Design Authentication and Authorization System for multiple ms

RajeshKumar1

Certainly! Below is a detailed expert recommendation on designing a modern microservices authentication and authorization system with RBAC for your myHospitalnow ecosystem, addressing your multi-tenant login challenge and overall architecture.

Expert Software Design & Architecture Recommendation for myHospitalnow Authentication & Authorization (RBAC)

1. High-Level Architecture Overview

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|                         API Gateway                           |
|  - Routes requests to appropriate microservices               |
|  - Performs JWT/OAuth2 token validation                        |
|  - Propagates user claims (roles, permissions)                 |
|  - Enforces rate limiting, throttling, logging                 |
+--------------------+-------------------+----------------------+
                     |                   |
                     |                   |
        +------------+---+         +-----+-------------+
        | Authentication |         | Authorization     |
        | Service       |         | Service (RBAC)    |
        | (JWT/OAuth2)  |         | Validates roles & |
        | Handles login,|         | permissions on    |
        | token issue,  |         | each request      |
        | refresh       |         +-------------------+
        +-------+-------+
                |
                |  (gRPC/REST)
                |
       +--------+---------+
       | User Management  |
       | Service          |
       | (Registration,   |
       | Profile, Roles,  |
       | Password Reset)  |
       +--------+---------+
                |
                | (SQL/Directory)
                |
       +--------+---------+
       | Central Identity |
       | Store (MySQL)    |
       | Users, Roles,    |
       | Permissions     |
       +------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Resource Microservices (Patients, Doctors, Hospitals, Nurses) |
| - Delegate auth to API Gateway & Auth Services                |
| - Enforce RBAC via Authorization Service                      |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| External Identity Providers (Google, Azure AD, LDAP)          |
| - Integrated via Authentication Service for SSO/Federation   |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

2. Key Components & Responsibilities

| Component | Responsibilities |
|------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| API Gateway | - Central entry point for all traffic- Validates JWT tokens- Routes requests- Propagates user claims- Enforces security policies (rate limiting, IP whitelisting) |
| Authentication Service | - Handles login, logout, token issuance (JWT/OAuth2)- Supports token refresh flows- Integrates with external IdPs for SSO- Stateless, scalable |
| Authorization Service | - Enforces RBAC policies- Validates user roles and permissions for each request- Provides APIs for permission checks- Supports dynamic policy updates |
| User Management Service| - Manages user registration, profile updates- Manages role assignments- Handles password resets and account recovery- Syncs user-role data with central store |
| Central Identity Store | - Stores users, roles, permissions- SQL-based for relational integrity- Supports audit logging and history tracking |
| Resource Microservices | - Business domain logic for Patients, Doctors, Hospitals, Nurses- Delegates auth decisions to API Gateway and Authorization Service- Enforces least privilege access |
| External Identity Providers | - Enable SSO/federated login- OAuth2/OpenID Connect integration- Managed by Authentication Service |

3. RBAC Decision Flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant API_Gateway
    participant Auth_Service
    participant Authz_Service
    participant Resource_Service

    User->>API_Gateway: Sends request with JWT token
    API_Gateway->>Auth_Service: Validate token & extract claims
    Auth_Service-->>API_Gateway: Valid token + user claims
    API_Gateway->>Authz_Service: Check user roles & permissions for resource/action
    Authz_Service-->>API_Gateway: Authorization decision (Allow/Deny)
    API_Gateway->>Resource_Service: Forward request with user claims
    Resource_Service-->>API_Gateway: Response
    API_Gateway->>User: Response

4. Addressing Your Multi-Tenant Login Problem

You have 3 user types (Patients, Doctors, Hospitals) with separate microservices and login portals, but users cannot login across portals simultaneously due to session/token conflicts.

5. Cross-Domain Authentication Considerations

Use OAuth2 Authorization Code Flow with PKCE for web and mobile apps.
Use JWT tokens with short expiration and refresh tokens securely stored.
For web apps, use HTTP-only, Secure cookies scoped to .myhospitalnow.com domain for token storage.
For mobile apps, store tokens securely (e.g., Android Keystore, iOS Keychain).
API Gateway validates tokens on every request.
Use CORS policies to allow cross-subdomain requests.

