Unlike CLM (one agent), PAM has different components for the server side, admin operators, end users, and machines. Install per role.
The four PAM binaries
| Binary | Role | Runs on | Analogue |
|---|---|---|---|
tigeraccess-server | Session broker + proxy daemon | A hardened host or K8s pod in your infrastructure | Teleport teleport |
tash-admin | Admin CLI — resources, roles, joins | Operator workstations | Teleport tctl |
tash | End-user CLI — ssh, kube, db, rdp | Developer / SRE workstations | Teleport tsh |
tbot | Machine-identity bot — short-lived creds for services | Any host that needs to auth as a machine | Teleport tbot |
tbot.
1. Install the PAM server (proxy)
tigeraccess-server is the only PAM component that accepts inbound connections. Deploy it on a host that can reach:
- Your TigerTrust auth-service (backend API) — outbound HTTPS
- The resources it will proxy — SSH, DB, K8s, RDP, HTTP endpoints
- systemd (Linux)
- Docker
- Kubernetes
| Port | Purpose |
|---|---|
3080 | Web UI + REST |
3022 | SSH proxy |
3025 | Auth service (mTLS between server and admin tools) |
3028 | DB proxy (Postgres, MySQL, Mongo) |
3026 | Kubernetes API proxy |
Enroll resources (SSH hosts, K8s clusters, DBs, RDP)
Resources join the server using a join token minted viatash-admin:
tigeraccess-server — no inbound ports on the target.
2. Install tash (end-user CLI)
Developers use tash for ssh, kube, db, and rdp sessions.
- Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
- apt (Debian/Ubuntu)
- Windows (Scoop)
3. Install tash-admin (admin CLI)
tash-admin manages resources, roles, access lists, and joins. Install on operator workstations; requires pam_admin on the workspace.
4. Install tbot (machine-identity bot)
tbot runs on machines (CI runners, workload pods, batch jobs) that need short-lived credentials.
tbot writes rotating credentials to a destination — a file, a Kubernetes secret, or an SPIFFE workload API socket — that your workload consumes without ever handling long-lived secrets.
5. (Optional) Install the Kubernetes operator
The TigerAccess Operator reconcilesTigerAccessRole, TigerAccessResource, and TigerAccessAccessList CRDs against the backend — GitOps for PAM.
Related
PAM overview
How resources, roles, sessions, and approvals fit together.
Sessions
Brokering, recording, live moderation, and playback.
Access requests
Just-in-time elevation with approvals.
Roles and bindings
Label-based access control across all resource kinds.