Boundary
Vault credential brokering quickstart
This tutorial provides an example of an integration with Vault to broker secrets to Boundary clients.
Background
Boundary integrates with Vault to broker Vault secrets to Boundary clients. Secrets are brokered using the command line or desktop clients to use Boundary sessions.
This feature enables Boundary as a credential broker for infrastructure targets by binding credentials with user sessions, and surfacing those credentials during session initialization.
This tutorial sets up development versions of Vault and Boundary, and then walks through the process of creating Boundary credentials stores and credential libraries for brokering of Vault secrets.
Tutorial Contents
- Deploy a demo database
- Setup Vault
- Setup Boundary
- Broker credentials for the database via Boundary
Prerequisites
A Boundary binary greater than 0.12 in your
PATH
This tutorial assumes that you are able to launch Boundary in dev mode.
A Vault binary greater than 1.7.0 in your
PATH
Docker is installed
A psql binary greater than 13.0 in your
PATH
Installing the Boundary Desktop App provides an optional workflow at the end of this tutorial. The 1.2.0 version or above is required for Vault support.
This tutorial assumes prior foundational knowledge of using Vault, including running a development server and managing policies, roles and tokens.
If you are new to using Vault, consider completing the Getting Started with Vault quick start tutorials before integrating Vault with Boundary.
Tutorial Scenario
Connecting to a networked service often requires credentials for authentication and authorization. For example, a financial analyst might require access to their company's sales database to create a monthly report. When the analyst wants to create the report, they will (hopefully) need database credentials which their reporting tool can use to connect to the sales database and run the report.
In this example, the analyst only needs credentials to the sales database once a month and only for a limited amount of time. If connection to the sales database was through Boundary, the credentials could be generated at the beginning of the session, returned to the analyst, and then revoked when the session is terminated.
This tutorial provides an example of enabling the analyst scenario by setting up a Vault integration with Boundary, and introduces the Boundary resources used for managing credentials.
Get setup
Three pieces must be setup for this tutorial:
- A demo postgres database target
- A Vault server with policies allowing connections from Boundary
- Boundary credential resources for managing credential lifecycle
The learn-boundary-vault-quickstart repository contains the lab environment for this tutorial.
Open a terminal and navigate to a working directory, such as the home directory. Clone down the sample repository containing the starter configuration files.
$ git clone https://github.com/hashicorp-education/learn-boundary-vault-quickstart
Navigate into the learn-boundary-vault-quickstart directory and list its contents.
$ ls -R1
README.md
analyst.sql.hcl
boundary-controller-policy.hcl
dba.sql.hcl
northwind-database-policy.hcl
northwind-database.sql
northwind-roles.sql
The repository contains the following files:
- analyst.sql.hcl: Vault role for generating credentials for the analyst database
- boundary-controller-policy.hcl: Vault policy for the Boundary controller that enables token management
- dba.sql.hcl: Vault role for the database analyst credential generation
- northwind-database-policy.hcl: Vault policy for the demo database admin
- northwind-database.sql: Demo database tables
- northwind-roles.sql: Demo database roles and permissions
Setup PostgreSQL Northwind demo database
Start by deploying the northwind postgres database container target. This will be the target that Boundary brokers credentials for via Vault.
Export the database name and URL as environment variables.
$ export PG_DB="northwind";export PG_URL="postgres://postgres:secret@localhost:16001/${PG_DB}?sslmode=disable"
Now launch the postgres container with Docker, passing the postgres password, database name, and URL port mapping as options.
$ docker run -d \
-e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret \
-e POSTGRES_DB="${PG_DB}" \
--name ${PG_DB} \
-p 16001:5432 \
postgres
Check that the container is running.
$ docker ps --format "table {{.ID}}\t{{.Names}}\t{{.Image}}\t{{.Status}}"
CONTAINER ID NAMES IMAGE STATUS
af573c7093cd northwind postgres Up About a minute
Next, seed the database tables.
$ psql -d $PG_URL -f northwind-database.sql --quiet
Lastly, apply the database roles and permissions.
$ psql -d $PG_URL -f northwind-roles.sql --quiet
This information will be queried at the end of the tutorial after the credentials are successfully brokered via Vault.