6. Technology & Integration Suggestions

| Aspect | Recommendation |
|----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Authentication Protocol| OAuth2 / OpenID Connect for standard compliance and extensibility |
| Token Format | JWT with embedded claims (roles, tenant info, permissions) |
| Inter-service Communication| gRPC for internal microservice calls (fast, efficient), REST for external APIs |
| API Gateway | Use mature API Gateway like Kong, Ambassador, or AWS API Gateway with JWT validation plugin |
| Directory/Identity Store| MySQL for user/role/permission data; consider LDAP or Azure AD integration for external IdPs |
| Audit Logging | Centralized logging (ELK stack, Splunk) for auth events, login attempts, role changes |
| Security Best Practices| Zero Trust model: verify every request, least privilege principle, rotate keys, secure secrets management |
| Session Management | Stateless tokens, no server-side sessions to scale easily |
| Password Security | Hash passwords with bcrypt/argon2, enforce strong policies |

7. Proposed Domain & Login Flow Diagram

User visits: www.myhospitalnow.com (Patient Portal)
               |
               v
Redirect to auth.myhospitalnow.com/login
               |
User logs in (Patient credentials)
               |
Auth Service issues JWT token with role=patient
               |
Redirect back to www.myhospitalnow.com with token
               |
API Gateway validates token, routes to Patient Resource Service
               |
Patient accesses features (bookings, find doctors, etc.)

Similarly for doctors.myhospitalnow.com and hospitals.myhospitalnow.com,
users authenticate at auth.myhospitalnow.com and get tokens scoped by role.

8. Summary: Why Option 2 (Central Auth Domain) is Best

| Criteria | Option 1 (Separate Domains) | Option 2 (Central Auth Domain) |
|-------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
| User Experience | Multiple logins, confusing | Single login, seamless SSO |
| Token Sharing Across Services | Difficult (cross-domain cookies) | Easy (single domain for auth) |
| Scalability | Harder to maintain multiple auths | Easier to maintain & extend |
| Security | Fragmented policies | Centralized security policies |
| Future Extensibility | Complex to add new user types | Simple to add new roles & tenants |

Final Recommendations

Implement Option 2 with auth.myhospitalnow.com as the central auth domain.
Build a dedicated Authentication Service supporting OAuth2/JWT and external IdP integration.
Use an API Gateway to validate tokens and route requests.
Implement a central Authorization Service enforcing RBAC policies.
Design User Management Service to handle user lifecycle and role assignments.
Ensure secure token storage and transmission across all portals and mobile apps.
Adopt Zero Trust and least privilege principles.
Enable audit logging for all auth and authorization events.

If you want, I can also provide a detailed sequence diagram, example JWT payload structure, or sample API specs for each service. Just let me know!

RajeshKumar1

Recommended Microservices Authentication & Authorization Architecture (RBAC)

Architecture Components:

1. Authentication Service

Role: Handles user authentication via JWT or OAuth2.
Responsibilities:
- User login/logout.
- Issue JWT tokens (access & refresh tokens).
- Validate tokens upon refresh request.
- Integration support for external identity providers (Google, Azure AD, LDAP).
Communication: REST or gRPC for high performance.

2. Authorization Service (RBAC)

Role: Validates user roles and permissions per request.
Responsibilities:
- Maintain and enforce RBAC policies.
- Evaluate permissions associated with user roles.
- Provide fine-grained access decisions.
Communication: REST or gRPC, queried by API Gateway or directly by resource services.

3. User Management Service

Role: Central management of user accounts and roles.
Responsibilities:
- User registration, profile updates, password reset.
- Assigning and revoking roles.
- Managing user profile data securely.
Data Store: SQL or directory service (e.g., Active Directory, Azure AD).

