Use Microsoft Active Directory for authentication

WebSphere Application Server supports the Microsoft Active Directory. Many installations use the Microsoft Active Directory as their primary component for managing user authentication and user data. Authenticating a user across multiple repositories or across a distributed LDAP, such as a Microsoft Active Directory forest can be challenging. In any search of the whole registry, if there is more than one match at run time, authentication fails because ambiguous matches result.

User IDs are guaranteed to be unique within a single domain, but there is no automatic guarantee that a given user ID is unique across a tree or a forest. The following figure exemplifies the condition of a given user ID not being unique across a tree or forest.

Figure 1. Forest search strategy.. Search illustration of a non-unique sAMAccountName across the entire forest.

Authenticating users across trees or forests can be a difficult task and the following steps should be performed.

Note: We must ensure that the Microsoft Windows Computer Browser Service is enabled in the operating system when the following conditions are true:

• Your primary domain is managed by Microsoft Active Directory.

• The Primary Domain Controller (PDC) exists in a different subnet from WebSphere Application Server.

• You set the user registry for WebSphere Application Server to local OS and not LDAP.

For more information on how to set and verify that the Microsoft Windows Computer Browser Service is enabled, see the Microsoft documentation for the operating system.

1. Analyze the Microsoft Active Directory construct that defines the installation. Your analysis can conclude with the following forms:

   • Single LDAP registry - Simple configuration.

   • Federated repository (a forest )- Typical configuration.

   • Merger of federated repositories (a merger of trees into a forest )- Less typical configuration

   • Combination of user and group forests - Rare configuration

2. Develop strategies for user look up that match the Microsoft Active Directory installation. Remember that user IDs are guaranteed to be unique within a single domain, but there is no automatic guarantee that a given user ID is unique across a tree or a forest.

3. Evaluate with testing to ensure that the authentication search strategies successfully authenticate users in the Microsoft Active Directory installation.

Results

You will be in the position to authenticate users with LDAP registries in a Microsoft Active Directory forest.

What to do next

When you select any of these scenarios, consult appropriate Microsoft Active Directory information to completely understand any implications the scenarios might have on the configuation planning.gotcha

Subtopics

• Authentication using Microsoft Active Directory
  Many installations use the Microsoft Active Directory as their primary component for managing user authentication and user data. One portion of the Microsoft Active Directory provides a LDAP service. WebSphere Application Server supports LDAP and, therefore, WebSphere Application Server supports the Microsoft Active Directory.

• Groups spanning domains with Microsoft Active Directory
  The domains and forests functional levels of the Microsoft Active Directory control which configurations are available for use. How you configure Microsoft Active Directory affects how group membership is determined within WebSphere Application Server. Using groups to configure the Microsoft Active Directory installation with the product allows flexible management.

• Microsoft Active Directory Global Catalog
  A Global Catalog is a Global Catalog Server. A Global Catalog holds a full set of attributes for the domain in which it resides and a subset of attributes for all objects in the Microsoft Active Directory Forest. The primary two functions of a Global Catalog within the Microsoft Active Directory are logon capability and Microsoft Active Directory queries.

• Options for finding group membership within a Microsoft Active Directory forest
  Locating and finding group membership with the Microsoft Active Directory forest is necessary for authenticating users. There are several ways to approach finding group membership within the Microsoft Active Directory forest.

• Authenticating users with LDAP registries in a Microsoft Active Directory forest
  Authenticating a user across multiple repositories, or across a distributed LDAP repository, such as a Microsoft Active Directory forest can be challenging. In any search of the whole user registry, if there is more than one match at run time, authentication fails because of ambiguous match results.

Related tasks

Authenticating users

Locating user group memberships in a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol registry