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Managing untrusted Client Networks

Contributors netapp-lhalbert

If you are using a Client Network, you can help secure StorageGRID from hostile attacks by accepting inbound client traffic only on explicitly configured endpoints.

By default, the Client Network on each grid node is trusted. That is, by default, StorageGRID trusts inbound connections to each grid node on all available external ports (see the information about external communications in the network guidelines).

You can reduce the threat of hostile attacks on your StorageGRID system by specifying that the Client Network on each node be untrusted. If a node's Client Network is untrusted, the node only accepts inbound connections on ports explicitly configured as load balancer endpoints.

Example 1: Gateway Node only accepts HTTPS S3 requests

Suppose you want a Gateway Node to refuse all inbound traffic on the Client Network except for HTTPS S3 requests. You would perform these general steps:

  1. From the Load Balancer Endpoints page, configure a load balancer endpoint for S3 over HTTPS on port 443.

  2. From the Untrusted Client Networks page, specify that the Client Network on the Gateway Node is untrusted.

After you save your configuration, all inbound traffic on the Gateway Node's Client Network is dropped except for HTTPS S3 requests on port 443 and ICMP echo (ping) requests.

Example 2: Storage Node sends S3 platform services requests

Suppose you want to enable outbound S3 platform service traffic from a Storage Node, but you want to prevent any inbound connections to that Storage Node on the Client Network. You would perform this general step:

  • From the Untrusted Client Networks page, indicate that the Client Network on the Storage Node is untrusted.

After you save your configuration, the Storage Node no longer accepts any incoming traffic on the Client Network, but it continues to allow outbound requests to Amazon Web Services.

Related information

Network guidelines