Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization uses external directory services for user authentication and information. All user accounts must be created in external directory servers; these users are called directory users. The exception is the admin user which resides in the internal domain created during installation.

After a directory server is attached to Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager, the users in the directory can be added to the Administration Portal, making them Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager users. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager users can be assigned different roles and permissions according to the tasks they have to perform.

There are two types of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager users - end users who use and manage virtual resources from the User Portal, and administrators who maintain the system infrastructure using the Administration Portal. User roles and admin roles can be assigned to Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager users for individual resources like virtual machines and hosts, or on a hierarchy of objects like clusters and data centers.