Portal Security Planning

 

+
Search Tips   |   Advanced Search

 

---

Overview

The following questions guide you through some of the important issues to consider as you plan the security strategy for WebSphere Portal.

• Will you use a customer user registry, a Member Manager database-only configuration, or an LDAP server for authentication?

• Will you use an external security manager such as Tivoli Access Manager?

  An external security manager might provide more features than the stand-alone security for WebSphere Portal. External security managers also allow you to centralize the security management by combining the security management of WebSphere Portal with the security management of other applications. External security managers require some additional resources and expertise. See External security managers for more information.

• Will you use an external security manager for authentication only or for both authentication and authorization?

  Use an external security manager for authentication only, or for both authentication and authorization. Using SiteMinder only for authorization is not recommended. Using Tivoli Access Manager to perform only authorization is not supported. When using external authentication, WebSphere Portal can exist as part of a larger single signon infrastructure that is provided by the external security manager. If you use external authorization as well, you can centralize access control throughout the organization.

• Will you set up SSL for WebSphere Portal? For the LDAP server?

  Using the Secure Sockets Layer protocol provides encrypted transmissions to ensure that data remains confidential. SSL connections can be slightly slower than unencrypted connections. In general, weigh the benefits of tighter security against the complexity of the effort that is required to configure SSL in the environment. Also consider the likelihood that transmissions inside the firewall could be intercepted, and the potential consequences of such an interception.

 

See also

1. Authorization
2. Set up LDAP over SSL
3. Set up SSL for WebSphere Portal
4. Databases
5. LDAP
6. Member Manager
7. Access management scenario