Create and grant permissions to a RAM user - ApsaraVideo VOD

A Resource Access Management (RAM) user is a physical identity. You can create RAM users for an Alibaba Cloud account and authorize the RAM users to access different resources.

Prerequisites

An Alibaba Cloud account is created and real-name verification is complete. To create an Alibaba Cloud account, visit the Alibaba Cloud official website. For more information, see Create an Alibaba Cloud account.

Create a RAM user

Note

We recommend that you set Logon Name to vod in Step 4 and Access Mode to OpenAPI Access in Step 5. In this topic, vod is used as an example.

Procedure

Log on to the RAM console by using an Alibaba Cloud account or a RAM user who has administrative rights.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Identities > Users.
On the Users page, click Create User.
In the User Account Information section of the Create User page, configure the following parameters:
- Logon Name: The logon name can be up to 64 characters in length, and can contain letters, digits, periods (.), hyphens (-), and underscores (_).
- Display Name: The display name can be up to 128 characters in length.
- Tag: Click the icon and enter a tag key and a tag value. You can add one or more tags to the RAM user. This way, you can manage the RAM user based on the tags.
Note
You can click Add User to create multiple RAM users at a time.
In the Access Mode section, select an access mode and configure the required parameters.
To ensure the security of your Alibaba Cloud account, we recommend that you select only one access mode for the RAM user. This way, the RAM user for an individual is separated from the RAM user for a program.
- Console Access
  If the RAM user represents an individual, we recommend that you select Console Access for the RAM user. This way, the RAM user can use a username and password to access Alibaba Cloud. If you select Console Access, you must configure the following parameters:
  - Set Console Password: You can select Automatically Regenerate Default Password or Reset Custom Password. If you select Reset Custom Password, you must specify a password. The password must meet the complexity requirements. For more information, see Configure a password policy for RAM users.
  - Password Reset: specifies whether the RAM user is required to reset the password upon the next logon.
  - Enable MAF: specifies whether to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for the RAM user. After you enable MFA, you must bind an MFA device to the RAM user. For more information, see Bind an MFA device to a RAM user.
- Using permanent AccessKey to access
  If the RAM user represents a program, you can select Using permanent AccessKey to access for the RAM user. This way, the RAM user can use an AccessKey pair to access Alibaba Cloud. If you select OpenAPI Access, the system automatically generates an AccessKey ID and AccessKey secret for the RAM user. For more information, see Obtain an AccessKey pair.
  Important
  An AccessKey secret for a RAM user is displayed only when you create an AccessKey pair. You cannot query the AccessKey secret in subsequent operations. Therefore, you must back up your AccessKey secret.
  An AccessKey pair is a permanent credential for application access. If the AccessKey pair of an Alibaba Cloud account is leaked, the resources that belong to the account are exposed to potential risks. To prevent credential leak risks, we recommend that you use Security Token Service (STS) tokens. For more information, see Best practices for using an access credential to call API operations.
Click OK.
Complete security verification as prompted.

Important

After you click OK, the system generates the logon password and the Accesskey pair of the RAM user. Keep the logon password and AccessKey pair secure.

Grant permissions to a RAM user

Log on to the RAM console and click Identities > Users. On the page that appears, find the RAM user you create and click Add Permissions in the Actions column.
In the Grant Permission panel, grant permissions to the RAM user.
Note
We recommend that you attach the system policy AliyunVODFullAccess to the vod user so that the vod user has the permissions to manage and operate all ApsaraVideo VOD resources. You can enter AliyunVODFullAccess in the search box to search for the system policy. For more information about definitions and permissions of system policies in ApsaraVideo VOD, see Overview.
1. Configure the Resource Scope parameter.
  - Account: The authorization takes effect on the current Alibaba Cloud account.
  - ResourceGroup: The authorization takes effect on a specific resource group.
    Important
    If you select Resource Group for the Resource Scope parameter, make sure that the required cloud service supports resource groups. For more information, see Services that work with Resource Group. For more information about how to grant permissions on a resource group, see Use a resource group to grant a RAM user the permissions to manage a specific ECS instance.
2. Configure the Principal parameter.
  The principal is the RAM user to which you want to grant permissions. The current RAM user is automatically selected.
3. Configure the Policy parameter.
  A policy contains a set of permissions. Policies can be classified into system policies and custom policies. You can select multiple policies at a time.
  - System policies: policies that are created by Alibaba Cloud. You can use but cannot modify these policies. Version updates of the policies are maintained by Alibaba Cloud. For more information, see Services that work with RAM.
    Note
    The system automatically identifies high-risk system policies, such as AdministratorAccess and AliyunRAMFullAccess. We recommend that you do not grant unnecessary permissions by attaching high-risk policies.
  - Custom policies: You can manage and update custom policies based on your business requirements. You can create, update, and delete custom policies. For more information, see Create a custom policy.
4. Click Grant permissions.
After the panel shows Completed, click Close.

What to do next

For more information about how to grant RAM users the permissions to log on to the console, see Enable console logon for a RAM user.