Hello and welcome to our Getting Started series with Oracle Linux Automation Manager.
In a previous video for this series, we covered why you would use this product.
If you missed it, check out "Getting Started with Oracle Linux Automation Manager."
Now, we'll cover the configuration of users and credentials as a first step in preparing
your system to delegate jobs.
So let's get started.
As a system administrator, you'll eventually want to share the workload.
Initially handing off those mundane and repetitive tasks.
To delegate jobs, the first thing you will need to do is add users.
When adding users, access is broken down into three parts: Users, Organizations, and Teams.
Users can access Oracle Linux Automation Manager with their linked permissions and credentials.
Organizations sit at the top of the role-based pyramid.
They exist as a logical collection of users, teams, projects, and inventories.
Then we have Teams, a subdivision of an organization used to set up role-based schemes to quickly
assign permissions and delegate work across the organization.
Perfectly clear, right?
To make sense of this, let's create a User.
Begin by logging into the user interface using your browser and admin credentials.
After logging in, use the menu on the left to navigate.
Under the ACCESS section, click Users.
The Users page appears and displays a list of all the users.
On a fresh installation, only the admin would exist.
However, this system has been used during testing and training for this series, so our
instance has several other users.
The installation creates a default admin user and gives it the System Administrator user
type.
To add a user, click the green plus button on the right side of the panel.
The New User page displays where you enter the user's details.
For demo purposes, we'll add a user named James Alexander.
Enter the information about James.
Set his username and password.
James will be able to change the password after his initial login to Oracle Linux Automation
Manager.
Lastly, select a User Type.
The default is a Normal User, which can read and write to a limited set of resources determined
by their assigned roles and privileges.
The other choices are System Auditor, with read-only permissions across the instance,
and System Administrator, who has full access to the entire installation.
Given James has just started learning Linux, what type should he be?
If you selected Normal User from the list of values, you choose wisely.
Review the information you entered and click the Save button.
Now, let's create an Organization.
To create an Organization, you must be an admin for the Oracle Linux Automation Manager
instance.
In the navigation pane on the left, under ACCESS, click Organizations.
A summary page displays a listing of Organizations for this installation, including the built-in
Default Organization.
Click the green plus button, and the New Organization page appears.
We'll enter the name OracleDemo and an optional description.
Review the information and click the Save button.
Once saved, the UI displays a details page for the new organization.
From there, you can manage users, permissions, and notifications.
Next are Teams.
Teams help you dispense permissions to projects and inventories as a group rather than individuals
or an entire organization.
Navigate under ACCESS as before and click Teams.
Then click the green plus button.
Give the team the name Training and select the OracleDemo Organization.
Review what you entered and click Save.
Now you can add users and assign permissions as needed.
Good job, you have successfully created the basis for granting your user control.
Speaking of control, let's take a look at using Oracle Linux Automation Manager's role-based
access control (RBAC).
We'll explain how role-based access control delegates what users can and cannot do.
Take Credentials as a primary example.
Oracle Linux Automation Manager defines Credentials as a resource to authenticate against machines,
sync inventory sources, and import playbooks from version control systems such as GitHub.
Each Credential may contain usernames, passwords, private keys, or other security-related information.
Who should have access to this data?
As a default, only System Administrators can modify Credentials.
Then how does a Normal User run a job that contains Credentials?
Using role-based access controls, you can grant permissions to teams, users, and organizations
at a job level.
The jobs use selected credentials behind the scenes, allowing users to run jobs without
the credential information being exposed to the user.
For details on granting permissions, see our video "Setting Permissions in Oracle Linux
Automation Manager."
Beyond restricting access to Credentials through permissions, Oracle Linux Automation Manager
also encrypts passwords and keys once they're added within a Credentials resource.
This additional security measure keeps these items secure and prevents copying them out
of the Oracle Linux Automation Manager instance.
So let's create a Credential.
Navigate as before to Resources, then Credentials.
Click the green plus button, which opens the New Credential page.
Enter MyKeys for the name.
Next, select a type based on its purpose.
I've selected Machine from the list that holds my username, password, ssh private key, and
other security details for my host.
Review and click Save.
We can now apply this Credential to other Oracle Linux Automation Manager resources,
such as projects and job templates.
However, we'll save that for another day and a different video to explore in this series.
Thank you for watching.
For additional information on Oracle Linux Automation Manager, access the Oracle Linux
Documentation or Oracle Linux Learning Library.