Authentication Backend with Role-Based Access Control

Project Overview

This project is an authentication backend application that provides multilevel and role-based access control for different web applications. The system ensures that users can only access specific pages and modules based on their assigned roles, creating a flexible and secure access management solution.

Core Features

1. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC):

   • Users are assigned roles, and these roles determine which pages and modules they can access.
   • Content segregation based on roles ensures that users only interact with the parts of the application that are relevant to them.

2. Single Sign-On (SSO) with Azure Authentication:

   • SSO is integrated with Azure Auth, allowing users to log in seamlessly across different web applications with a single set of credentials.

3. User Role and Access Management:

   • User roles and access permissions are stored in a PostgreSQL database, ensuring easy management and retrieval of role-based access details.

4. JWT (JSON Web Token) Authentication:

   • JWT tokens are implemented to securely authenticate users and retrieve their role-based access information across web applications.

High-Level Design (HLD)

System Architecture

Workflow

1. User Login with SSO:
   The user logs in through Azure Auth, and upon successful authentication, an SSO token is generated.

2. Role-Based Access with JWT:
   The authentication backend issues a JWT token containing the user's role and access permissions.
   This token is passed between the backend and web applications to verify access levels.

3. Role-Based Content Segregation:
   Based on the user's role (retrieved from the JWT), the web applications dynamically display pages and modules relevant to that user.

4. User Role Data Management:
   Role data and access details are stored and managed in a PostgreSQL database, allowing for easy updates and querying of user permissions.

Technologies Used

• Node.js: The backend application is built using Node.js for handling authentication and managing role-based access control.
• Azure Auth (SSO): Integrated with Azure Authentication for seamless SSO login across web applications.
• PostgreSQL: Stores user role and access information, allowing the backend to fetch and apply role-based access control.
• JWT (JSON Web Token): Used for securely transmitting role and access information between the backend and web applications.

Impact and Benefits

• Seamless User Experience: By integrating SSO with Azure Auth, users can log in once and access multiple web applications without re-authentication.
• Enhanced Security: The use of JWT tokens ensures secure user authentication, while role-based access control restricts users to only the content they are authorized to view.
• Scalable Access Management: By storing user roles and access details in PostgreSQL, the system can easily scale and adapt to handle more users and roles as the applications grow.

This project highlights my experience in:

• Building secure authentication systems with SSO and JWT.
• Implementing role-based access control to segregate content based on user roles.
• Database integration using PostgreSQL for user role management and retrieval.

Conclusion

This authentication backend project demonstrates my ability to develop secure, scalable systems that manage user roles and permissions efficiently. With SSO integration, role-based access control, and JWT authentication, the system ensures a seamless and secure user experience across multiple web applications.