2.2 KiB
2.2 KiB
title, description, tags, category, created, updated
| title | description | tags | category | created | updated | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identity Management Patterns | System-level identity management patterns for self-hosted and homelab environments |
|
systems | 2026-03-14 | 2026-03-14 |
Identity Management Patterns
Summary
Identity management patterns describe how users, devices, and services are authenticated and governed across a self-hosted environment. Strong patterns reduce credential sprawl and make account lifecycle management more consistent.
Why it matters
As services multiply, local account management becomes a source of weak passwords, missed offboarding, and inconsistent MFA coverage. A system-level identity pattern helps centralize trust while preserving operational fallback paths.
Core concepts
- Central identity provider for users
- Federated login to applications through OIDC or SAML
- Strong admin authentication for infrastructure access
- Separate handling for service accounts and machine credentials
Practical usage
A practical identity pattern often looks like:
Users -> Identity provider -> Web applications
Admins -> VPN + SSH key or hardware-backed credential -> Infrastructure
Services -> Scoped machine credentials -> Databases and APIs
Supporting services may include:
- MFA-capable identity provider
- Reverse proxy integration for auth-aware routing
- Secrets management for service credentials
Best practices
- Centralize user login where applications support it
- Require MFA for administrative and internet-exposed access
- Keep service credentials scoped to one system or purpose
- Maintain documented break-glass and recovery procedures
Pitfalls
- Treating shared admin accounts as acceptable long-term practice
- Leaving old local users in place after federation is introduced
- Using one service credential across many applications
- Forgetting to protect the identity provider as critical infrastructure