the authentication process takes an extended period of time, AMPS 
-may report a potentially stuck thread or (in extreme cases) prompt a
-server shutdown. 60East recommends that the authentication process
-complete as quickly as possible, especially since the authentication
-process will limit how quickly clients can connect to AMPS. The process
-should generally be subsecond if possible, and 60East recommends that the
-process not take longer than 30 seconds, even if the authentication
-server is under load.
-
-Simple Authentication Modules
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-AMPS includes three simple authentication modules in the AMPS
-distribution. These modules provide very simple policies for
-authentication, and are most useful in testing and development
-environments.
-
-.. list-table:: *Simple Authentication Modules*
-     :header-rows: 1
-
-     * - Module
-
-       - Description
-
-     * - ``amps-default-authentication-module``
-         
-
-       - Allows any username and password.
-         Does not allow implicit logon by
-         default. Does not provide the
-         username to AMPS by default.
-
-     * - ``amps-implicit-authentication-module``
-         
-
-       - Allows any username and password.
-         Allows implicit logon by default.
-         Does not provide the username to
-         AMPS by default.
-
-     * - ``amps-default-no-authentication-module``
-         
-
-       - Does not allow authentication
-         regardless of the username and
-         password provided. This can be
-         useful for testing application
-         behavior when logon is denied, or
-         for setting a policy for the
-         instance that individual transports
-         must override.
-
-
-
-Enabling Implicit Logon
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-60East recommends using explicit logon commands in your applications
-wherever possible, and the default authentication module disallows
-implicit logons. For backward compatibility with older versions of AMPS,
-AMPS includes the ``amps-implicit-authentication-module`` which allows
-implicit logon to restore the behavior of the previous AMPS versions. To
-use the ``amps-implicit-authentication-module`` for all of the
-transports in the instance, set the instance level ``Authentication`` to use
-this module, as shown below:
-
-.. code-block:: xml
-
-    <AMPSConfig>
-      ...
-      <Authentication>
-         <Module>amps-implicit-authentication-module</Module>
-      </Authentication>
-      ...
-    </AMPSConfig>
-
-.. index:: entitlement, securing AMPS; enforcing permissions,
-
-.. _#ug-entitlement:
-
-Entitlement
-------------
-
-The AMPS entitlement system controls access to individual resources in
-AMPS. Each entitlement request consists of a user, a specific action
-and, where applicable, the type of resource and the resource name. For
-example, an entitlement request might arrive for the user ``Janice`` to
-``write`` (that is, publish) to the ``topic`` named
-``/orders/northamerica``. Another entitlement request might be for the
-user ``Phil`` to ``logon`` to the instance. A third request might be for
-the user ``Jill`` to ``read`` (that is, subscribe or run a SOW query)
-from the topic named ``/orders/pacific/palau``.
-
-When checking entitlements, AMPS locates the entitlement module in use
-for the ``Transport`` that the client is connecting on (or, for the admin
-interface, the special ``amps-admin`` transport). If there is an
-entitlement module specified for the ``Transport``, AMPS uses that module.
-Otherwise, AMPS uses an instance of the entitlement module specified for
-the instance. When the configuration file for the instance doesn't
-specify an instance level entitlement module, the default module for the
-``Transport`` is ``amps-default-entitlement-module``, which allows all
-permissions for any user.
-
-AMPS caches the results of the entitlement check until the cache
-is explicitly reset, the transport is disabled, entitlements
-are disabled and re-enabled, or the AMPS server restarts. You can clear the
-entitlement cache for all users using the AMPS Administrative Actions.
-You can clear the entitlement cache for a single user using the AMPS
-external API. When the entitlement cache is cleared, AMPS disconnects
-the user. This ensures that, when the user reconnects, the user only has
-access to resources that match the current set of entitlements.
-
-AMPS checks entitlements for a command when processing the command, and
-does not recheck permissions after the command is processed. For
-example, when ``Jill`` subscribes to ``/orders/pacific/palau``, AMPS
-checks entitlements when creating the subscription. If the entitlement
-check returns an entitlement content filter, AMPS includes that
-entitlement filter on the subscription. Once the subscription has been
-created, AMPS applies the filter as a part of the standard filtering
-process, but AMPS does not check entitlements for the subscription as
-further messages arrive.
