Managing Apache Kudu SecurityPDF version

Kudu authentication with Kerberos

You can configure authentication on Kudu servers. Authentication in Kudu is designed to interoperate with other secure Hadoop components by utilizing Kerberos.

The --rpc_authentication flag is used to configure authentication on Kudu servers. In a Cloudera Manager managed cluster that flag is configured using the Enable Secure Authentication And Encryption property. This property can have the following values:
  • Optional: Kudu will attempt to use strong authentication, but will allow unauthenticated connections. The connection between servers will be encrypted. This is the default value which is indicated by a clear checkbox.
  • Required: Kudu will reject connections from clients and servers who lack authentication credentials. If you want to secure your cluster you have to set the --rpc_authentication flag to this value, meaning that you have to select the Enable Secure Authentication And Encryption property.