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ActivePivot Access Control

In ActivePivot, it is possible to filter and transform the information differently for different users or user groups. For example, one can make European users see only the data regarding Europe, or see all the prices in €. It is also possible to hide dimensions and hierarchies from some users or user groups. All these context-dependent elements can be configured through the so-called context values: in particular, the values of interest are subcube properties and mdx contexts.

Entitlements apply through context values​

Subcube properties and mdx contexts are controlled by context values that are assigned after authentication and at each query start.

Once authenticated, users are thus assigned a set of context values depending on their roles that define, for example, the resources they can access, or change how the results are computed.

Then, at each query start, a Spring filter (the ContextValueFilter) calls ActivePivot's ContextValueManager. The latter provides the context values that are then attached to the context of this query, and thus define the subcube properties.

ContextValueManager: how context values are attributed​

When there are several possible values for a context value (for example, the user is a European user but they set an option to see the prices in US dollars), the ContextValueManager gives priority to local transient values, then to global transient values, then to the values set through the IActivePivotContentService, and finally to the values set through the IEntitlementProvider.

IEntitlementProvider: defines which entitlements to attribute​

Spring-Security tokens are materialized in ActivePivot as ISecurityDetails, which simply hold a user's roles and username. An IEntitlementsProvider defines which entitlements (i.e. context values) are associated with each ISecurityDetails. For instance, the mdx context can be overridden depending on the users roles, including changes in hierarchy visibility. SubCubeProperties can be used to limit access to certain members of the pivot's hierarchies depending on the user's roles as well.

You can configure an IEntitlementsProvider and attach it to the ContextValueManager as follows:

final IEntitlementsProvider entitlementsProvider = EntitlementsProvider.builder()
        .withPivotEntitlement()
        .forRole(ROLE_DESKA_USD)
        .onPivot(PIVOT_ID)
        .withMdxContext()
        .overrideDimensionVisibility(TECHNICAL_DATA_DIMENSION, false)
        .overrideHierarchyVisibility(SIMULATION_DIMENSION, SIMULATION_HIERARCHY_EUR, false)
        .withDefaultMember()
        .onHierarchy(CURRENCY_HIERARCHY)
        .withMemberPath("USD")
        .end()
        .withSubCubeProperties()
        .grantMembers()
        .onHierarchy(DESK_DIMENSION, DESK_HIERARCHY)
        .memberPath("deskA")
        .end()
        .build();
contextValueManager.setEntitlementsProvider(entitlementsProvider);

Roles are ordered to be able to choose which context value to set when two roles define the same context value. The order is defined by an IAuthorityComparator.

For example, USER role and ADMIN role may both define a value for the query time limit. If the ADMIN role is considered of higher authority than the USER role by the IAuthorityComparator, then its value will be used to set the query time limit.

Sandbox Example​

Entry-point​

The sandbox uses Spring-Security, and its security configuration entry point is ActivePivotServerSecurityConfig. This stipulates to use the ContextValueFilter class as a filter at each query start. As explained above, this filter initializes the context values by calling the ContextValueManager provided.

Defining Entitlements​

The sandbox defines its IEntitlementsProvider in RoleContextConfig.entitlementsProvider(), and its IAuthorityComparator in ASecurityConfig.authorityComparator().

Advanced topics​

By default, ISecurityDetails simply holds the username and user roles, but you can generate richer details. To do so, simply define your own ISecurityFacade and inject it into the ContextValueManager using the setSecurityFacade method. The sandbox provides an example through its SpringSecurityFacade.