4. API Gateway

Role: Central entry-point, routing, token verification, and claim propagation.
Responsibilities:
- Verify JWT/OAuth tokens from Authentication service.
- Route validated requests to appropriate resource microservices.
- Integrate with Authorization service for RBAC policy enforcement.
- Centralized logging and observability.

5. Resource Microservices

Role: Actual business logic services (Patients, Doctors, Hospitals, Nurses).
Responsibilities:
- Delegate authentication/authorization to API Gateway/Authorization service.
- Implement business logic without embedded auth logic.
- Secured via zero-trust policies.

Integration & Flow:

User Login Flow:

User logs into Authentication Service.
Auth Service issues JWT/OAuth tokens (access & refresh).
User makes requests to API Gateway with the issued token.

API Request Flow:

User sends token-secured request.
API Gateway validates token with Authentication Service.
API Gateway queries Authorization Service to enforce RBAC.
Authorized requests forwarded to respective Resource Microservice.

RBAC Decision Flow:

User --> API Gateway --> Authentication Service (JWT validation)
                         |
                         --> Authorization Service (Role/Permission check)
                             |
                             --> Resource Microservice (secured resource access)

Recommended Domain Setup:

Option 2 (recommended):
- Centralized Authentication Domain:
- auth.myhospitalnow.com (single source of truth for all user types).
- Separate functional subdomains:
- Patients: www.myhospitalnow.com
- Doctors: doctors.myhospitalnow.com
- Hospitals: hospitals.myhospitalnow.com
- Nurses: nurses.myhospitalnow.com

This setup avoids login conflicts while providing unified user management.

Mobile Apps Integration:

Each app (Patients, Doctors, Hospitals) authenticates through the centralized Authentication Service.
RBAC policies ensure each user type accesses only their respective resources and functionalities.

Best Practices:

Zero Trust: Always verify each request explicitly.
Principle of Least Privilege: Grant minimal permissions necessary.
Secure Token Handling: Use secure channels (HTTPS), and rotate tokens regularly.
Audit Logging: Central logging for access requests and policy enforcement decisions.

Recommended Technologies:

Backend: Laravel, PHP, MySQL
Communication Protocols: REST/gRPC
Frontend: Flutter (Android apps)
Infrastructure: API Gateway (e.g., Kong, AWS API Gateway), Service Mesh (e.g., Istio, Linkerd) for advanced deployments.

Visual Architecture Diagram (Recommended for clarity):


API GatewayUser/App
   |
   ├── Authentication Service
   │     └── Identity Providers (Google, Azure AD, LDAP)
   ├── Authorization Service (RBAC Policies)
   ├── User Management Service
   │     └── Central User Database (SQL/Directory)
   └── Resource Microservices (Patient, Doctor, Hospital, Nurse)

This architecture ensures robust authentication, clear RBAC enforcement, scalability, and maintainability, perfect for secure and efficient microservices deployment.

RajeshKumar1

Microservices Architecture for Authentication & Authorization with RBAC

To design a modern microservices architecture for authentication and authorization supporting Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), we will outline the key components and their interactions. This architecture will address the current issues faced by the myHospitalnow platform.

Architecture Overview

Microservices Separation:
- Authentication Service: Handles user login, token issuance (JWT/OAuth2), and refresh flows.
- Authorization Service: Enforces RBAC policies, validating user roles and permissions.
- User Management Service: Manages user registration, profile updates, role assignments, and password resets.
- Resource Microservices: Handle specific functionalities for patients, doctors, and hospitals.
API Gateway:
- Routes requests to appropriate microservices.
- Secures traffic and handles token verification.
- Propagates user claims to downstream services.
Central Identity Store:
- A SQL database or directory service for storing user, role, and permission data.
External Identity Providers (optional):
- Integration with services like Google, Azure AD, or LDAP for SSO or federated login.

Inter-Service Communication

Communication Protocols:
- Use REST or gRPC for inter-service communication.
- Secure token handling to protect sensitive resources.