Setup Vault
Vault needs to be configured to generate secrets for the database target. To set up Vault you need to:
- Start Vault
- Set up a Boundary controller policy
- Enable the database secrets engine
- Configure the postgres database plugin
- Create a database admin role to generate credentials
- Create an analyst role to generate credentials
Run Vault in dev mode
Export the Vault address and set the token to the default admin user groot
.
$ export VAULT_ADDR="http://127.0.0.1:8200"; export VAULT_TOKEN="groot"
Now start Vault in dev mode, passing in the VAULT_TOKEN
variable.
$ vault server -dev -dev-root-token-id=${VAULT_TOKEN}
==> Vault server configuration:
Api Address: http://127.0.0.1:8200
Cgo: disabled
Cluster Address: https://127.0.0.1:8201
Go Version: go1.16.7
Listener 1: tcp (addr: "127.0.0.1:8200", cluster address: "127.0.0.1:8201", max_request_duration: "1m30s", max_request_size: "33554432", tls: "disabled")
Log Level: info
Mlock: supported: false, enabled: false
Recovery Mode: false
Storage: inmem
Version: Vault v1.8.2
Version Sha: aca76f63357041a43b49f3e8c11d67358496959f
==> Vault server started! Log data will stream in below:
...
...
...
The unseal key and root token are displayed below in case you want to
seal/unseal the Vault or re-authenticate.
Unseal Key: yhEyybUnBCEfxYpuVX1yh6arllBNfufcnfIvR0Q9UpA=
Root Token: groot
Development mode should NOT be used in production installations!
Leave the Vault server running in this terminal, and open a new session to continue setting up Vault.
Note
Ensure that you navigate back into the
learn-boundary-vault-quickstart
directory where the sample code is located
before proceeding.
Create the boundary-controller policy
Boundary needs to lookup, renew, and revoke tokens and leases in order to broker credentials properly.
Examine the boundary-controller-policy.hcl
policy file, which assigns the
following:
- read
auth/token/lookup-self
- update
auth/token/renew-self
- update
auth/token/revoke-self
- update
sys/leases/renew
- update
sys/leases/revoke
- update
sys/capabilities-self
In the new shell session, export the Vault address and token environment variables again.
$ export VAULT_ADDR="http://127.0.0.1:8200"; export VAULT_TOKEN="groot"
Create the boundary-controller
policy.
$ vault policy write boundary-controller boundary-controller-policy.hcl
Success! Uploaded policy: boundary-controller
Configure the database secrets engine
Next, the database secrets engine must be enabled and configured with the postgresql plugin. Then a database admin (DBA) role and analyst role are created to enable credential generation.
Enable the database secrets engine.
$ vault secrets enable database Success! Enabled the database secrets engine at: database/
Configure Vault with the postgres-database-plugin, connection information and allowed roles of dba and analyst:
$ vault write database/config/northwind \ plugin_name=postgresql-database-plugin \ connection_url="postgresql://{{username}}:{{password}}@localhost:16001/postgres?sslmode=disable" \ allowed_roles=dba,analyst \ username="vault" \ password="vault-password"
Create the DBA role that creates credentials with
dba.sql.hcl
:$ vault write database/roles/dba \ db_name=northwind \ creation_statements=@dba.sql.hcl \ default_ttl=3m \ max_ttl=60m
Request the DBA credentials from Vault to confirm.
$ vault read database/creds/dba Key Value --- ----- lease_id database/creds/dba/mLuQEYJGTQbycgIDRe5Uig0G lease_duration 3m lease_renewable true password 0WDx5u6wSI5GE-RVT6LO username v-token-dba-nyI68lAMnqyqS2JdBhAp-1624918829
Create the analyst role that creates credentials with
analyst.sql.hcl
:$ vault write database/roles/analyst \ db_name=northwind \ creation_statements=@analyst.sql.hcl \ default_ttl=3m \ max_ttl=60m
Request the analyst credentials from Vault to confirm.
$ vault read database/creds/analyst Key Value --- ----- lease_id database/creds/analyst/VBTw3MLVq8UYWXHaNBBpYzax lease_duration 3m lease_renewable true password ZYjokywhm6U-0e01mrdA username v-token-analyst-CFmmvAtFKpkg5PcHP7Ni-1624918869
Create northwind-database policy
A policy needs to be created that grants read access for both the DBA and analyst roles.
