Managing portal security groups
A portal security group (PSG) is a group of users that inherit a set of restrictions and permissions. In this release of BladeLogic Portal, a portal security group has a one-to-one mapping to a BMC Server Automation role. After a PSG is created in the portal and mapped to a role in BMC Server Automation, all users that are assigned to that role in BMC Server Automation can log on to the portal with their BMC Server Automation credentials.
This topic includes the following sections:
Predefined PSGs
The installation procedure automatically creates a portal security group for portal administration. This group, known as the portal administrator group, is mapped to the BLAdmins role in BMC Server Automation (or to any other role granted the same permissions as BLAdmins). Users assigned to the BLAdmins role in BMC Server Automation can log on to the portal and manage the portal environment.
Another PSG is created automatically when you add an additional site. This PSG is the site administrator group. Currently, the site administrator must belong to the same role as the portal administrator. Essentially, a site administrator group has authorizations to administer its own site, while the portal administrator group has authorizations to administer all sites. The following table explains the different capabilities of the portal administrator and the site administrator.
Type of administrative action | Portal administrator group | Site administrator group |
---|---|---|
Sites | Able to add, edit, or delete all sites, except deleting the primary site | Able to edit only their own site |
Portal security groups | Able to edit or delete any PSG except the portal administrator's PSG. Portal administrators can only add PSGs for the primary site. | Able to add, edit, and delete PSGs for their own site except their own site administrator PSG. |
Operations | Authorized to perform all types of operations. Portal administrators can only see, edit, or delete operations created by a user that belongs to their own PSG. | Authorized to perform all types of operations. Can only see, edit, or delete operations created by a user that belongs to their own PSG. |
Portal-level restrictions
Restrictions set at the portal level provide a thin layer of control that prevents members of portal security groups from accessing certain features and functions of the portal environment.
Portal-level restrictions are optional and do not supersede the underlying RBAC controls set up in your BMC Server Automation environment. For example, if a new portal security group maps to a role that does not have RBAC rights to create patch operations, selecting patch authorizations at the portal level when you define the security group would not mean that operators who are members of this security group would now be able to create patch operations.
The intent of portal-level restrictions is to provide a very simple security mechanism for those organizations who have not implemented or do not require the sophisticated RBAC controls available in BMC Server Automation.
Default values for portal security groups
To make it easier to create operations in the portal, you can define values for:
- Default depot and job paths—When members of a portal security group perform an action that creates job or depot items, the items are placed in these default depot and job locations. Default values defined at the portal security group level take precedence over default locations defined at the site level in a portal. Setting default values for jobs and depot items means portal operators do not have to manually select a folder when they create operations, thus shielding them from some complexity. Advanced operators can be given the ability to override folder locations when they create new operations.
- Deploy templates—When members of a portal security group set up a deploy operation or a patching or compliance operation (which automatically generate Deploy jobs for remediation purposes), the deploy operation can use the settings in a Deploy template. By specifying Deploy templates for a security group, you can provide a limited number of recommended Deploy templates that group members can choose from when they are defining an operation. When you run a remediation operation for a patching operation, you can use a Deploy template based on an advanced Deploy job, which enables you to schedule the Simulate, Stage, and Commit phases of the job individually.
Importing portal security groups
Before creating new portal security groups, the portal administrator must import roles and their associated users from BMC Server Automation. When you import a role, it is automatically converted into a portal security group in the portal.
When you import a role to create a portal security group, the security group is assigned a unique name. This automatic naming occurs for all portal sites except the primary site. At the primary site, the portal security group is given the same name as the role being imported. At all sites except the primary site, names are assigned by using this format:
ImportedRole@SiteName
where ImportedRole is the name of a role being imported and SiteName is the name of the site to which you are currently connected.
After performing this procedure, you can still add new portal security groups in the future. You can also repeat this procedure to allow additional roles to use the portal.
If you want to create a set of roles with minimum permissions to perform actions in the portal, you can first import predefined roles into BMC Server Automation. Then you can import those roles into the portal.
To import portal security groups
- Click Administration at top right.
The portal displays the Administration page. - Click the Security Groups tab, if it is not already selected.
A list of portal security groups opens. - Click Import security groups
.
The Import Security Groups page opens. - For Site, select the BMC Server Automation instance from which you want to import role and user information.
- Using the list of BMC Server Automation roles, check the roles you want to import.
Click select all to select all roles in the list, or click clear to deselect all roles.
To search for roles by name, enter a text string in the search box and click Filter the role names. The portal lists only roles with names that include the string you entered.
- Click Import.
The selected roles are imported into the portal and mapped to a portal security group with the same name. Users of BMC Server Automation who are assigned to a role that you have imported are now able to log on to the portal by using their BMC Server Automation credentials.
Adding new portal security groups
In addition to importing portal security groups, you can also create new groups.
Currently, only one portal security group can be mapped to a role in BMC Server Automation.
To add a new portal security group
- Click Administration at top right.
The portal displays the Administration page. - Click the Security Groups tab, if it is not already selected.
A list of portal security groups opens. - Select the Add a new security group icon
.
The Create Group page opens. Enter the following information.
Option
Description
Group Name
Name of the portal security group.
Group Description
Optional descriptive text for the portal security group.
Site
The Site option specifies the BMC Server Automation Application Server to which this portal security group has access. See Managing-sites for more information.
BSA Role Name
The BSA Role Name option specifies the role in BMC Server Automation that determines user authorizations for this portal security group.