RBAC Decision Flow

User Authentication:
- User logs in via the API Gateway.
- The Authentication Service validates credentials and issues a JWT.
Authorization Check:
- For each request to resource microservices, the API Gateway verifies the JWT.
- The Authorization Service checks user roles and permissions against RBAC policies.
Resource Access:
- If authorized, the request is forwarded to the appropriate resource microservice.

Best Practices

Zero Trust Architecture: Assume no user or service is trusted by default.
Principle of Least Privilege: Users should have the minimum level of access necessary.
Audit Logging: Maintain logs of authentication and authorization events for security and compliance.

Diagram Representation

While I cannot create visual diagrams directly, here’s a textual representation of how the architecture could be structured:

[User ] 
   |
   v
[API Gateway] 
   |
   |---> [Authentication Service] <--- (JWT/OAuth2)
   |
   |---> [Authorization Service] <--- (RBAC Policies)
   |
   |---> [User  Management Service]
   |
   |---> [Resource Microservices]
          |---> [Patient Service]
          |---> [Doctor Service]
          |---> [Hospital Service]

Implementation Considerations

Domain Options:
- Option 1: Separate domains for each user type (e.g., hospitals.myhospitalnow.com, doctors.myhospitalnow.com).
- Option 2: Single domain with subdomains or paths for each user type, using a centralized authentication service (e.g., auth.myhospitalnow.com).
Mobile Applications:
- Ensure that each mobile app (Patient, Doctor, Hospital) integrates with the authentication service for seamless login and user management.

Conclusion

This architecture provides a robust framework for managing authentication and authorization in a microservices environment, ensuring that users can access the appropriate resources based on their roles while maintaining security and scalability.

RajeshKumar1

Of course. This is an excellent and very common architectural challenge when scaling applications. Your analysis of the problem and your proposed "Option 2" is spot on. A centralized authentication and authorization system is the modern, scalable, and secure solution.

Here is a comprehensive software design and architecture recommendation tailored to your scenario, complete with a diagram, component breakdown, and best practices.

Executive Recommendation: Adopt Option 2

Based on your requirements, Option 2: Centralized Authentication (auth.myhospitalnow.com) is unequivocally the recommended approach.

Why Option 2 is Superior:

Single Sign-On (SSO): A user (e.g., a person who is both a doctor and a patient) can have a single identity and a single set of credentials. They log in once and can access any portal or app for which they have the appropriate role.
Unified User Profile: All user data is managed in one place. This simplifies profile updates, password resets, and data governance.
Centralized Security: Security policies, password strength rules, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) are managed and enforced in one service, drastically reducing the attack surface.
Scalability & Maintainability: When you add a new service (e.g., nurses.myhospitalnow.com), you simply integrate it with the existing auth system instead of building a new silo.
Consistent User Experience: Provides a seamless and professional experience for users navigating between different parts of your platform.

Option 1 (separate logins) perpetuates the exact problem you are trying to solve and will lead to user frustration and operational complexity.

Proposed Microservices Architecture for Authentication & Authorization (RBAC)

This architecture establishes a central "Identity and Access Management" (IAM) hub that serves all your client applications (web and mobile) and resource microservices.

Architecture Diagram

graph TD
    subgraph "Clients"
        A[Patient Web Portal<br>(www.myhospitalnow.com)]
        B[Doctor Web Portal<br>(doctors.myhospitalnow.com)]
        C[Hospital Web Portal<br>(hospitals.myhospitalnow.com)]
        D[Patient Mobile App<br>(Flutter/Android)]
        E[Doctor Mobile App<br>(Flutter/Android)]
        F[Hospital Mobile App<br>(Flutter/Android)]
    end

    subgraph "Network & Security Layer"
        GW(API Gateway<br>myhospitalnow.com/api)
    end

    subgraph "Identity & Access Management (IAM) Services"
        AuthSvc(<b>Authentication Service</b><br>auth.myhospitalnow.com)
        UserSvc(<b>User Management Service</b>)
        AuthzSvc(<b>Authorization Service (RBAC)</b>)
    end

    subgraph "Resource Microservices (Business Logic)"
        PatientSvc(Patient Service)
        DoctorSvc(Doctor Service)
        HospitalSvc(Hospital Service)
        BookingSvc(Booking Service)
        NotificationSvc(Notification Service)
    end

    subgraph "Data & External Integrations"
        DB[(<b>Central Identity Store</b><br>MySQL Database)]
        ExtP(External IdPs<br>Google, Azure AD, LDAP)
    end
    
