JACC providers
The Java Authorization Contract for Containers (JACC) is a spec that was first introduced in Java EE Version 1.4 through the Java Specifications Request (JSR) 115 process. JACC spec 1.4 is included for WAS version 7.0 for Java EE 5 support.. This spec defines a contract between Java EE 5 containers and authorization providers.
The contract enables third-party authorization providers to plug into Java EE 5 appservers, such as WAS, to make the authorization decisions when a Java EE 5 resource is accessed. The access decisions are made through the standard java.security.Policy object.
To plug in to WAS, the third-party JACC provider must implement the policy class, policy configuration factory class, and policy configuration interface, which are all required by the JACC specification.
The JACC spec does not specify how to handle the authorization table information between the container and the provider. It is the responsibility of the provider to provide some management facilities to handle this information. The container is not required to provide the authorization table information in the binding file to the provider.
WAS provides the RoleConfigurationFactory and the RoleConfiguration role configuration interfaces to help the provider obtain information from the binding file, as well as an initialization interface (InitializeJACCProvider). The implementation of these interfaces is optional. See Interfaces that support JACC for more information about these interfaces.
TAM as the default JACC provider for WAS
The JACC provider in WAS is implemented by both the client and the server pieces of the TAM. The client piece of TAM is embedded in WAS. The server piece is located on a separate installable CD that is shipped as part of the WAS ND (ND) package.
The JACC provider is not the default authorization. You must configure WAS to use the JACC provider.
Related concepts
TAM integration as the JACC provider
JACC support in WAS
Authorization providers
Related tasks
Enable an external JACC provider
Authorizing access to J2EE resources using TAM
Propagating security policy of installed applications to a JACC provider using wsadmin scripting
Related
Interfaces that support JACC
Security authorization provider troubleshooting tips
External authorization provider settings