EMC® VNX® Series Security Configuration Guide for VNX

Credential caching and account synchronization (block)

The storage management server locally caches credentials for an LDAP user once the user has been authenticated. This caching minimizes traffic to the LDAP service and enhances the user experience by eliminating latency due to authentication requests. Keep in mind that the storage management server authenticates all commands that modify the storage system configuration and not just at login. Caching eliminates redundant authorization requests to the LDAP server.

By default, Unisphere will clear the local cache every 24 hours to force synchronization with the accounts on the LDAP server. In an environment where user accounts are changing often and credentials need to be flushed, this synchronization interval may be tuned down to 30 minutes without noticeable performance impact. Alternatively, manual synchronization forces an immediate clearing of the local cache. This is useful if an employee is terminated and their access to the storage system needs to be removed in a timely fashion.