Integrating Grafana with external authentication providers - Grafana Tutorial

Welcome to this tutorial on integrating Grafana with external authentication providers. By integrating Grafana with external authentication systems, you can leverage existing user accounts and authentication mechanisms, enhancing security and user management in Grafana.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following:

• Grafana installed and running on your system.
• Access to the external authentication provider you want to integrate with Grafana.

Step 1: Configuring External Authentication Provider

The first step is to configure the external authentication provider to enable integration with Grafana. Each authentication provider has its own configuration process, so consult the provider's documentation for the specific steps. Here's an example configuration for integrating Grafana with an OAuth2 provider:

[auth.generic_oauth]


name = "OAuth2 Provider"
enabled = true
allow_sign_up = true
client_id = "your-client-id"
client_secret = "your-client-secret"
scopes = "openid email profile"
auth_url = "https://oauth2.provider.com/authorize"
token_url = "https://oauth2.provider.com/token"
api_url = "https://oauth2.provider.com/userinfo"
; Optional user identity mapping
; email = "email"
; name = "name"

Step 2: Enabling External Authentication in Grafana

Next, you need to enable external authentication in Grafana by modifying the Grafana configuration file. Locate the Grafana configuration file (usually named `grafana.ini` or `custom.ini`) and make the following changes:

[auth]


enabled = true
; ... other authentication settings

[auth.generic_oauth]
enabled = true
allow_sign_up = true
client_id = "your-client-id"
client_secret = "your-client-secret"
scopes = "openid email profile"
auth_url = "https://oauth2.provider.com/authorize"
token_url = "https://oauth2.provider.com/token"
api_url = "https://oauth2.provider.com/userinfo"
; Optional user identity mapping
; email = "email"
; name = "name"

Step 3: Testing the Integration

After configuring the external authentication provider and enabling it in Grafana, you can test the integration. Restart Grafana and try logging in using the authentication provider's credentials. Grafana should authenticate the user with the external provider and grant access based on the provider's authentication response.

Common Mistakes with External Authentication Integration

• Incorrectly configuring the authentication provider's settings in Grafana.
• Missing required scopes or permissions when configuring the authentication provider.
• Forgetting to enable external authentication in the Grafana configuration file.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I integrate Grafana with multiple external authentication providers?

   Yes, Grafana supports integrating with multiple external authentication providers simultaneously.

2. What happens if the external authentication provider is unavailable?

   If the external authentication provider is unavailable, Grafana falls back to other authentication methods configured in the Grafana settings.

3. Can I map user attributes from the authentication provider to Grafana user fields?

   Yes, you can map user attributes such as email or name from the authentication provider to corresponding fields in Grafana.

4. Does Grafana support SAML-based authentication providers?

   Yes, Grafana supports integration with SAML-based authentication providers.

5. Is it possible to restrict access to specific Grafana organizations using external authentication?

   Yes, you can configure external authentication to restrict access to specific organizations in Grafana.

Summary

In this tutorial, you learned how to integrate Grafana with external authentication providers. By configuring the authentication provider and enabling external authentication in Grafana, you can streamline user management and leverage existing authentication mechanisms. Test the integration to ensure successful authentication and access control in Grafana.