code: 9ferno

ref: 83246e296ea433b65b9d295b5e08fedd39ff1ab7
dir: /man/8/getauthinfo/

View raw version
.TH GETAUTHINFO 8
.SH NAME
getauthinfo \- obtain a certificate for authentication
.SH SYNOPSIS
.BI getauthinfo " keyname"
.PP
.B wm/getauthinfo
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I Getauthinfo
makes contact with
.IR logind (8)
on a `signer', or certifying authority, with which the user
has previously been registered using
.IR changelogin (8),
to obtain a certificate that
can later be presented to other Inferno services to authenticate the user.
If
.I keyname
starts with a `/', the certificate is stored there; otherwise, it is stored in the file
.BI /usr/ user /keyring/ keyname,
where
.I user
is the name in
.B /dev/user
(see
.IR cons (3)).
The directory
.BI /usr/ user /keyring
must exist.
.PP
The user is prompted for the following:
.TP
signer
The name of the signing server, for example
.BR signer.froop.com .
The default is the default signer for the site:
the value of
.B SIGNER
in the local network configuration database
(see
.IR ndb (6)).
.TP
remote user name
The name of the user for whom a certificate is to be obtained. The default is the current user name in
.BR /dev/user .
.TP
password
The user's password. The password entered on the client must match the password
previously stored on the server using
.IR changelogin (8),
or a certificate will be refused.
.TP
save in file?
The default is `no'. If the user responds `yes', the certificate is written directly to the file.
Otherwise,
.I getauthinfo
becomes a file server, serving
a secure temporary file bound over
the file name above (because that is where applications look for it).
The temporary will disappear if the name is unmounted, or Inferno is rebooted.
.PP
Note that the certificate will expire at or before expiry of the password entry
on the signer.
.PP
The signer needs its own key to endorse the certificates that it gives to clients.
If a user requests a certificate with
.IR getauthinfo (8)
before the signer's key is created on the signer (eg,
using
.IR createsignerkey (8)),
then the request will be rejected with a suitable diagnostic
by
.IR logind (8).
.SS "File servers"
.PP
Machines that will be file servers must obtain a certificate and save the certificate in a key file named
.BR default ,
thus:
.IP
.B "getauthinfo default"
.PP
The user invoking
.I getauthinfo
must be the same user who later runs
.IR svc (8)
to start the machine's services.
.SS "File server clients"
Machines that wish to be authenticated clients of file servers must obtain a certificate and store the certificate in a file named
.IB net ! machine.
The file name must match exactly the
server address given to
.I mount
(see
.IR bind (1)).
To set the key, use
.IP
.BI getauthinfo " net" ! host
.SS Window system interface
.I Getauthinfo
has a visual counterpart
.B wm/getauthinfo
for use under
.IR wm (1).
It takes no arguments.
It displays a window prompting for all the information it needs,
and offering apparently sensible defaults.
Apart from the different interface, its function is otherwise
the same as the command line version.
.SH FILES
.TF /usr/username/keyring/net!machine
.TP
.BI /usr/ user /keyring/ net ! machine
where a certificate is stored on a client machine
.TP
.BI /usr/ user /keyring/default
where a certificate is stored on a file server
.TP
.B /lib/ndb/local
contains the default host name of the signer
.SH SOURCE
.B /appl/cmd/getauthinfo.b
.br
.B /appl/wm/getauthinfo.b
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.IR bind (1),
.IR changelogin (8),
.IR createsignerkey (8)