Use Microsoft Active Directory for authentication
WebSphere Application Server supports the Microsoft Active Directory 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.
Non-unique sAMAccountName across the entire forest...
(Windows) Note: 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 WAS.
- You set the user registry for WAS 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 our operating system.
Tasks
- 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
- Develop strategies for user look up that match your 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.
- Evaluate with testing to ensure that your authentication search strategies successfully authenticate users in your Microsoft Active Directory installation.
You will be in the position to authenticate users with LDAP registries in a Microsoft Active Directory forest.
What to do next
When we select any of these scenarios, consult appropriate Microsoft Active Directory information to completely understand any implications the scenarios might have on your configuation planning.
Subtopics
- Authentication using Microsoft Active Directory
- Groups spanning domains with Microsoft Active Directory
- Microsoft Active Directory Global Catalog
- Options for finding group membership within a Microsoft Active Directory forest
- Authenticating users with LDAP registries in a Microsoft Active Directory forest