Legacy MyProxy Authentication

The legacy MyProxy authentication method exchanges end-user credentials for special, time-limited credentials that Globus uses to perform transfer-related activities on the user’s behalf.

Here is how legacy MyProxy authentication works:

1. The end user chooses to use your Globus Connect Server endpoint.

2. Globus asks the end user for their username and password.

3. Globus establishes a secure connection with the MyProxy service running on your endpoint, and sends you the username and password provided.

4. MyProxy validates the credentials. If valid, a short-lived client certificate & private key are generated, and sent back to Globus.

Legacy MyProxy is the least-preferred authentication method because, for it to work, the user must give Globus their local username and password.

When Globus communicates with your endpoint, it uses the client cert issued by MyProxy, which contains the end user’s local username. That is how your endpoint knows who is using Globus.

Globus Configuration

To use legacy MyProxy authentication, you will be making additions to the globus-connect-server.conf file that you first filled in during initial configuration.

Here is the content which needs to be added to the globus-connect-server.conf file:

Each of the sections will now be discussed in detail. If you do not need this explanation, you can skip ahead.

Security

The Security section is very simple:

[Security]
FetchCredentialFromRelay = True
IdentityMethod = MyProxy

IdentityMethod tells globus-connect-server-setup to configure MyProxy. The explanation for FetchCredentialFromRelay is a little more complicated.

TLS is used to secure the communications between Globus and your endpoint. With TLS, the server side must have a private key and certificate (if you run a web site, you are probably aware of this already). Since Globus is initiating connections to your endpoint, your endpoint needs a private key and certificate. The FetchCredentialsFromRelay setting tells globus-connect-server-setup to fetch a key and certificate from Globus, which will be used for all future connections from Globus.

MyProxy

The MyProxy section is also simple, with two options that can be changed (although that is not normally required):

[MyProxy]
Server = %(HOSTNAME)s
;;ServerBehindNAT = True

Server and ServerBehindNAT influence how globus-connect-server-setup configures your endpoint.

Normally, your system’s hostname should match what is in Public DNS. But, in some cases (such as when you are behind a NAT), that is not the case. When your hostname does not match what is in Public DNS, you need to set Server to your name in public DNS, and set ServerBehindNAT to True. That will force globus-connect-server-setup to configure MyProxy with the settings you specify.

Once globus-connect-server.conf has been completed, it is now time to run globus-connect-server-setup!

Run Setup

You should now run the globus-connect-server-setup command. When you run this command, you will be asked for your Globus ID’s password. Once that is provided, setup will commence.

Here is an example of the output from a successful run of globus-connect-server-setup:

Password:
Configured MyProxy server on sci-nfs-1.stanford.edu:7512
CA DN: /O=Globus Connect Server/CN=sci-nfs-1.stanford.edu
Configured GridFTP server to run on sci-nfs-1.stanford.edu
Server DN: /C=US/O=Globus Consortium/OU=Globus Connect Service/CN=3af50398-3961-11e8-b98d-0ac6873fc732
Using Authentication Method MyProxy
Configured Endpoint quake-sci-nfs-1

globus-connect-server-setup is performing these steps:

1. Checking for newer versions of Globus Connect Server.

2. Enabling the myproxy-server and globus-gridftp-server services, and performing basic configuration for both services.

3. Creating a local certificate authority, which MyProxy will use to issue client certs.

4. Requesting a server certificate and private key from Globus, which MyProxy and GridFTP will use when accepting connections from Globus.

If configuration was successful, the “Configured endpoint” message will be printed. At this point, services have been started and are ready for use!

Now that Globus Connect Server (or, more specifically, MyProxy and GridFTP) is (are) up and running, you should finish configuration.