    %% Flows
    A & B & C & D & E & F -- "1. Login Request / API Call" --> GW
    
    GW -- "2. Route Login to Auth Service" --> AuthSvc
    AuthSvc -- "3. Validate Credentials" --> DB
    AuthSvc -- "Optional: Federated Login" --> ExtP
    DB -- "4. User & Role Data" --> AuthSvc
    AuthSvc -- "5. Issue JWT (Access & Refresh Tokens)" --> GW
    GW -- "6. Return JWT to Client" --> A & B & C & D & E & F

    A & B & C & D & E & F -- "7. API Request with JWT" --> GW
    GW -- "8. <b>Verify JWT Signature & Expiry</b>" --> GW
    GW -- "9. Check Permissions (Request User Info & Roles)" --> AuthzSvc
    AuthzSvc -- "10. Get User/Role/Permission Data" --> DB
    AuthzSvc -- "11. Authorization Decision (Allow/Deny)" --> GW
    GW -- "12. If Allowed, Forward Request with User Claims (e.g., user-id, roles)" --> PatientSvc
    GW -- "12. If Allowed, Forward Request..." --> DoctorSvc
    GW -- "12. If Allowed, Forward Request..." --> HospitalSvc
    
    UserSvc -- "Manages User Data" --> DB
    AuthSvc -- "Reads User Data" --> UserSvc

Component Breakdown

1. Clients (Web & Mobile Apps)

Responsibility: Provide the user interface. They are "dumb" clients regarding security logic.
Interaction:
- For login, they redirect the user or make a direct call to the Authentication Service via the API Gateway.
  - After login, they securely store the received JWT (JSON Web Token) and Refresh Token.
  - For every subsequent API call to a resource microservice, they include the JWT in the Authorization: Bearer <token> header.
Technology: Laravel (for web frontends using Blade), Flutter/Android (for mobile).

2. API Gateway

Responsibility: The single entry point for all incoming traffic. This is critical for security and management.
Key Functions:
- Routing: Directs requests like /api/doctors/... to the Doctor Service and /auth/login to the Authentication Service.
  - Token Validation: (Critical Step) Intercepts every incoming request and validates the JWT's signature and expiration. If the token is invalid, it rejects the request immediately with a 401 Unauthorized error.
  - Security: Handles SSL/TLS termination, rate limiting, and protection against common attacks (e.g., DDoS).
  - Claim Propagation: After validating a token, it can inject user information (like user-id, roles) into the request headers before forwarding it to the appropriate microservice. This follows the Zero Trust principle.
Technology: API Gateway services like Kong, Tyk, AWS API Gateway, or a self-hosted solution using a performant framework (e.g., Laravel Octane, Lumen).

3. Authentication Service (`auth.myhospitalnow.com`)

Responsibility: Handles all aspects of proving a user's identity. It answers the question: "Who are you?"
Key Functions:
- Exposes login endpoints (/login, /token).
  - Validates user credentials (email/password) against the Central Identity Store.
  - Implements the OAuth2 protocol. For your own mobile and web apps, the "Password Grant" can be used initially, but the more secure "Authorization Code Flow with PKCE" is recommended, especially for mobile.
  - Issues cryptographically signed JWTs (short-lived Access Tokens and long-lived Refresh Tokens).
  - Exposes a token refresh endpoint (/refresh).
  - (Optional) Integrates with external providers (Google, etc.) for SSO.
Technology: A dedicated Laravel application using Laravel Passport, which is a full OAuth2 server implementation.

