---
title: What Is an Access Layer? | Vantage Compute
canonical: 'https://www.vantagecompute.ai/glossary/access-layer/'
description: >-
  An access layer is the part of a platform that decides who can reach what: it
  signs users in, applies access policy, and records what they do.
updated: '2026-11-14'
---
# What Is an Access Layer?

An access layer is the part of a platform that decides who can reach what: it signs users in, applies access policy, and records what they do.

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## How it works

- Users sign in once, with the organization's own identity provider.
- That identity is federated into each application over a standard such as OIDC, so no application keeps passwords of its own.
- Access policy is applied before a job or a session starts.
- Every action is logged against a named user.

## How Vantage Compute relates

The access layer in Vantage Compute is an identity center that federates OIDC into every application, so one identity and one policy follow each user across Slurm, Kubernetes and cloud.

## Related terms

- [Engineering workbench](https://www.vantagecompute.ai/glossary/engineering-workbench/)
- [Deny-by-default access](https://www.vantagecompute.ai/glossary/deny-by-default-access/)
- [Slurm and Kubernetes identity](https://www.vantagecompute.ai/glossary/slurm-and-kubernetes-identity/)
- [Audit trail for GPU usage](https://www.vantagecompute.ai/glossary/audit-trail-for-gpu-usage/)