Examine the northwind-database-policy.hcl
policy file, which assigns the
following:
- read
database/creds/analyst
- read
database/creds/dba
$ vault policy write northwind-database northwind-database-policy.hcl
Success! Uploaded policy: northwind-database
Create Vault token for Boundary
Lastly, a Vault token is needed to access the Boundary credential store that will be configured when setting up Boundary.
It's very important that the token is:
- periodic
- orphan
- renewable
Boundary may not be able to broker credentials unless the Vault token has these properties.
Create the token with the boundary-controller
and northwind-database
policies.
$ vault token create \
-no-default-policy=true \
-policy="boundary-controller" \
-policy="northwind-database" \
-orphan=true \
-period=20m \
-renewable=true
Example output:
Key Value
--- -----
token s.B2X1XMd0Y78yHoUcEV4zNTQ1
token_accessor djb0YsXztZoAYDUEcEqR0GT2
token_duration 20m
token_renewable true
token_policies ["boundary-controller" "northwind-database"]
identity_policies []
policies ["boundary-controller" "northwind-database"]
Note
Copy and store the generated token for setting up Boundary later
on. In this example the token value is s.B2X1XMd0Y78yHoUcEV4zNTQ1
.
Setup Boundary
Start Boundary in dev mode.
$ boundary dev
==> Boundary server configuration:
[Controller] AEAD Key Bytes: nI6pdy5GbZZg02jvFw9SUodRwdap3+r1/lWk9umgvhA=
[Recovery] AEAD Key Bytes: twFJE7UkqgD9xGlK3kENafxIvD6OTYNhUyh75HI2VNU=
[Worker-Auth] AEAD Key Bytes: t0iRAbP+S3/rNLxi9bxcn2DipcisaM00I308U5B1LGY=
[Recovery] AEAD Type: aes-gcm
[Root] AEAD Type: aes-gcm
[Worker-Auth] AEAD Type: aes-gcm
Cgo: disabled
Controller Public Cluster Addr: 127.0.0.1:9201
Dev Database Container: quirky_bell
Dev Database Url: postgres://postgres:password@localhost:55009/boundary?sslmode=disable
Generated Admin Login Name: admin
Generated Admin Password: password
Generated Host Catalog Id: hcst_1234567890
Generated Host Id: hst_1234567890
Generated Host Set Id: hsst_1234567890
Generated Oidc Auth Method Id: amoidc_1234567890
Generated Org Scope Id: o_1234567890
Generated Password Auth Method Id: ampw_1234567890
Generated Project Scope Id: p_1234567890
Generated Target Id: ttcp_1234567890
Generated Unprivileged Login Name: user
Generated Unprivileged Password: password
Listener 1: tcp (addr: "127.0.0.1:9200", cors_allowed_headers: "[]", cors_allowed_origins: "[*]", cors_enabled: "true", max_request_duration: "1m30s", purpose: "api")
Listener 2: tcp (addr: "127.0.0.1:9201", max_request_duration: "1m30s", purpose: "cluster")
Listener 3: tcp (addr: "127.0.0.1:9202", max_request_duration: "1m30s", purpose: "proxy")
Log Level: info
Mlock: supported: false, enabled: false
Version: Boundary v0.12
Version Sha: 5f88243ddc6182db9c71ba84fd401040de4f5d41
Worker Public Proxy Addr: 127.0.0.1:9202
==> Boundary server started! Log data will stream in below:
Leave Boundary running in this terminal session, and open a new one to continue the tutorial.
Authenticate to Boundary as the admin user.
$ boundary authenticate password \
-auth-method-id=ampw_1234567890 \
-login-name=admin
Configure database target
Two targets need to be created in Boundary's default project scope, one for the DBA and another for the analyst. The default host set will then be assigned to both targets.