4. User Management Service

Responsibility: Handles the user's lifecycle and profile data.
Key Functions:
- User registration (creating new user records).
  - Profile updates (name, contact info).
  - Password reset flows.
  - Role Assignment: Crucially, this is where an administrator would assign roles (Patient, Doctor, Hospital Admin) to a user.
Technology: A standard Laravel REST API.

5. Authorization Service (RBAC Engine)

Responsibility: Centralizes all permission logic. It answers the question: "Is this user allowed to do this?"
Key Functions:
- Exposes an endpoint for the API Gateway to check permissions (e.g., POST /validate-access).
  - The request would contain the user's ID/roles and the requested action/resource (e.g., user:123, action: 'edit', resource: 'doctor-profile').
  - It contains the complete mapping of Roles to Permissions.
  - Returns a simple Allow or Deny decision.
Technology: A lightweight, high-performance Laravel/Lumen API. It would heavily utilize a package like spatie/laravel-permission to manage the RBAC logic.

6. Resource Microservices

Responsibility: Handle the core business logic of your application (managing bookings, doctor profiles, etc.).
Key Functions:
- They are protected and assume that any request they receive has already been authenticated by the API Gateway.
  - They trust the user claims (e.g., X-User-ID, X-User-Roles) passed in the request headers from the gateway.
  - They perform their business logic, e.g., fetching bookings for the user-id provided in the header.
Technology: Your existing Laravel applications, refactored to focus solely on business logic.

7. Central Identity Store

Responsibility: The single source of truth for all identity and access control data.
Schema (Simplified):
- users: id, name, email, password_hash, etc.
  - roles: id, name (e.g., 'patient', 'doctor').
  - permissions: id, name (e.g., 'edit-doctor-profile', 'view-hospital-bookings').
  - role_user (Pivot Table): user_id, role_id.
  - permission_role (Pivot Table): permission_id, role_id.
Technology: Your existing MySQL database.

Detailed RBAC Decision Flow (Example: Doctor updates their availability)

Request Initiated: The logged-in doctor clicks "Save Availability" in the "DoctorNow Admin" app. The app makes a PUT request to https://myhospitalnow.com/api/v1/doctors/availability with the JWT in the Authorization header.
Gateway Interception: The API Gateway receives the request.
Token Verification: The Gateway verifies the JWT's signature and checks if it has expired. If not, it decodes the token to extract the user_id and roles (e.g., user_id: 456, roles: ['doctor', 'patient']).
Authorization Check: The Gateway calls the Authorization Service: "Can user 456 with roles ['doctor', 'patient'] perform action: 'update' on resource resource: 'doctor-availability'?".
Permission Lookup: The Authorization Service queries the Central Identity Store. It finds that the doctor role has the update-doctor-availability permission.
Decision: The Authorization Service returns an Allow response to the Gateway.
Request Forwarding: The Gateway forwards the request to the Doctor Service. It adds headers like X-User-ID: 456 to the request.
Business Logic: The Doctor Service receives the request. It trusts the X-User-ID header and updates the availability in its database for doctor 456. It does NOT need to re-validate the token or check permissions.
Response: The Doctor Service returns a 200 OK response, which flows back through the Gateway to the mobile app.

Best Practices Annotation

Zero Trust: No service implicitly trusts another. The API Gateway validates every single request from the outside world. Resource microservices trust the claims passed by the gateway but nothing else.
Principle of Least Privilege: The RBAC model ensures users only get permissions they absolutely need for their role. A user with only a Patient role cannot even attempt to call the doctor-availability endpoint, as the Authorization Service would block it.
Audit Logging: A dedicated logging service (or a centralized platform like ELK/Splunk) should receive logs from the Authentication Service (login_success, login_failure, token_issued) and the Authorization Service (access_granted, access_denied) for full traceability.
Secure Token Storage: On the client-side, tokens must be stored securely. For web apps, use HttpOnly Secure cookies. For mobile apps, use the platform's secure storage keychain/keystore.