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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.
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