-
-.. index:: permissions; login, permissions, login, permissions; replication, replication_login,
-   permissions; topic, topic, permissions; admin, admin
-
-The following table lists the resource types that AMPS provides:
-
-.. list-table:: *AMPS Entitlement Resource Types*
-     :header-rows: 1
-
-     * - Resource Type
-
-       - Description
-
-     * - ``logon``
-
-       - Permission to log on to the AMPS instance.
-
-     * - ``replication_logon``
-         
-
-       - Permission to log on to the AMPS instance as a
-         replication source.
-
-     * - ``topic``
-         
-
-       - Permission to receive from or publish to a
-         specific topic.
-
-     * - ``admin``
-         
-
-       - Permission to read admin statistics or perform
-         admin functions from the web interface.
-
-
-
-For the ``topic`` and ``admin`` resource types, AMPS also provides the
-name of the resource and whether the request is to ``read`` the resource
-or ``write`` to the resource.
-
-The table below shows how AMPS commands translate to entitlement types:
-
-.. list-table:: *Entitlement Types for Commands*
-     :header-rows: 1
-
-     * - AMPS Command
-
-       - Entitlement Type
-
-     * - ``delta_subscribe``,
-         
-         ``sow``, ``sow_and_subscribe``,
-         
-         ``subscribe``,
-         ``sow_and_delta_subscribe``
-
-       - ``read``
-         
-
-     * - ``delta_publish``, ``publish``,
-         
-         ``sow_delete``
-
-       - ``write``
-         
-
-     * - *Commands received over replication*
-
-       - ``replication allowed``
-
-
-
-Entitlement Caching
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-AMPS does not present a request to the entitlement module each time that
-an entitlement check is needed. Instead, AMPS presents the request the
-first time the entitlement is needed, and then caches the results from
-the module for subsequent entitlement checks. This improves performance,
-although it also means that when a module that reads entitlements from
-an external source (such as a central directory of permissions), that may
-change without requiring a restart of the AMPS instance, that module
-will need to establish a policy for resetting the entitlement cache.
-
-Regular Expression Subscriptions
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-Each request from AMPS is for a specific resource name. When a client
-requests a regular expression subscription, AMPS makes a request for
-each topic that matches the subscription at the point that AMPS has a
-message to deliver for that topic. For example, if the user ``Nina``
-enters a subscription for ``/parts/(mechanical|electrical)``, AMPS will
-make a request to the entitlement module for ``/parts/mechanical`` when
-there is a message to deliver for that topic, and will make a separate
-request for ``/parts/electrical`` when there is a message to deliver for
-that topic.
-
-Content Filtered Entitlements
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-The entitlement system offers the ability to enforce content
-restrictions on subscriptions. When AMPS requests ``read`` access to a
-``topic``, the module that performs entitlement can also return a filter
-to AMPS. This filter is evaluated independently of any filter on the
-subscription, and messages must match both the subscription filter and
-the filter provided by the entitlement to be returned to the
-application. If a message does not match the entitlement filter, the
-message is not delivered, regardless of whether the message matches the
-filters provided by the application.
-
-AMPS also offers the ability to enforce content restrictions on
-``publish`` commands. When AMPS requests ``write`` access to a
-``topic``, the module that performs entitlement can return a filter to
-AMPS. This filter is then evaluated against messages published to that
-topic by that user. If the message being published matches the filter,
-AMPS allows the message. Otherwise, AMPS rejects the message. For
-``delta_publish`` commands, the content filter applies to the incoming
-delta message rather than the existing message in the SOW or the
-merged message that is the result of the ``delta_publish``.
-
-For ``sow_delete`` commands, content filtered entitlements apply to the
-message being removed. If the message to be removed matches the content
-filter, AMPS allows the delete. Otherwise, AMPS refuses to delete the message.
-
-A ``sow_delete`` command can specify a regular expression topic,
-which can match multiple topics. In this case, AMPS applies the
-permissions and entitlement filter for each topic before deleting
-messages in that topic. For example, in an instance that keeps
-the State of the World for topics ``T1``, ``T2``, and ``T3``, a
-``sow_delete`` command that specifies ``^T.$`` as the topic would
-match all three of those topics. For this command, AMPS will check
-the write entitlements for ``T1`` and apply the entitlement filter
-for topic ``T1`` to the delete from that topic, check the write entitlements
-for ``T2`` and apply the entitlement filter for ``T2`` to the delete from
-that topic, and check the write entitlements for ``T3`` and apply the
-write entitlement filter for ``T3`` to the delete from that topic. The
-topics that the delete applies to and the entitlement filters applied,
-are stored in the transaction log.
