Select an authentication mechanism

An authentication mechanism defines rules about security information, such as whether a credential is forwardable to another Java process, and the format of how security information is stored in both credentials and tokens. We can select and configure an authentication mechanism using the administrative console.

Authentication is the process of establishing whether a client is who or what it claims to be in a particular context. A client can be either an user, a machine, or an application. An authentication mechanism in WAS typically collaborates closely with a user registry. The user registry is the user and groups account repository that the authentication mechanism consults with when performing authentication. The authentication mechanism is responsible for creating a credential, which is an internal product representation of a successfully authenticated client user. Not all credentials are created equally. The abilities of the credential are determined by the configured authentication mechanism.

WebSphere Application Server provides three authentication mechanisms: LTPA, Kerberos, and RSA token.

Security support for Kerberos as the authentication mechanism has been added for this release of WAS. Kerberos (KRB5) is a mature, flexible, open, and very secure network authentication protocol. Kerberos includes authentication, mutual authentication, message integrity, and confidentiality and delegation features. KRB5 is used for Kerberos in the administrative console and in the sas.client.props, soap.client.props, and ipc.client.props files.

The RSA token authentication mechanism, new to this release of WAS, permits the base profiles managed by an administrative agent to have different LTPA keys, user registries, and administrative users, isolating them from a security perspective.

SWAM is deprecated in this release.

Authentication is required for enterprise bean clients and web clients when they access protected resources. Enterprise bean clients, like a servlet or other enterprise beans or a pure client, send the authentication information to a web application server by using CSIv2 (CSIv2).

Web clients use the HTTP or HTTPS protocol to send the authentication information.

The authentication information can be basic authentication (user ID and password), a credential token, or a client certificate. The web authentication is performed by the web authentication module.

To configure web authentication for a web client...

Security | Global security | Authentication | Web and SIP security | General settings

Options include...

Authenticate only when the URI is protected

The web client can retrieve an authenticated identity only when it accesses a protected URI. WAS challenges the web client to provide authentication data when the web client accesses a URI that is protected by a J2EE role.

Use available authentication data when an unprotected URI is accessed

The web client is authorized to call the getRemoteUser, isUserInRole, and getUserPrincipal methods; retrieves an authenticated identity from either a protected or an unprotected URI. Although the authentication data is not used when you access an unprotected URI, the authentication data is retained for future use. This option is available when you select the Authentication only when the URI is protected check box.

Authenticate when any URI is accessed

The web client must provide authentication data regardless of whether the URI is protected.

Default to basic authentication when certificate authentication for the HTTPS client fails.

Specifies that WebSphere Application Server challenges the web client for a user ID and password when the required HTTPS client certificate authentication fails.

The enterprise bean authentication is performed by the EJB authentication module.

The EJB authentication module resides in the CSIv2 and SAS layer.

(zos) The EJB authentication module resides in the CSIv2 and z/SAS layer.

The authentication module is implemented using the JAAS login module. The web authenticator and the EJB authenticator pass the authentication data to the login module, which can use the following mechanisms to authenticate the data:

• Kerberos
• LTPA
• RSA token

The authentication module uses the registry configured on the system to perform the authentication. Four types of registries are supported:

• Federated repositories
• Local operating system
• Stand-alone LDAP registry
• Stand-alone custom registry

External registry implementation following the registry interface specified by IBM can replace either the local operating system or the LDAP registry.

The login module creates a JAAS subject after authentication and stores the credential that is derived from the authentication data in the public credentials list of the subject. The credential is returned to the web authenticator or to the enterprise beans authenticator.

The web authenticator and the enterprise beans authenticator store the received credentials in the Object Request Broker (ORB) current for the authorization service to use in performing further access control checks. If the credentials are forwardable, they are sent to other application servers.

(zos) The web authenticator and the enterprise beans authenticator store the received credentials for the authorization service to use in performing further access control checks.

We can configure authentication mechanisms in the administrative console by doing the following:

1. Click...
   Security | Global security | Authentication mechanisms and expiration | authentication_mechanism

Subtopics

• LTPA>
• Configure LTPA and working with keys
• Kerberos (KRB5) authentication mechanism support for security
• Set up Kerberos as the authentication mechanism
• RSA token authentication mechanism
• Configure the RSA token authentication mechanism
• (zos) Simple WebSphere authentication mechanism (deprecated)
• Message layer authentication

Related tasks

Configure Kerberos as the authentication mechanism using the administrative console

Configure a Java client for Kerberos authentication

Authenticating users

Web authentication settings