---
title: "Authentication vs. Authorization"
description: "Authentication is about identifying (that is, establishing the identity of a user) — when you request authentication, you verify specific credentials."
canonical: "https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/styleguide/tw/authentication_authorization.html"
breadcrumb: "Style Guide > Tips and Tricks > Authentication vs. Authorization"
dateModified: "2026-09-03"
---

# Authentication vs. Authorization

**Authentication** is about [identifying](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/identify) (that is, establishing the [identity](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/identify) of a user) — when you request authentication, you verify specific credentials. **Authorization** is about [authorizing](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/authorize) (that is, justifying the level of [access](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/access) granted to an authenticated user) — when you request authorization, you verify specific permissions.

::: tip

When talking about authentication, pay attention to prepositions. Since an entity (for example, a user) authenticates somewhere (for example, **to** a host) using some authentication information (for example, **with** specific credentials), the correct prepositions are **to** and **with**. For example, *The user must authenticate to the host with Active Directory credentials*.

However, in some cases, you can also use the preposition **against** — it basically has the same meaning as **to** but implies that some entries are compared to each other as part of the authentication process. For example, *Specify credentials that Veeam Backup & Replication will use to authenticate against the iSCSI Target Server*.

:::

### Examples

1. Veeam Backup & Replication uses IP address [authorization to restrict access]{.mdhl-correct} to the vPower NFS server.
2. The request body must contain credentials of an account with the Orchestrator Administrator or Plan Author [privileges]{.mdhl-correct}. To learn how to [authorize your access]{.mdhl-correct}, see Example Requests and Responses. 
3. In the **Authentication** section, select an [authentication mode to connect]{.mdhl-correct} to the Microsoft SQL Server instance: either Windows Authentication or SQL Server Authentication. If you select the Microsoft SQL Server authentication mode, specify [credentials]{.mdhl-correct} of a user account that you want to use.
4. Local accounts do not support Kerberos authentication. To [authenticate]{.mdhl-correct} to a Microsoft Windows guest OS using Kerberos, specify an Active Directory [account]{.mdhl-correct}.