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Whitepaper

Overview

Introduction to iDRAC Delegated Authorization

This white paper provides an overview of iDRAC Delegated Authorization. It

explains Delegated Authorization and how it addresses the limitations with the

current iDRAC web-based authorization architecture. It provides a solution

overview and briefly describes the OAuth 2.0 authorization framework along with

some key terminology from the perspective of an iDRAC.

May 2021

Summary of content (6 pages)

PAGE 1
Whitepaper Overview Introduction to iDRAC Delegated Authorization This white paper provides an overview of iDRAC Delegated Authorization. It explains Delegated Authorization and how it addresses the limitations with the current iDRAC web-based authorization architecture. It provides a solution overview and briefly describes the OAuth 2.0 authorization framework along with some key terminology from the perspective of an iDRAC. May 2021 ID-463 © 2021 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.
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Table of contents Introduction to Delegated Authorization .................................................................................................................................. 3 Limitations with the legacy architecture .................................................................................................................................. 3 Key terms for Delegated Authorization .............................................................................................................
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Introduction to Delegated Authorization Delegated Authorization is a way to access REST APIs in a modern secure manner. It is an important concept in modern HTTP APIs, with one of the most popular implementations being the IETF standard for OAuth 2.0 (RFC 6749). OAuth 2.0 is an industry-standard for handling web-based authorization and offers excellent solutions to get HTTP services to interoperate in an elegant and secure way.
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. Maintain and enhance authentication modules to comply with the latest security standards through application of patches etc. Key terms for Delegated Authorization Starting iDRAC version 4.20.20.00, iDRAC introduces support for Delegated Authorization. To configure iDRAC for Delegated Authorization, an iDRAC admin needs to understand certain key OAuth 2.0 terminology. Initially, this terminology can be difficult to grasp. To simplify things, this section briefly describes various key OAuth 2.
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So, with Delegated Authorization a User (“Resource Owner”) delegates access to the resources a user owns to a designated client application, without enabling the client application to impersonate the user. This means that an iDRAC user may enable a third-party client application to invoke the iDRAC web API on users’ behalf without users having to share their username and password with the client application.
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Summary/Conclusion Delegated Authorization greatly simplifies user account set up and access management. A centralized user management system eliminates password propagation and using short-lived tokens, the need to share credentials. No longer are usernames and passwords passed to client applications or even the iDRAC. Additionally, it provides users’ options to revoke client access as per users’ needs. Once Delegated Auth is configured, iDRAC API access is seamless using access token.