Files ACCESS GATES · S3-BACKED

Stakeholder review · three protection patterns on the same conceptual endpoint · all data shown is fake

The /files/ service will eventually expose S3-backed copies of /mnt/md0 (Munin → S3 via DataSync). Before wiring real data we want to align on how access is gated. Three options are pre-staged below; click through, try them, then weigh in.

Option A — HTTP Basic Auth live demo

Single shared username/password in the browser. Enforced at the Nginx layer; no identity provider required.

Pros: trivial to provision, no IdP dependency, works in any client (browser, curl, scripts).

Cons: no per-user identity, no audit trail, password sharing is invisible, rotating means everyone gets new creds.

Try it: /files/basic/ — credentials stakeholder / review

Option B — Federated login (placeholder) visual mock

Real-identity sign-in via OIDC (AWS Cognito, UW SSO, Google Workspace, …). Per-user audit, group-based policy, MFA support.

Pros: real identity, audit trail, per-user revoke, MFA, group/role-based scoping.

Cons: needs an IdP decision (long-lived org choice), more setup, slightly slower for ad-hoc external users.

Try it: /files/login/ — login form is fake; click "Sign in" to see the post-auth view.

Option C — API token (Bearer / X-API-Token) live demo (curl)

Programmatic access via a long-lived token in a request header. Best fit for scripts, CI pipelines, and external tools.

Pros: machine-friendly, no browser flow, easy to rotate per consumer.

Cons: token leaks are silent, no MFA, requires a separate token-issuing flow for humans.

Try it: /files/token/ — page shows curl examples, real token gate behind the data endpoint.

What's not on this list

How to weigh in

Add comments on the EPS-HPC Confluence page (link forthcoming) or in the EHC ticket created for this review. Specifically interested in: which audiences each option fits, how rotation and bus-factor are handled, and any red lines (e.g. "must have audit"; "must work without an IdP").

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