HTTP basic authentication

HTTP basic authentication uses a user name and password to authenticate a service client to a secure endpoint.

WebSphere Application Server can have several resources, including Web services, protected by a J2EE security model.

HTTP basic authentication is orthogonal to the security support provided by WS-Security or HTTP SSL configuration.

A simple way to provide authentication data for the service client is to authenticate to the protected service endpoint using HTTP basic authentication. The basic authentication is encoded in the HTTP request that carries the SOAP message. When the application server receives the HTTP request, the user name and password are retrieved and verified using the authentication mechanism specific to the server.

Although the basic authentication data is base64-encoded, sending data over HTTPS is recommended. The integrity and confidentiality of the data can be protected by the SSL protocol.

In some cases, a firewall is present using a pass-thru HTTP proxy server. The HTTP proxy server forwards the basic authentication data into the J2EE application server. The proxy server can also be protected. Applications can specify the proxy data by setting properties in a stub object.

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See Also

Transport level security

 

Related Tasks

HTTP basic authentication collection
Securing Web services for v5.x applications based on WS-Security

 

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