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[Kerberos] Add stack documentation for Kerberos realm #98

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Aug 20, 2018
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1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions docs/en/stack/security/authentication/index.asciidoc
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ include::ldap-realm.asciidoc[]
include::native-realm.asciidoc[]
include::pki-realm.asciidoc[]
include::saml-realm.asciidoc[]
include::kerberos-realm.asciidoc[]

:edit_url: https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/edit/{branch}/x-pack/docs/en/security/authentication/custom-realm.asciidoc
include::{xes-repo-dir}/security/authentication/custom-realm.asciidoc[]
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63 changes: 63 additions & 0 deletions docs/en/stack/security/authentication/kerberos-realm.asciidoc
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@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
[role="xpack"]
[[kerberos-realm]]
=== Kerberos authentication

You can configure {security} to support Kerberos V5 authentication,
an industry standard protocol to authenticate users in {es}.

NOTE: You cannot use the Kerberos realm to authenticate users in {kib}
and on the transport network layer.

To authenticate users with Kerberos, you need to
{ref}/configuring-kerberos-realm.html[configure a Kerberos realm] and
<<mapping-roles, map users to {security} roles>>.
For more information on realm settings, see
{ref}/security-settings.html#ref-kerberos-settings[Kerberos realm settings].

[[kerberos-terms]]
==== Key concepts

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I added this content here instead of elastic/elasticsearch#32662, since it seems like a better fit with the overview info. If you disagree, let me know!

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I wasn't sure about this when I added to the configuring Kerberos section as most of the action was there. But looking at it now makes sense here as it is an introduction part and helps to understand key concepts before moving on to the configuration part. Thank you.

There are a few terms and concepts that you'll encounter when you're setting up
Kerberos realms:

_kdc_::
Key Distribution Center. A service that issues Kerberos tickets.

_principal_::
A Kerberos principal is a unique identity to which Kerberos can assign
tickets. It can be used to identify a user or a service provided by a
server.
+
--
Kerberos V5 principal names are of format `primary/instance@REALM`, where
`primary` is a user name.

`instance` is an optional string that qualifies the primary and is separated
by a slash(`/`) from the primary. For a user, usually it is not used; for
service hosts, it is the fully qualified domain name of the host.

`REALM` is the Kerberos realm. Usually it is is the domain name in upper case.
An example of a typical user principal is `user@ES.DOMAIN.LOCAL`. An example of
a typical service principal is `HTTP/es.domain.local@ES.DOMAIN.LOCAL`.
--

_realm_::
Realms define the administrative boundary within which the authentication server
has authority to authenticate users and services.

_keytab_::
A file that stores pairs of principals and encryption keys.

IMPORTANT: Anyone with read permissions to this file can use the
credentials in the network to access other services so it is important
to protect it with proper file permissions.

_krb5.conf_::
A file that contains Kerberos configuration information such as the default realm
name, the location of Key distribution centers (KDC), realms information,
mappings from domain names to Kerberos realms, and default configurations for
realm session key encryption types.

_ticket granting ticket (TGT)_::
A TGT is an authentication ticket generated by the Kerberos authentication
server. It contains an encrypted authenticator.
6 changes: 5 additions & 1 deletion docs/en/stack/security/authentication/realms.asciidoc
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ A realm that facilitates authentication using the SAML 2.0 Web SSO protocol.
This realm is designed to support authentication through {kib} and is not
intended for use in the REST API. See <<saml-realm>>.

_kerberos_::
A realm that authenticates a user using Kerberos authentication. Users are
authenticated on the basis of Kerberos tickets. See <<kerberos-realm>>.

{security} also supports custom realms. If you need to integrate with another
authentication system, you can build a custom realm plugin. For more information,
see <<custom-realms, Integrating with Other Authentication Systems>>.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -121,4 +125,4 @@ External:: Realms that require interaction with parties/components external to
systems. Unlike internal realms, there can be as many external realms
as one would like - each with its own unique name and configuration.
{security} provides the following external realm types: `ldap`,
`active_directory`, `saml`, and `pki`.
`active_directory`, `saml`, `kerberos` and `pki`.