Portal Level Permission
The Portal Level Permissions option specifies the types of operations this portal security group can perform. The authorizations that are selected reflect the authorizations granted to the role specified in the BSA Role Name field.
Removing an authorization at the portal level takes precedence over permissions granted to a role in BMC Server Automation. In other words, if a role is granted an authorization in BMC Server Automation but the corresponding check box is not selected here at the portal level, the role cannot perform that operation in the portal.
Requirements for auto-selection
When you select a role in the BSA Role Name field, the portal examines the permissions granted to that role in BMC Server Automation. If the role has been granted a minimum set of permissions needed to perform a type of operation in the portal, such as Compliance operations, the check box for that type of operation is selected automatically.
Partial permissionsIf a checkbox is not automatically selected, the role you have designated in the BSA Role Name field does not have all the permissions necessary to perform all the capabilities associated with a particular type of operation. You can still select the check box to grant this security group permission to perform the operation, but the security group will be limited by the permissions granted in BMC Server Automation.
For example, you may specify a role that has permissions to run Compliance jobs in BMC Server Automation but does not have permissions to run remediation operations when a compliance failure is detected. In this situation, the check box for Compliance is not selected automatically. You should select the check box to grant this portal security group the same set of compliance functionality available in BMC Server Automation. If you do not select the check box, this portal security group cannot run any Compliance operations in the portal.
You can view a
needed to perform certain types of actions, such as Compliance job execution or patch remediation. The list of permissions are recommendations only. You may discover situations that require additional permissions.Default Depot Path
The Default Depot Path option specifies the location in BMC Server Automation where the portal stores depot items it creates automatically. When any portal user who belongs to this portal security group performs an operation that generates a depot item, the item is stored by default in this location. To specify a depot folder, click Browse and use the folder graphic to navigate to a location. Then click OK.
Default Job Path
The Default Job Path option specifies a location in BMC Server Automation where the portal stores jobs it creates automatically. When any portal user who belongs to this portal security group performs an operation that generates a job, the job is stored in this location by default. To specify a job folder, click Browse and use the folder graphic to navigate to a location. Then click OK.
Deploy Templates
The Deploy Templates options specifies Deploy jobs in BMC Server Automation that can be used to define settings for any Deploy jobs that the portal creates. To choose a template, click Add and browse to a job. Select it and click OK. Ctrl-click to select multiple jobs and then click OK.
If you want to create Deploy operations that run advanced Deploy jobs in BMC Server Automation, use a deploy template that references an existing advanced Deploy job.
- Click Create Group.
The portal security group is created. Users of BMC Server Automation who are assigned to the role to which this group is mapped are now able to log on to the portal by using their BMC Server Automation credentials.
Modifying portal security groups
- Click Administration at top right.
The portal displays the Administration page. - Click the Security Groups tab, if it is not already selected.
A list of portal security groups opens. - Select a portal security group and click Edit the current security group
.
The Update Group page opens. - Modify the settings for the portal security group by changing any of the following options:OptionDescriptionGroup NameName of the portal security group.Group DescriptionOptional descriptive text for the portal security group.SiteBSA Role NamePortal Level Permission
Partial permissionsIf a checkbox is not automatically selected, the role you have designated in the BSA Role Name field does not have all the permissions necessary to perform all the capabilities associated with a particular type of operation. You can still select the check box to grant this security group permission to perform the operation, but the security group will be limited by the permissions granted in BMC Server Automation. For example, you may specify a role that has permissions to run Compliance jobs in BMC Server Automation but does not have permissions to run remediation operations when a compliance failure is detected. In this situation, the check box for Compliance is not selected automatically. You should select the check box to grant this portal security group the same set of compliance functionality available in BMC Server Automation. If you do not select the check box, this portal security group cannot run any Compliance operations in the portal.You can view a needed to perform certain types of actions, such as Compliance job execution or patch remediation. The list of permissions are recommendations only. You may discover situations that require additional permissions.Default Depot PathDefault Job PathDeploy Templates - Click Update Group.
Deleting portal security groups
- Click Administration at top right.
The portal displays the Administration page. - Click the Security Groups tab, if it is not already selected.
A list of portal security groups opens. - Select a portal security group and click Delete the current security group
.
A dialog box asks you to confirm the deletion.
Importing predefined roles into BMC Server Automation
You can import predefined roles into BMC Server Automation. Each of these roles has a minimum set of permissions to perform actions. For example, the Compliance role has a minimum set of permissions to run Compliance Jobs.
After importing these roles into BMC Server Automation, you can create security groups based on those roles. Each security group has the minimum permissions for performing a certain type of action. You can view a granted to the roles you are importing, such as Compliance job execution or patch remediation. The list of permissions are BMC recommendations only. You may discover situations that require additional permissions.
To import predefined roles
- Copy the to the server where the BMC Server Automation Application Server is installed. Note the location where you store the JSON file.
- Ensure that the BMC Server Automation Application Server is started.
- On the server where the BMC Server Automation Application Server is installed, open a command line.
- Cd to one of the following locations:
- (Windows): C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\NSH\bin
- (UNIX): /opt/bmc/bladelogic/NSH/bin
- Enter one of the following commands:
- (Windows): blcontent READ_JSON "<location_of_json_file>\portal_roles.json"
- (UNIX): ./blcontent READ_JSON "<location_of_json_file>/portal_roles.json"
The blcontent utility imports predefined roles from the JSON file. You can now import those roles into BladeLogic Portal to create security groups with minimum permissions for performing certain actions.