Windows Authentication

Windows authentication is a security feature that allows users to log into a system using their Windows credentials.

Astera Data Stack leverages this authentication method and provides the option to register new users using Windows authentication through its Server Browser interface.

Configuring LDAP path

Before a new user can be registered through the security section of the Server Browser, the LDAP path needs to be configured.

1. To start, right-click on the server’s name node and select Cluster Settings from the context menu.

This will open a new window.

2. Click on the LDAP path and provide the LDAP path.

The LDAP path is the IP address provided by the user from where authentication is being done.

Once done, save and close the Cluster Settings window.

Registering user using Windows Authentication

1. To register a user using Windows Authentication, open the security filter of the Server Browser.

2. Right Click on Users and Select Register User

This will open a new window.

3. Select Windows Authentication from the Registration drop-down menu.

4. After selecting Windows Authentication, a new screen will appear in which the server is retrieving a list of users.

5. Here, you can see a search bar and a grid with a column of User Email Id

There are two ways to specify the user we want to register.

Search bar dropdown

Here, we can specify a user by selecting from the dropdown given in the textbox of the search bar.

Note: The drop-down will get the list of users that exist in that active directory.

Manual Search

We can also fetch a user by using the search textbox to look for a specific user.

Clicking on the user will select them.

6. After the user has been selected, the email id will be displayed in the grid of User Email Id.

7. Click Register and we can see that the selected users have been added.

The users can now be activated or assigned roles, as is the current way in Astera.

Note: Users that have been registered using windows authentication can only be activated, deactivated, and deleted.

Login Using Windows Authentication

Once users have been registered with Windows authentication, they can login with the same authentication credentials.

To log in, select the Log In option from the top right of the client window.

Selecting this will open a new window.

In the authentication Dropdown, there are two options:

1. Centerprise: For Users that are created by using a simple/existing registration method.

2. Windows Authentication: For users that are created by using the Windows authentication method.

8. By Selecting Windows Authentication, It will autofill the username and lock both text boxes.

Note: If a user is activated, then they can click directly on Log In, and they will log in without entering any additional information.

This concludes the working of Windows Authentication in Astera Data Stack.