Create a target for the DBA
$ boundary targets create tcp \ -scope-id "p_1234567890" \ -default-port=16001 \ -session-connection-limit=-1 \ -name "Northwind DBA Database"
Example output:
Target information: Created Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:33:36 MDT ID: ttcp_2A3gcglw61 Name: Northwind DBA Database Session Connection Limit: -1 Session Max Seconds: 28800 Type: tcp Updated Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:33:36 MDT Version: 1 Scope: ID: p_1234567890 Name: Generated project scope Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890 Type: project Authorized Actions: no-op read update delete add-credential-libraries set-credential-libraries remove-credential-libraries authorize-session Attributes: Default Port: 16001
Export the DBA target ID as an environment variable. In this example, the target ID is
ttcp_2A3gcglw61
.$ export DBA_TARGET_ID="ttcp_2A3gcglw61"
Create a target for analyst
$ boundary targets create tcp \ -scope-id "p_1234567890" \ -default-port=16001 \ -session-connection-limit=-1 \ -name "Northwind Analyst Database"
Example output:
Target information: Created Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:34:41 MDT ID: ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE Name: Northwind Analyst Database Session Connection Limit: -1 Session Max Seconds: 28800 Type: tcp Updated Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:34:41 MDT Version: 1 Scope: ID: p_1234567890 Name: Generated project scope Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890 Type: project Authorized Actions: no-op read update delete add-credential-libraries set-credential-libraries remove-credential-libraries authorize-session Attributes: Default Port: 16001
Export the analyst target ID as an environment variable. In this example, the target ID is
ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE
.$ export ANALYST_TARGET_ID="ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE"
Add the default host set to both targets. Ensure you supply the target IDs copied previously.
Add host set to the DBA target:
$ boundary targets add-host-sources -host-source=hsst_1234567890 -id=$DBA_TARGET_ID Target information: Created Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:33:36 MDT ID: ttcp_2A3gcglw61 Name: Northwind DBA Database Session Connection Limit: -1 Session Max Seconds: 28800 Type: tcp Updated Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:38:22 MDT Version: 2 Scope: ID: p_1234567890 Name: Generated project scope Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890 Type: project Authorized Actions: no-op read update delete add-credential-libraries set-credential-libraries remove-credential-libraries authorize-session Host Sets: Host Catalog ID: hcst_1234567890 ID: hsst_1234567890 Attributes: Default Port: 16001
Add host set to the analyst target:
$ boundary targets add-host-sources -host-source=hsst_1234567890 -id=$ANALYST_TARGET_ID Target information: Created Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:34:41 MDT ID: ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE Name: Northwind Analyst Database Session Connection Limit: -1 Session Max Seconds: 28800 Type: tcp Updated Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:40:00 MDT Version: 2 Scope: ID: p_1234567890 Name: Generated project scope Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890 Type: project Authorized Actions: no-op read update delete add-credential-libraries set-credential-libraries remove-credential-libraries authorize-session Host Sets: Host Catalog ID: hcst_1234567890 ID: hsst_1234567890 Attributes: Default Port: 16001
Test connection to the sample database
Verify that Boundary can connect to the database target directly, without having a credential brokered from Vault. This is to ensure the target container is accessible to Boundary before attempting to broker credentials via Vault.
Authenticate to Boundary as the admin user.
$ boundary authenticate password \
-auth-method-id=ampw_1234567890 \
-login-name=admin
Execute boundary connect postgres
to verify the connection to the analyst
target. When prompted, enter the password secret
to connect.
$ boundary connect postgres -target-id $ANALYST_TARGET_ID -username postgres
Password for user postgres:
psql (13.2)
Type "help" for help.
postgres=#
Note
If you followed the Admin Console workflow and did not export the
ANALYST_TARGET_ID
environment variable, supply it directly instead. In this
example the analyst target ID is ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE
.
After successfully testing the connection, terminate the session by executing
\q
.
If unable to connect to the target, revisit the section on deploying the demo database at the beginning of the tutorial, and ensure the instance was configured properly.
Credential stores
A credential store belongs to a scope and must support the principle of least privilege by providing mechanisms to limit the credentials it can access to the minimum necessary for the scope it is in.
A credential store:
- is a Boundary resource
- belongs to one and only one scope
- owns zero or more credentials
- owns zero or more credential libraries
- is deleted when the scope it belongs to is deleted
In this example the credential store is created to manage HashiCorp Vault secrets. Configuring a Vault credential store requires:
- A Vault token with appropriate permissions to allow Boundary to access Vault secrets
- One or more credential libraries and credentials that specify the paths where Boundary should access Vault credentials
Create vault credential store
Create a credential store resource in the default project scope. Supply the token created when setting up Vault.
