[DOCS] Clarify built-in and internal uses/roles (elastic/x-pack-elasticsearch#1269)

- Describe internal users (_system, _xpack)
- Explain that built-in users are not the same as native users
- More clarification around logstash_system role and kibana_system role.

Closes: elastic/x-pack-elasticsearch#734
Closes: elastic/x-pack-elasticsearch#268
Closes: elastic/x-pack-elasticsearch#1116

Original commit: elastic/x-pack-elasticsearch@2ecbd3419f
This commit is contained in:
Tim Vernum 2017-05-12 15:41:44 +10:00 committed by GitHub
parent 2e34f160ff
commit 441589e21f
2 changed files with 37 additions and 3 deletions

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@ -27,6 +27,21 @@ Please read <<reset-built-in-user-passwords,Reset Built-in User Passwords>> and
| `logstash_system` | The user Logstash uses when storing monitoring information in Elasticsearch.
|========
[float]
[[built-in-user-explanation]]
==== How the Built-in Users Work
These built-in users are stored within a special `.security` index managed by
{security}.
This means that, if the password is changed, or a user is disabled, then that
change is automatically reflected on each node in the cluster. It also means
that if your `.security` index is deleted, or restored from a snapshot, then
any changes you have applied will be lost.
Although they share the same API, the built-in users are separate and distinct
from users managed by the <<native-realm, native realm>>. Disabling the native
realm will not have any effect on the built-in users. The built-in users can
be disabled individually, using the <<security-api-users, user management api>>.
[float]
[[reset-built-in-user-passwords]]
==== Reset Built-in User Passwords
@ -112,6 +127,20 @@ mode until you make this configuration change.
=============================================================================
[float]
[[internal-users]]
=== Internal Users
{security} has two _internal_ users (`_system` and `_xpack`) that are
responsible for the operations that take place inside an Elasticsearch cluster.
These users are only used by requests that originate from within the cluster.
For this reason, they cannot be used to authenticate against the API, and there
is no password to manage or reset.
From time-to-time you may find a reference to one of these users inside your
logs, including <<auditing, audit logs>>.
=== How Authentication Works
Authentication in {security} is handled by one or more authentication services

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@ -68,8 +68,9 @@ must be defined in a separate role.
[[built-in-roles-kibana-system]]
`kibana_system` ::
Grants access necessary for the Kibana system user to read from and write to the
Kibana indices and check the availability of the Elasticsearch cluster.
Grants access necessary for the <<kibana, Kibana system user>>
to read from and write to the Kibana indices and check the availability of the
Elasticsearch cluster.
+
NOTE: This role should not be assigned to users as the granted permissions may
change between releases.
@ -81,10 +82,14 @@ access to the Kibana indices and grants monitoring privileges for the cluster.
[[built-in-roles-logstash-system]]
`logstash_system` ::
Grants access necessary for the Logstash system user to send data to Elasticsearch.
Grants access necessary for the <<ls-monitoring-user, Logstash system user>>
to send system-level data (such as monitoring) to Elasticsearch.
+
NOTE: This role should not be assigned to users as the granted permissions may
change between releases.
+
NOTE: This role does not provide access to the logstash indices and is not
suitable for use within a Logstash pipeline.
[[built-in-roles-ml-admin]]
`machine_learning_admin`::