Defining a list of users

An openDAQ server instance can accept an AuthenticationProvider object, which is responsible for providing a list of all users who can connect to the device. For each user, we need to provide a username, password, and the list of groups that the user belongs to. By default, every user is a member of the group everyone. Additional groups can be assigned to users as needed. The AuthenticationProvider also accepts a flag that indicates whether anonymous authentication is enabled. If anonymous authentication is enabled, it is possible to connect to a device without a username or password. Anonymous users are automatically members of the group everyone.

In the example below, we create a server device and define two users who can access it. User opendaq can log in with password opendaq123 and is a member of the group everyone. User root can log in using password root123 and is a member of 2 groups: everyone and admin. We also enable anonymous authentication, allowing users to connect to our device without providing a username or password.

Creating a server device with authentication provider

Cpp
Python
C#

#include <opendaq/opendaq.h>
#include <coreobjects/authentication_provider_factory.h>
#include <coreobjects/user_factory.h>
#include <iostream>

using namespace daq;

int main(int /*argc*/, const char* /*argv*/[])
{
    auto users = List<IUser>();
    users.pushBack(User("opendaq", "opendaq123"));
    users.pushBack(User("root", "root123", {"admin"}));
    const AuthenticationProviderPtr authenticationProvider = StaticAuthenticationProvider(true, users);

    const InstanceBuilderPtr instanceBuilder = InstanceBuilder().setAuthenticationProvider(authenticationProvider);

    const InstancePtr instance = InstanceFromBuilder(instanceBuilder);
    instance.addStandardServers();

    std::cin.get();
    return 0;
}

import opendaq

users = []
users.append(opendaq.User("opendaq", "opendaq123", []))
users.append(opendaq.User("root", "root123", ["admin"]))
auth_provider = opendaq.StaticAuthenticationProvider(True, users)

builder = opendaq.InstanceBuilder()
builder.authentication_provider = auth_provider
instance = opendaq.InstanceFromBuilder(builder)

input("Press enter to quit ...")

var users = CoreTypesFactory.CreateList<BaseObject>();
users.Add(OpenDAQFactory.User("opendaq", "opendaq123"));
users.Add(OpenDAQFactory.User("root", "root123", new List<string>{ "admin" }));

var authenticationProvider = CoreObjectsFactory.CreateStaticAuthenticationProvider(true, users);

var builder = OpenDAQFactory.CreateInstanceBuilder();
builder.AuthenticationProvider = authenticationProvider;

var instance = builder.Build();
instance.AddStandardServers();

Console.ReadLine();

Hashing the passwords

In the first example, we defined user passwords in plain text. To prevent malicious actors with access to the user database from gaining access to credentials, openDAQ provides an option to hash the passwords using the Bcrypt algorithm. Bcrypt is a password hashing algorithm designed to securely store passwords. It incorporates a salt to protect against rainbow table attacks and includes an adjustable work factor that can be tuned to make brute-force attacks less effective.

We can replace the plain text passwords from the first example with their hashed versions. Password hash can be generated using one of many Bcrypt generators available online. Whenever possible, it is recommended to store passwords in a hashed format for improved security.

Hashing the passwords

Cpp
Python
C#

auto users = List<IUser>();
users.pushBack(User("opendaq", "$2a$12$MmSt1b9YEHB5SpLNyikiD.37NvN23UA7zLH6Y98ob5HF0OsKH0IuO"));
users.pushBack(User("root", "$2a$12$ceV7Q2j.vZcuz05hy1EkC.GHH8PIrv0D5wz7iLH9twsyumgZ4tGI2", {"admin"}));
const AuthenticationProviderPtr authenticationProvider = StaticAuthenticationProvider(true, users);

users = []
users.append(opendaq.User("opendaq", "$2a$12$MmSt1b9YEHB5SpLNyikiD.37NvN23UA7zLH6Y98ob5HF0OsKH0IuO", []))
users.append(opendaq.User("root", "$2a$12$ceV7Q2j.vZcuz05hy1EkC.GHH8PIrv0D5wz7iLH9twsyumgZ4tGI2", ["admin"]))
auth_provider = opendaq.StaticAuthenticationProvider(True, users)

var users = CoreTypesFactory.CreateList<BaseObject>();
users.Add(OpenDAQFactory.User("opendaq", "$2a$12$MmSt1b9YEHB5SpLNyikiD.37NvN23UA7zLH6Y98ob5HF0OsKH0IuO"));
users.Add(OpenDAQFactory.User("root", "$2a$12$ceV7Q2j.vZcuz05hy1EkC.GHH8PIrv0D5wz7iLH9twsyumgZ4tGI2", new List<string> { "admin" }));
var authenticationProvider = CoreObjectsFactory.CreateStaticAuthenticationProvider(true, users);