Add or edit User Groups

 

Smoothwall comes with three built-in User Groups: Default users, Banned users and Unauthenticated IPs Groups.

You can create custom User Groups to map groups from your organisation’s directory service. Custom User Groups can be used in Web Filter Policies or for Safeguarding Alerts.

User Group Naming Conventions

We recommend using a naming convention for your User Groups, to ensure consistency and clarity. For example if a User Group contains only Staff members, you could call it “Tenant Name - Staff Only”.

The User Groups are listed alphabetically, so you could label your most used User Groups accordingly to have them appear at the top of the list.

Naming Requirements:

• You must use at least one character, up to a maximum of 128 characters.
• You can use any special characters, apart from having a name made up of only spaces.
• You cannot use a name that has already been used for a Global User Group, or that has been used for a User Group that already exists for your Tenant.

On-Premise Appliance

Go to Services > Authentication > Directories to check what directories you are syncing. If you don’t see the directory here, create a Directory.

Add new User Groups

1. Go to Services > Authentication > Groups.
2. Select Add new group.
3. Add a name for the group and a comment if needed.
4. Select Add.

Edit or Delete User Groups

You cannot delete or edit the Unauthenticated IPs, Default Users or Banned Users groups. If you try to edit one of these groups, you’ll see an error banner and will need to edit the name back to the original name, or cancel the edit.

To edit a User Group:

1. Hover over the relevant group.
2. Select Edit to adjust the configuration.
3. Select Save changes.

To delete a User Group:

1. Hover over the relevant group.
2. Select Delete.

Add or remove users from the User Group

You can only change users within Directory groups in your Directory Service provider.

To add a new Directory group to User Group mapping:

1. Go to Services > Authentication > Directories.
2. Select the directory name to expand the relevant directory.
3. In the Group mappings section, select Add new group mapping.
4. In the Directory group list, select the groups to map from.
5. Select a Local group (User Group) to map your Directory groups to.
6. Make sure the Enabled checkbox is selected.
7. Select Add.

To edit or delete a group mapping:

1. Go to Services > Authentication > Directories.
2. Select the directory name to expand the relevant directory.
3. In the Group mappings section, select Edit or Delete.

Cloud

Go to Admin Panel > Directories to check what directories you are syncing. If you don’t see the directory here, set up a new directory.

Add new User Groups

1. Go to Admin Panel > Smoothwall Groups.
2. Select the Tenant if you have multiple Tenants.
3. Select the Add Smoothwall Group button.

   Important

   If you cannot select the Add Smoothwall Group button because it is greyed out, please contact Smoothwall Support.

4. Add a name for the group and a comment if needed.
5. Scroll or type into the search to find Directory groups.
6. Check the checkboxes to add the Directory Groups to your Smoothwall Group.
7. Select Save.
8. Go to Filter > Publishing and select Publish.

Delete a User Group

You can’t delete a group once it is created because your groups can be used elsewhere, and deleting the group can cause issues with other Smoothwall services.

You should rename the group to make it clear it should not be used, or add Z to the start of the name so it will show at the bottom of the list.

1. Select the group and select Edit Smoothwall Group.
2. Change the name and select Save.

Add or remove users from the User Group

You can only change users within Directory groups in your Directory Service provider.

1. Select the group and select Edit Smoothwall Group.
2. Select or deselect the Directory groups as needed.
3. Select Save.
4. Go to Filter > Publishing and select Publish.