$ boundary credential-stores create vault -scope-id "p_1234567890" \
-vault-address "http://127.0.0.1:8200" \
-vault-token "${VAULT_BOUNDARY_TOKEN}"
Example output:
$ boundary credential-stores create vault -scope-id "p_1234567890" \
-vault-address "http://127.0.0.1:8200" \
-vault-token "s.NL1Az6rTsCRxMTmPRnDgpN7i"
Credential Store information:
Created Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:44:38 MDT
ID: csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r
Type: vault
Updated Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:44:38 MDT
Version: 1
Scope:
ID: p_1234567890
Name: Generated project scope
Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890
Type: project
Authorized Actions:
no-op
read
update
delete
Attributes:
Address: http://127.0.0.1:8200
Token HMAC: xMJIrVWRISWvS2_d2jGpB-lKgrUKXxpNyDK_T9Ig618
Export the credential store ID as an environment variable. In this example, the
target ID is csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r
.
$ export CRED_STORE_ID="csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r"
Credential libraries
A credential library provides credentials for sessions. All credentials returned by a library must be equivalent from an access control perspective. A credential library is responsible for managing the lifecycle of the credentials it returns. For dynamic secrets, this includes creation, renewal, and revocation. For rotating credentials, this includes check-out, check-in, and rotation of secrets. The system retrieves credentials from a library for a session and notifies the library when the session has been terminated. A credential library belongs to a single credential store.
Vault credential libraries are the Boundary resource that maps to Vault secrets engines. A single credential store may have multiple types of credential libraries. For example, Vault credential store might include separate credential libraries corresponding to each of the Vault secret engine backends.
A credential library:
- is a Boundary resource
- belongs to one and only one credential store
- can be associated with zero or more targets
- can contain zero or more credentials
- is deleted when the credential store it belongs to is deleted
Create credential libraries
While there is only a single database target, two separate credential libraries should be created for the DBA and analyst roles within the credential store.
The DBA credential library is responsible for brokering credentials at the
database/creds/dba
vault path, while the analyst credential library brokers
credentials at database/creds/analyst
. Using two credential libraries allows
for separation of privileges, and enables distinct lifecycle management for the
different database roles.
Create a credential library for DBA credentials. Supply the credential store ID from above.
$ boundary credential-libraries create vault-generic \ -credential-store-id $CRED_STORE_ID \ -vault-path "database/creds/dba" \ -name "northwind dba"
Example output:
$ boundary credential-libraries create vault-generic \ -credential-store-id csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r \ -vault-path "database/creds/dba" \ -name "northwind dba" Credential Library information: Created Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:52:50 MDT Credential Store ID: csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r ID: clvlt_G20RCg2y2x Name: northwind dba Type: vault Updated Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:52:50 MDT Version: 1 Scope: ID: p_1234567890 Name: Generated project scope Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890 Type: project Authorized Actions: no-op read update delete Attributes: HTTP Method: GET Path: database/creds/dba
Export the DBA credential library ID. In this example the DBA credential library ID is
clvlt_G20RCg2y2x
.$ export DBA_CRED_LIB_ID="clvlt_G20RCg2y2x"
Create a credential library for analyst credentials. Supply the credential store ID from above.
$ boundary credential-libraries create vault-generic \ -credential-store-id $CRED_STORE_ID \ -vault-path "database/creds/analyst" \ -name "northwind analyst"
Example output:
$ boundary credential-libraries create vault-generic \ -credential-store-id csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r \ -vault-path "database/creds/analyst" \ -name "northwind analyst" Credential Library information: Created Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:55:16 MDT Credential Store ID: csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r ID: clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm Name: northwind analyst Type: vault Updated Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:55:16 MDT Version: 1 Scope: ID: p_1234567890 Name: Generated project scope Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890 Type: project Authorized Actions: no-op read update delete Attributes: HTTP Method: GET Path: database/creds/analyst
Export the analyst credential library ID. In this example the analyst credential library ID is
clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm
.$ export ANALYST_CRED_LIB_ID="clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm"
Credentials and targets
A credential is a data structure containing one or more secrets that binds an identity to a set of permissions or capabilities. Static credential and dynamic credential are two additional base types derived from the credential base type.
