GeoNode User and Security
Management
Kevin Ngeno
Septembre 2016
Learning Objective
After the end of this lecture you will be able to:
● appreciate and use the GeoNode software including its
core functions
● comprehend all the GeoNode sections and entities
from a user and administrator perspective
Introduction
GeoNode is:
● an Open Source, Content Management System (CMS) for
geospatial data
● a web-based application and platform for developing
geospatial information systems (GIS) and for deploying
spatial data infrastructures (SDI)
It brings together mature and stable open-source software
projects under a consistent and easy-to-use interface allowing
non-specialized users to share data and create interactive
maps.
Accounts and Users
GeoNode is also a social platform, and thus a primary
component of any GeoNode instance is the user account. The
following are therefore necessary before utilizing what
GeoNode has to offer:
● Creating a new account
● Managing your profile
● Setting notification preferences
● Viewing other user accounts
Managing layers
After creating user accounts, the next primary component of
GeoNode is the Layer.
Layers are:
● a published resource representing a raster or vector spatial
data source.
● associated with metadata (data about data), ratings, and
comments.
This section allows creation of a new layer by uploading a
local data set, adding layer info, changing the style of the
layer, and sharing the results with other users.
The next slide captures the steps involved in managing layers.
Managing layers
1. Uploading a layer (vector or raster)
2. Adding Layer information
- Downloads
- Layer Detail Tabs
3. Sharing layers
- Anonymous access
- Sharing with social media
4. Adding more layers
Administrators Workshop
This workshop is meant to showcase how to install and
manage a deployment of the GeoNode software
application.
It enables you to master all the GeoNode sections and entities
from an administrator perspective and be able to:
- Use the GeoNode’s Django Administration Panel
- Use the console Management Commands for GeoNode
- Configure and customize your GeoNode installation
However, prior knowledge of the following concepts is
strongly recommended for you to achieve the above tasks.
Administrators Workshop
1. GeoNode and Django framework concepts
2. Good knowledge of Python
3. Good knowledge of what is a geospatial server and
geospatial web services
4. Good knowledge of what is metadata and a catalog
5. Good knowledge of HTML and CSS
Usage of the GeoNode’s Django Administration Panel
GeoNode has an administration panel based on the Django
admin which can be used to do some database operations.
Although most of the operations can and should be done
through the normal GeoNode interface, the admin panel
provides a quick overview and management tool over the
database.
It should be highlighted that the sections not covered are
meant to be managed through GeoNode.
Admin Interface
The admin interface allows the following capabilities:
1. Manage users and groups through the admin panel
2. Manage profiles using the admin panel
3. Manage the metadata categories using the admin panel
4. Manage layers using the admin panel
5. Manage the maps using the admin panel
6. Manage the documents using the admin panel
Management Commands for GeoNode
Below is the list of the ones that come from the GeoNode
application. The full list can be obtained by doing:
python manage.py help
Importlayers: Imports a file or folder with geospatial files to
GeoNode.
python manage.py importlayers <data_dir>
Updatelayers:
python manage.py updatelayers
fixsitename:Uses SITENAME and SITEURL to set the values
of the default site object.
python manage.py fixsitename
Debugging GeoNode Installations
The following logs play an important role in debugging
GeoNode installations:
- GeoNode main log
- GeoServer log
- Tomcat logs
- PostgreSQL logs
They give important detailed information about the problems
being experienced.
Security and Permissions
Covers the steps that can be done in order to restrict access
on your data uploaded to a GeoNode instance.
1. First of all it defines how a user can be created and what
permissions he/she can have.
2. Secondly it involves a closer look to layers, maps and
documents and the different opportunities present in order to
ban certain users from viewing, downloading or editing your
data.
Security and Permissions
There are three types of users with different kind of
permissions:
1. your_superuser: This user is allowed to attend the admin
interface and has all available permissions on layers, maps
etc.
2. geonode_user: This user is permitted to attend the admin
interface, but permissions on layers, maps etc. have to be
assigned
3. test_user: This user is not able to attend the admin
interface, permissions on layers, maps etc. have also to be
assigned
Security and Permissions
Layer: Access to a given layer is split up into 3 groups:
1. View and Download data
2. Edit data
3. Manage and Edit data
The difference between last 2 is that a user assigned to edit a
layer is not able to change the permissions on the layer
whereas a user assigned to manage and edit layer can change
the permissions.
You can now choose whether you want your layer to be viewed
and downloaded by:
● anyone
● any registered user
● certain user (or group)
Security and Permissions
Maps
The permission on maps are basically the same as on layers,
just that there are fewer options on how to edit the map.
Documents
All the same as with Maps is also valid for your uploaded
documents
GeoNode User and Security
Management
Kevin Ngeno
Septembre 2016
