Setting up access control

Access control allows you to control who has access to the server and projects. Without it, everyone who uses Validate is given Developer level access on all projects.

As a security feature, only the administrator can control who has access (for example, which projects a user can access).

The person who installed the product is set by default as the administrator.

Why use each type of access?

With the access control wizard kwauthconfig, you can set up a control method that suits the type of platform, domain server, and directory your organization uses. You can launch it from your <server_install>/bin directory and control who has access to the product. The choices are:

• Single sign-on (SSO): If you use Active Directory on Windows, SSO allows already logged-in Windows users to log in automatically to the product. To set up SSO, see Setting up single sign-on.

• LDAP : Your organization's LDAP server can be configured to provide names of individuals and groups for the list of users who can access the product. To set up LDAP access, see Setting up LDAP access control.

• NIS: Your organization's NIS server can be configured to provide names of individuals and groups for the list of users who can access the product. To set up NIS access, see Setting up NIS access control.

• Basic: In Basic access, you can create an access list specifically for the product by managing users in Validate. Basic access is typically used for testing purposes, for example when you're upgrading to a new version. This access control method may be convenient in such circumstances, because it has no impact on the enterprise directory, no need for IT involvement, and it's quick to set up and slightly more secure than Open access. To set up Basic access, see Setting up Basic access control.

Launching the security utility

Using a secure connection

If you're configuring SSL, you can specify this information in kwauthconfig by selecting Use secure Validate Server connection. You will have to provide the appropriate SSL details. See Using a secure Validate Server connection for more details.