Setting Yourself Up for Success: 3 Best Practices for Managing Permissions

August 29, 2018

About LabKey

LabKey Server SDMS gives teams the flexibility to assign permissions to individual users or to security groups. While teams are setting up and implementing LabKey Server SDMS, assigning user permissions individually often seems like the easiest route, but for growing teams or active labs that strategy can become an administrative challenge in the long run. As your team and/or use of LabKey Server SDMS grows, it becomes much easier for administrators to control permissions with User Groups.

What’s more important than which method you choose, is taking the time to define your permissions strategy up front. A defined and documented policy will help make managing security easier to implement and maintain long term.

Take a look at the best practices below to set yourself up for success when creating a permissions strategy:

Using security groups to manage access to scientific research data in LabKey Server1. Define User Groups

Think about the functional requirements of your team; are there members that will need read-only access and some members that need to enter in data? By splitting out what the needs of each person are, you can easily define user groups based on common access needs.

Use a folder structure for organizing scientific research data that supports security in LabKey Server2. Consider Folder Structure

Take your LabKey Server folder structure into consideration when defining security groups; should your team members have the same permissions to all folders? Do certain team members need the same level of access but to different folders? Use your folder structure to help further segment users into appropriate security groups.

Regularly review LabKey Server security setting3. Monitor and Adjust

Review and refine user groups over time as the use of LabKey Server SDMS continues to grow. Administrators should review their permission settings at a regular frequency to make sure permissions for a User Group are accurate and appropriate for the current situation. Use LabKey Server’s Impersonate feature to view access as each User Group and verify that the permissions assigned to each group are correct.

Get started securely sharing data with team members and collaborators using LabKey Server! Sign-up for a demo to see LabKey Server SDMS permission management features in action.