Users Guide

Table 3. Privileges Required To Manage Server Administrator Services (continued)
Instrumentation User, Power User, Administrator,
Elevated Administrator
Power User, Administrator, Elevated
Administrator
Remote Access User, Power User, Administrator,
Elevated Administrator
Administrator, Elevated Administrator
Storage Management User, Power User, Administrator,
Elevated Administrator
Administrator, Elevated Administrator
Authentication
The Server Administrator authentication scheme ensures that the correct access types are assigned to the correct user
privileges. Additionally, when the command line interface (CLI) is invoked, the Server Administrator authentication scheme
validates the context within which the current process is running. This authentication scheme ensures that all Server
Administrator functions, whether accessed through the Server Administrator home page or CLI, are properly authenticated.
Microsoft Windows Authentication
On supported Microsoft Windows operating systems, Server Administrator uses Integrated Windows Authentication (formerly
called NTLM) to authenticate. This authentication system allows Server Administrator security to be incorporated in an overall
security scheme for your network.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux And SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
Authentication
On supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server operating systems, Server Administrator uses various
authentication methods based on the Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) library. Users can log in to Server Administrator
either locally or remotely using different account management protocols, such as LDAP, NIS, Kerberos, and Winbind.
VMware ESX Server 4.X Authentication
VMware ESX Server uses the Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) structure for authentication when users access the ESX
Server host. The PAM configuration for VMware services stores paths to the authentication modules and is located at /etc/
pam.d/vmware-authd.
The default installation of ESX Server uses /etc/passwd authentication, similar to Linux, but you can configure ESX Server to
use another distributed authentication mechanism.
NOTE:
On systems running VMware ESX Server 4.x operating system, to login to Server Administrator, all users require
Administrator privileges. For information on assigning roles, see the VMware documentation.
VMware ESXi Server 5.X Authentication
ESXi Server authenticates users accessing ESXi hosts using the vSphere/VI Client or Software Development Kit (SDK). The
default installation of ESXi uses a local password database for authentication. ESXi authentication transactions with Server
Administrator are also direct interactions with the vmware-hostd process. To make sure that authentication works efficiently
for your site, perform basic tasks such as setting up users, groups, permissions, and roles, configuring user attributes, adding
your own certificates, and determining whether you want to use SSL.
NOTE:
On systems running VMware ESXi Server 5.0 operating system, to login to Server Administrator, all users require
Administrator privileges. For information on assigning roles, see the VMware documentation.
10 Setup And Administration