A credential:
- may be a Boundary resource
- belongs to one and only one credential store
- can be associated with zero or more targets directly if it is a resource
- can be associated with zero or more libraries directly if it is a resource
- is deleted when the credential store or credential library it belongs to is deleted
A target can have multiple credentials or credential libraries associated with it:
- one for the connection from a user to a worker (ingress)
- one for the connection from a worker to an endpoint (egress)
- multiple for application credentials (like username and password)
Application credentials are returned to the user from the controller. Ingress and egress credentials are only given to a worker from a controller, and users never have direct access to them.
Add credential libraries to targets
With the credential libraries created, assign them to the appropriate targets. You will need the target ID and credential library ID for the respective targets.
Add a credential library to the DBA target. Ensure that you provide the correct target ID and credential library ID associated with the DBA.
$ boundary targets add-credential-sources \ -id=$DBA_TARGET_ID \ -application-credential-source=$DBA_CRED_LIB_ID
Example output:
$ boundary targets add-credential-sources \ -id=ttcp_2A3gcglw61 \ -application-credential-source=clvlt_G20RCg2y2x Target information: Created Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:33:36 MDT ID: ttcp_2A3gcglw61 Name: Northwind DBA Database Session Connection Limit: -1 Session Max Seconds: 28800 Type: tcp Updated Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 17:02:46 MDT Version: 3 Scope: ID: p_1234567890 Name: Generated project scope Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890 Type: project Authorized Actions: no-op read update delete add-credential-libraries set-credential-libraries remove-credential-libraries authorize-session Host Sets: Host Catalog ID: hcst_1234567890 ID: hsst_1234567890 Application Credential Libraries: Credential Store ID: csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r ID: clvlt_G20RCg2y2x Attributes: Default Port: 16001
Add a credential library to the analyst target. Ensure that you provide the correct target ID and credential library ID associated with the analyst.
$ boundary targets add-credential-sources \ -id=$ANALYST_TARGET_ID \ -application-credential-source=$ANALYST_CRED_LIB_ID
Example output:
$ boundary targets add-credential-sources \ -id=ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE \ -application-credential-source=clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm Target information: Created Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:34:41 MDT ID: ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE Name: Northwind Analyst Database Session Connection Limit: -1 Session Max Seconds: 28800 Type: tcp Updated Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 17:04:45 MDT Version: 3 Scope: ID: p_1234567890 Name: Generated project scope Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890 Type: project Authorized Actions: no-op read update delete add-credential-libraries set-credential-libraries remove-credential-libraries authorize-session Host Sets: Host Catalog ID: hcst_1234567890 ID: hsst_1234567890 Application Credential Libraries: Credential Store ID: csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r ID: clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm Attributes: Default Port: 16001
Broker credentials via Vault
With their respective credential libraries assigned added to the targets, sessions can be authorized using credentials brokered by Vault.
Use Boundary to connect to the northwind demo database
A session can be authorized directly using the boundary targets
authorize-session
command.
Authorize a session to the analyst target, supplying its target ID.
Note
If you followed the Admin Console workflow and did not export the
ANALYST_TARGET_ID
environment variable, supply it directly instead. In this
example the analyst target ID is ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE
.
$ boundary targets authorize-session -id $ANALYST_TARGET_ID
Target information:
Authorization Token:
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
Created Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 17:07:37 MDT
Endpoint: tcp://localhost:16001
Host ID: hst_1234567890
Scope ID: p_1234567890
Session ID: s_SJQMxQSxTu
Target ID: ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE
Type: tcp
User ID: u_1234567890
Credentials:
Credential Store ID: csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r
Credential Library ID: clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm
Credential Library Type: vault
Credential Library Name: northwind analyst
Secret:
{
"password": "TxNG8yqgN-kgAoOyIx6t",
"username": "v-token-analyst-dca8kVx4Ipjd93dyIoIn-1624921657"
}
Notice the Credentials:
section of the output, which displays the base64 credentials.
If desired, jq
can be used to parse the output and display the decoded credentials.
$ boundary targets authorize-session -id $ANALYST_TARGET_ID -format json | jq .
