diff --git a/include/linux/ceph/auth.h b/include/linux/ceph/auth.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7fff521
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/linux/ceph/auth.h
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+#ifndef _FS_CEPH_AUTH_H
+#define _FS_CEPH_AUTH_H
+
+#include <linux/ceph/types.h>
+#include <linux/ceph/buffer.h>
+
+/*
+ * Abstract interface for communicating with the authenticate module.
+ * There is some handshake that takes place between us and the monitor
+ * to acquire the necessary keys.  These are used to generate an
+ * 'authorizer' that we use when connecting to a service (mds, osd).
+ */
+
+struct ceph_auth_client;
+struct ceph_authorizer;
+
+struct ceph_auth_client_ops {
+	const char *name;
+
+	/*
+	 * true if we are authenticated and can connect to
+	 * services.
+	 */
+	int (*is_authenticated)(struct ceph_auth_client *ac);
+
+	/*
+	 * true if we should (re)authenticate, e.g., when our tickets
+	 * are getting old and crusty.
+	 */
+	int (*should_authenticate)(struct ceph_auth_client *ac);
+
+	/*
+	 * build requests and process replies during monitor
+	 * handshake.  if handle_reply returns -EAGAIN, we build
+	 * another request.
+	 */
+	int (*build_request)(struct ceph_auth_client *ac, void *buf, void *end);
+	int (*handle_reply)(struct ceph_auth_client *ac, int result,
+			    void *buf, void *end);
+
+	/*
+	 * Create authorizer for connecting to a service, and verify
+	 * the response to authenticate the service.
+	 */
+	int (*create_authorizer)(struct ceph_auth_client *ac, int peer_type,
+				 struct ceph_authorizer **a,
+				 void **buf, size_t *len,
+				 void **reply_buf, size_t *reply_len);
+	int (*verify_authorizer_reply)(struct ceph_auth_client *ac,
+				       struct ceph_authorizer *a, size_t len);
+	void (*destroy_authorizer)(struct ceph_auth_client *ac,
+				   struct ceph_authorizer *a);
+	void (*invalidate_authorizer)(struct ceph_auth_client *ac,
+				      int peer_type);
+
+	/* reset when we (re)connect to a monitor */
+	void (*reset)(struct ceph_auth_client *ac);
+
+	void (*destroy)(struct ceph_auth_client *ac);
+};
+
+struct ceph_auth_client {
+	u32 protocol;           /* CEPH_AUTH_* */
+	void *private;          /* for use by protocol implementation */
+	const struct ceph_auth_client_ops *ops;  /* null iff protocol==0 */
+
+	bool negotiating;       /* true if negotiating protocol */
+	const char *name;       /* entity name */
+	u64 global_id;          /* our unique id in system */
+	const char *secret;     /* our secret key */
+	unsigned want_keys;     /* which services we want */
+};
+
+extern struct ceph_auth_client *ceph_auth_init(const char *name,
+					       const char *secret);
+extern void ceph_auth_destroy(struct ceph_auth_client *ac);
+
+extern void ceph_auth_reset(struct ceph_auth_client *ac);
+
+extern int ceph_auth_build_hello(struct ceph_auth_client *ac,
+				 void *buf, size_t len);
+extern int ceph_handle_auth_reply(struct ceph_auth_client *ac,
+				  void *buf, size_t len,
+				  void *reply_buf, size_t reply_len);
+extern int ceph_entity_name_encode(const char *name, void **p, void *end);
+
+extern int ceph_build_auth(struct ceph_auth_client *ac,
+		    void *msg_buf, size_t msg_len);
+
+extern int ceph_auth_is_authenticated(struct ceph_auth_client *ac);
+
+#endif