-
-
-Entitlement Select Lists
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-For ``read`` entitlements, AMPS also allows the ability to restrict access
-to specific fields of a message. In this case, the entitlement module returns
-a *select list*. That select list will be applied to all messages delivered on
-that topic for that user.
-
-When both a content filter and a select list are provided, the content filter
-is applied before the select list is applied. This means that an entitlement
-system can filter on fields that a given user is not allowed to view.
-
-As with content filters in entitlements, an entitlement select list is
-evaluated independently of any select list provided by the subscriber.
-An entitlement select list is evaluated *before* a select list
-provided by the subscriber, and the subscriber select list applies
-to the output of the entitlement select list.
-
-The following table shows some examples:
-
-.. list-table:: 
-     :header-rows: 1
-
-     * - **Message**
-         
-
-       - **Entitlement
-         Select
-         List**
-
-       - **Subscriber
-         Select
-         List**
-
-       - **Result**
-         
-
-     * - .. code::
-
-            {"a":1, "b":2}
-
-       - .. code::
-         
-            -/a
-
-       - .. code::
-         
-            +/a
-
-       - .. code::
-         
-            {"b":2}
-
-     * - .. code::
-
-            {"a":1, "b":2}
-
-       - .. code::
-         
-            -/,+/b
-
-       -  (none)
-
-       - .. code::
-         
-            {"b":2}
-
-
-     * - .. code::
-         
-            {"a":1,
-             "b":2,
-             "c":
-              {"c1":1,
-               "c2":2,
-               "c3":3}
-            }
-
-       - .. code::
-
-           -/,+/b,+/c/c2
-         
-
-       - .. code::
-         
-           -/,+/c/c1,+/c/c2
-
-       - .. code::
-    
-           {"c":{"c2":2}}
-         
-
-Message Queues
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-Message queues, since they are implemented as views over topics in the
-transaction log, present a special situation for the AMPS entitlement
-system in two ways. First, receiving a message from a queue implies that
-the subscriber has the ability to modify the contents of the queue.
-Second, a queue can specify a ``DefaultPublishTopic`` to receive
-publishes.
-
-The AMPS entitlement system treats queues differently than other topics
-as follows:
-
--  ``read`` entitlement on a queue also grants a user the ability to
-   delete (acknowledge) messages from the queue. No other write permissions
-   are implied.
-
--  ``write`` entitlement on a queue grants the ability to publish to the
-   queue, even in cases where AMPS translates that publish to the
-   ``DefaultPublishTopic`` configured for the queue. No other
-   permissions are implied. In particular, granting the ``write``
-   entitlement on a queue does not grant any entitlements on the
-   ``DefaultPublishTopic`` directly. Even though the message is
-   delivered to the ``DefaultPublishTopic``, the ``publish`` command
-   must publish to the queue topic.
-
-In all other respects, entitlements for message queues behave in the
-same way as entitlements for any other topic.
-
-.. include:: ./sow_regex_topic_permissions.inc
-
-
-.. index:: resetting entitlements,
-
-.. _#ug-entitlement-disable:
-
-
-Disabling Entitlement
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-When AMPS starts, the entitlement system is always enabled. AMPS provides an administrative action,
-``amps-do-disable-entitlements`` (see :ref:`#ug-actions-do-security`), that disables the 
-entitlement system until AMPS is restarted, or the system is explicitly re-enabled with
-an action.
-
-When the entitlement system is disabled:
-
-* AMPS no longer checks new requests for entitlements with the configured entitlement module
-* All entitlement requests succeed (even requests for operations that have previously been disallowed)
-* AMPS does not cache the entitlement results for any operation
-
-Notice that this means that all subscriptions succeed, no entitlement filters or entitlement
-select lists are applied to new subscriptions, and so on. In effect, any time that AMPS would
-check the entitlement cache or query the entitlement module, the operation immediately
-succeeds with full permissions.
-
-Disabling entitlements is designed to help mitigate failures in the entitlement system
-(including external systems that manage entitlements), allowing an administrator to maintain
-system availability at the cost of allowing full access to AMPS. This is most commonly used
-in shared development instances that are simultaneously doing application development and
-testing while working on updates to the set of allowable actions and/or the entitlement
-system itself.