{
"status_code": 200,
"decoded_credentials": [
{
"credential_library": {
"id": "clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm",
"name": "northwind analyst",
"credential_store_id": "csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r",
"type": "vault"
},
"secret": {
"password": "-Z5g06pzUZ2aY-jltA0R",
"username": "v-token-analyst-1ee37SuBH6J92Ex6RDRp-1624921756"
}
}
],
"item": {
"session_id": "s_cEBfUD8D9X",
"target_id": "ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE",
"scope": {
"id": "p_1234567890",
"type": "project",
"name": "Generated project scope",
"description": "Provides an initial project scope in Boundary",
"parent_scope_id": "o_1234567890"
},
"created_time": "2021-06-28T23:09:16.882279Z",
"user_id": "u_1234567890",
"host_set_id": "hsst_1234567890",
"host_id": "hst_1234567890",
"type": "tcp",
"authorization_token": "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",
"endpoint": "tcp://localhost:16001",
"credentials": [
{
"credential_library": {
"id": "clvlt_5A8xDDWpIm",
"name": "northwind analyst",
"credential_store_id": "csvlt_ytzGHsfp3r",
"type": "vault"
},
"secret": "eyJwYXNzd29yZCI6Ii1aNWcwNnB6VVoyYVktamx0QTBSIiwidXNlcm5hbWUiOiJ2LXRva2VuLWFuYWx5c3QtMWVlMzdTdUJINko5MkV4NlJEUnAtMTYyNDkyMTc1NiJ9"
}
]
}
}
The decoded_credentials
key displays the credentials without the base64
encryption.
Next, establish a connection to the analyst target using the boundary connect
postgres
command. This will automatically pass the brokered credentials for the
target and establish a psql session to the northwind database.
$ boundary connect postgres -target-id ttcp_1r9XGCXdwE -dbname northwind
psql (13.2)
Type "help" for help.
northwind=>
A psql connection to the northwind database should open. Query the available schema.
$ \d
List of relations
Schema | Name | Type | Owner
--------+------------------------+-------+----------
public | categories | table | postgres
public | customer_customer_demo | table | postgres
public | customer_demographics | table | postgres
public | customers | table | postgres
public | employee_territories | table | postgres
public | employees | table | postgres
public | order_details | table | postgres
public | orders | table | postgres
public | products | table | postgres
public | region | table | postgres
public | shippers | table | postgres
public | suppliers | table | postgres
public | territories | table | postgres
public | us_states | table | postgres
(14 rows)
When finished, run \q
to close the connection.
Check the controller spool in the terminal where boundary dev
was executed.
[INFO] controller.worker-handler: session activated: session_id=s_ikEN6aEiab target_id=ttcp_xA6k6Di332 user_id=u_1234567890 host_set_id=hsst_1234567890 host_id=hst_1234567890
[INFO] controller.worker-handler: authorized connection: session_id=s_ikEN6aEiab connection_id=sc_O7EfwnWOoc connections_left=-1
[INFO] controller.worker-handler: connection established: session_id=s_ikEN6aEiab connection_id=sc_O7EfwnWOoc client_tcp_address=127.0.0.1 client_tcp_port=62496 endpoint_tcp_address=::1 endpoint_tcp_port=16001
[INFO] controller.worker-handler: connection closed: connection_id=sc_O7EfwnWOoc
[INFO] controller: terminating completed sessions successful: sessions_terminated=1
Notice the session authorization, connection, and termination logs. Connections can also be monitored using the Admin Console or the Boundary Desktop app in the Sessions tab in the Generated project scope.
Connect using the Desktop App
Credentials can also be brokered using the Boundary Desktop App.
Launch the Desktop app and authenticate to dev mode at http://127.0.0.1:9200
using the credentials admin
and password
.
Navigate to the Targets view, locate the Northwind Analyst Database target and click Connect.
The credentials can be copied directly from this view. Depending on the target type other credentials may be available, such as the certificate and private key. The Desktop App's connect interface can be used instead of generating the credentials on the command-line.
The password, username and raw API output can also be displayed within the UI.
Cleanup and teardown
Locate the terminal session used to start the
boundary dev
command, and executectrl+c
to stop Boundary.Locate the terminal session used to start the
vault server
command, and executectrl+c
to stop Vault.Unset the environment variables used in any active terminal windows for this tutorial.
$ unset VAULT_ADDR; unset VAULT_TOKEN
Destroy the northwind postgres container created for the tutorial.
$ docker rm -f northwind
Check your work with a quick docker ps
and ensure there are no more postgres
containers from the tutorial leftover. If unexpected containers still exist,
execute docker rm -f <CONTAINER_ID>
against each to remove them.