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Discover how to enable and manage multiple `authentication` plugins in VerneMQ. Learn about the behavior and configurations to allow successful connections.
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Enabling Multiple Authentication/Authorization Plugins in VerneMQ

As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to expand, efficient management of message broker services such as VerneMQ has become increasingly important. One critical aspect of this management involves establishing a robust authentication and authorization mechanism.

The Problem

While working with VerneMQ, you might expect that enabling multiple authentication plugins, such as vmq.acl (Access Control List) and vmq.diversity, would allow them to work together seamlessly to determine if connections, publications, or subscriptions are authorized. However, unexpected behavior may arise when only one of these plugins seems to take precedence while the other does not.

In this guide, we will explore:

Is this behavior expected in VerneMQ?

How can multiple authentication plugins be enabled correctly?

In what order are the plugins checked when they are enabled?

Let's dive deeper into the solutions!

Understanding the Authentication Behavior of VerneMQ

Is This the Expected Behavior?

The behavior you're witnessing is, unfortunately, expected. The core of the problem lies in how these plugins function. In general, an authentication plugin that implements the auth_on_register hook gives a response to the broker:

ok: The client is authenticated.

next: The plugin cannot authenticate the client; hence, it instructs the broker to check the next plugin in line.

While this allows for a chaining mechanism where multiple plugins can be lined up for authentication checks, the functionality isn’t universally applicable to all plugins. Specifically, the file-based plugin does not support this chaining, mainly for compatibility with the Mosquitto format.

How to Enable Multiple Authentication Plugins

To enable multiple plugins and facilitate their cooperation for authentication, you can:

Adjust the plugins to return a next response instead of an authentication error.

Ensure that all configured plugins can handle requests appropriately and allow passing control to the next plugin in the line.

For instance, in vmq.diversity, you can adapt the Lua scripts to enable this chaining behavior.

Checking Plugin Order

When you enable multiple authentication plugins, it is essential to understand the order in which they are checked. This order is vital for ensuring that authentication requests are processed correctly:

Load Order: The plugins are checked based on the order they are loaded, whether specified in the VerneMQ configuration file (vernemq.conf) or through plugin enable commands.

Plugin Status: You can verify the order of loaded plugins using the command:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This command lists the currently activated plugins, allowing you to control and optimize the authentication process more effectively.

Conclusion

By understanding the inherent behavior of VerneMQ's authentication plugins and properly configuring them, you can create a more secure and adaptable messaging environment.

Enabling multiple authentication plugins requires an understanding of the expected behaviors and proper configuration to work harmoniously together. With the tips and guidelines provided in this post, you should be well-equipped to manage your VerneMQ setup effectively.

If you have any additional questions or need further clarification, feel free to reach out!