-
-Entitlements can be re-enabled with the ``amps-action-do-enable-entitlements`` action (see
-:ref:`#ug-actions-do-security`). When entitlements are re-enabled, AMPS:
-
-* Initializes new entitlement contexts for the instance and destroys previous contexts
-* Clears the entitlement cache
-* Again consults the entitlement module or the entitlement cache for new requests
-
-Notice that when entitlements are re-enabled, AMPS *does not* validate the current client
-logons or the current subscriptions to determine if the entitlement policy allows those
-logons or subscriptions. Likewise, AMPS *does not* update entitlement filters or
-entitlement select lists when entitlements are re-enabled. Unlike an entitlement
-reset, AMPS does not disconnect connected clients when the entitlement system is
-re-enabled. This means that any existing client connections are maintained (whether or
-not they would be allowed with the entitlement system enabled) and any existing
-subscriptions are maintained (whether or not they would be allowed with the
-entitlement system enabled).
-
-60East recommends running an entitlement reset (see :ref:`#ug-actions-do-security`) after re-enabling
-entitlement to ensure that all connections and subscriptions use the current entitlement policy. Otherwise,
-the state of connections and subscriptions may not match the current policy. This can lead to a client
-receiving messages that it is not currently entitled to (if the current policy is more restrictive than
-when the connection and subscription were created), or not receiving messages that it is currently
-entitled to (if the current policy is less restrictive than when the connection and subscription were
-created).
-
-.. index:: authenticator,
-
-.. _#ug-authenticator:
-
-Providing an Identity for Outbound Connections (Authenticator)
----------------------------------------------------------------
-
-For outgoing replication connections, AMPS may need to provide an
-identity and credentials to the replication destination. AMPS uses a
-module type called an authenticator to provide those credentials and
-handle any challenge/response protocol required by the authentication
-module in the remote system.
-
-AMPS provides a default authenticator module,
-``amps-default-authenticator-module``, that is automatically configured
-as the Authenticator for the instance if no other instance Authenticator
-is provided. This module provides a user name with no password. To
-determine the user provided to AMPS, the module uses the value of the
-User option to the module if one is provided. Otherwise, the module uses
-the current user of the AMPS process. If the current user cannot be
-determined by the system, the module falls back to the value of the
-``USER`` environment variable.
-
-The ``amps-default-authenticator-module`` provides the ability to send
-a specific password (available in version 5.3.0.0 and higher). To provide
-a specific password, use one of the following options:
-
-
-.. list-table:: *Password Options for Simple Authenticator Module*
-     :header-rows: 1
-
-     * - Option
-
-       - Description
-
-     * - ``Password``
-
-       - Provide the contents of this option as the password.
-
-     * - ``PasswordFileName``
-
-       - Read the password from the specified filename.
-
-     * - ``PasswordEnvironmentVariable``
-
-       - Read the password from the specified environment variable.
-
-
-
-The Authenticator used for a replication Destination must provide
-credentials that are accepted by the Transport of the remote instance
-that the Destination is connecting to. See the |configref|
-for information on configuring the Authenticator for a Destination.
-
-If an installation uses Kerberos for replication security, the AMPS server
-must be able to provide a Kerberos token to authenticate itself to
-a downstream instance. For this situation, the AMPS distribution
-includes an authenticator that can provide Kerberos tokens, as
-described in the section :ref:`#ug-multi-authenticator`. The
-multi-authenticator also provides the ability to provide
-credentials to an LDAP server, with functionality similar
-to the ``amps-default-authenticator-module``.
-
-
-Protecting Data in Transit Using TLS/SSL
--------------------------------------------
-
-AMPS provides the ability to use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/
-Transport Layer Security (TLS) connections for communication with AMPS
-clients. See the |confguide-transport| chapter in the |configref| and
-the documentation for the AMPS clients for details.
-
-AMPS uses TLS to encrypt network traffic between clients and servers. No
-information about the transport is passed to the AMPS authentication and
-entitlement system. Encryption at the network level is completely
-independent of the AMPS authentication and entitlement system, and these
-features can be used independently.
-
-.. tip::
-
-        In this version of AMPS, a transport configured to use TLS
-        defaults to accepting only TLS version 1.1 and TLS version 1.2
-        protocols. It is possible to enable older protocols using the
-        ``SecureSocketProtocols`` configuration directive. 60East
-        recommends using the default settings unless there is a
-        specific reason to enable older protocols and the security
-        implications of enabling older protocols are well understood.