Providing authorization and authentication in a cloud for a user of a storage array

• US 9,300,660 B1
• Filed: 05/29/2015
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pure Storage, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pure Storage, Inc.
• Inventors: Noonan, Terence W., Sapuntzakis, Constantine P., Vachharajani, Neil A., Borowiec, Benjamin P., Hu, Jimmy T., Miller, Ethan L., Zuo, Daquan
• Primary Examiner(s): Smithers, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US14/726,446
• Time in Patent Office: 305 Days
• Field of Search: 726/7, 726/8, 726/9
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/335 for accessing specific resources, e.g. using Kerberos tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 Multiprogramming arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/24 Key scheduling, i.e. generating round keys or sub-keys for block encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/72 Signcrypting, i.e. digital signing and encrypting simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3226 using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3242 involving keyed hash functions, e.g. message authentication codes [MACs], CBC-MAC or HMAC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures

Abstract

Providing authorization and authentication in a cloud for a user of a storage array includes: receiving, by a cloud-based security module from a client-side array services module, user credentials; authenticating, by the cloud-based security module, the user credentials; identifying, by the cloud-based security module, authorized access privileges defining one or more storage array services accessible by the user; generating, by the cloud-based security module, a token representing the authentication of the user credentials and the authorized access privileges; and providing, by the cloud-based security module to the client-side array services module, the token.

Claims

1. A method of providing authorization and authentication in a cloud for a user of a storage array, the method comprising:

receiving, by a cloud-based security module from a client-side array services module, user credentials;

authenticating, by the cloud-based security module, the user credentials;

identifying, by the cloud-based security module, authorized access privileges defining one or more storage array services accessible by the user;

generating, by the cloud-based security module, a token representing the authentication of the user credentials and the authorized access privileges; and

providing, by the cloud-based security module to the client-side array services module, the token.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cloud-based security module comprises a cloud identity provider (‘

IDP’

).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the cloud-based security module comprises a component of a cloud-based storage array services provider.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the cloud-based security module comprises a lightweight directory access protocol directory service.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

access privileges are further defined in the storage array access module for a plurality of users; and

the storage array access module is configured to determine whether to grant an access request by the user in dependence upon the token and the access privileges defined in the storage array access module.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein access privileges are defined in the cloud-based security module for a plurality of users with an association of each user with one of a plurality of profiles, each profile specifying access privileges for users associated with the profile.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of profiles comprise:

a read-only profile specifying, for users associated with the read only profile, read-only access privileges;

a modify profile specifying, for users associated with the modify profile, read and modify access privileges; and

an administrator profile specifying, for users associated with the administrator profile, all available access privileges.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of profiles comprise at least one storage-array specific profile specifying access privileges for a single storage array and multi-array profiles specifying access privileges for a plurality of storage arrays.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

generating, by the cloud-based security module, a token representing the authentication of the user credentials and the authorized access privileges further comprises generating a digital signature of data representing the authorized access privileges including;

hashing data representing the authorized access privileges;

encrypting the hashed data using a public key of the storage array access module, wherein the encrypted hashed data comprising the digital signature;

providing, by the cloud-based security module to the client-side array services module, the token further comprises sending, as the token to the storage array access module, the data representing the authorized access privileges with the digital signature.

10. An apparatus for providing authorization and authentication in a cloud for a user of a storage array, the apparatus comprising a computer processor, a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, cause the apparatus to carry out the steps of:

receiving, by a cloud-based security module from a client-side array services module, user credentials;

authenticating, by the cloud-based security module, the user credentials;

identifying, by the cloud-based security module, authorized access privileges defining one or more storage array services accessible by the user;

generating, by the cloud-based security module, a token representing the authentication of the user credentials and the authorized access privileges; and

providing, by the cloud-based security module to the client-side array services module, the token.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cloud-based security module comprises a cloud identity provider (‘

IDP’

).

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cloud-based security module comprises a component of a cloud-based storage array services provider.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

access privileges are further defined in the storage array access module for a plurality of users; and

the storage array access module is configured to determine whether to grant an access request by the user in dependence upon the token and the access privileges defined in the storage array access module.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein access privileges are defined in the cloud-based security module for a plurality of users with an association of each user with one of a plurality of profiles, each profile specifying access privileges for users associated with the profile.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the plurality of profiles comprise:

a read-only profile specifying, for users associated with the read only profile, read-only access privileges;

a modify profile specifying, for users associated with the modify profile, read and modify access privileges; and

an administrator profile specifying, for users associated with the administrator profile, all available access privileges.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the plurality of profiles comprise at least one storage-array specific profile specifying access privileges for a single storage array and multi-array profiles specifying access privileges for a plurality of storage arrays.

17. A computer program product for providing authorization and authentication in a cloud for a user of a storage array, the computer program product disposed upon a computer readable medium, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to carry out the steps of:

receiving, by a cloud-based security module from a client-side array services module, user credentials;

authenticating, by the cloud-based security module, the user credentials;

identifying, by the cloud-based security module, authorized access privileges defining one or more storage array services accessible by the user;

generating, by the cloud-based security module, a token representing the authentication of the user credentials and the authorized access privileges; and

providing, by the cloud-based security module to the client-side array services module, the token.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the cloud-based security module comprises a cloud identity provider (‘

IDP’

).

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the cloud-based security module comprises a component of a cloud-based storage array services provider.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein access privileges are defined in the cloud-based security module for a plurality of users with an association of each user with one of a plurality of profiles, each profile specifying access privileges for users associated with the profile.