Setting up access control

In this topic:

What is access control?

Access control allows you to control who has access to the Klocwork Server and projects. Without it, everyone who uses Validate is given Developer level access on all projects. As a security feature, Klocwork only allows the Klocwork administrator to control who will have access to Klocwork. For example, the Klocwork administrator controls which projects a user can access. The person who installed Klocwork is set by default as the Klocwork administrator.

Why use each type of access?

With Klocwork's access control wizard, kwauthconfig, you can set up a control method that suits the type of platform, domain server, and directory your organization uses. You can launch it from your <server_install>/bin directory and it allows you to set up who has access to Klocwork. The choices are:

  • Single sign on: If you use Active Directory on Windows, the single sign-on (SSO) access method allows already logged-in Windows users to log in automatically to Klocwork. To set up SSO, see Setting up single sign-on.
  • LDAP : Your organization's LDAP server can be configured to provide names of individuals and groups for the list of users who can access Klocwork. To set up LDAP access, see Setting up LDAP access control.
  • NIS: Your organization's NIS server can be configured to provide names of individuals and groups for the list of users who can access Klocwork. To set up NIS access, see Setting up NIS access control.
  • Basic: In Basic access, you can create an access list specifically for Klocwork by managing users in Validate. Basic access is typically used for testing purposes, for example when you're upgrading to a new version of Klocwork. This access control method may be convenient in such circumstances, because it has no impact on the enterprise directory, no need for IT involvement, and it's quick to set up and slightly more secure than Open access. To set up Basic access, see Setting up Basic access control.

Launching Klocwork's security utility

The means to launch the Klocwork security utility, kwauthconfig, is different depending on your platform:
  • Windows: Click Start > All Programs > Klocwork 24.1 > Klocwork Security Configuration. Alternatively, from <server_install>/bin, run kwauthconfigw.
  • Other: From <server_install>/bin, run kwauthconfig.

Using a secure Klocwork connection

If you're configuring SSL, you can specify this information in the Klocwork security utility (kwauthconfig) by selecting Use secure Klocwork Server connection. You will have to provide the appropriate SSL details. See Using a secure Klocwork Server connection for more details.