How the TEDG Establishes a Secure Connection to the NI


	Corporate Info \| News \| Solutions \| Products \| Partners \| Services \| Events \| Download \| How To Buy
	http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/index.html \| Site Map \| Search \| PDF Files \| Contact \| Glossary

Tuxedo Doc Home \| TOP END Domain Gateway \| Topic List \| Previous \| Next \| Contents

Using the BEA Tuxedo TOP END Domain Gateway

All nodes in a BEA TOP END system must be configured for the same level of message protection. The SECURITY parameter in the DM_LOCAL_DOMAINS section of the DMCONFIG file determines the level of protection configured for the TEDG. Three levels of protection are available: CLEAR, SAFE, and PRIVATE.

At the lowest level, CLEAR, messages are sent without any protection.
At the next level, SAFE, a checksum for each message is generated by the Kerberos 4 libraries and is appended to the message.
At the highest level, PRIVATE, the Kerberos libraries, using the DES algorithm, encrypt each message. An encryption key is automatically established when the TEDG and NI connect.

These SECURITY parameter values correspond to the BEA TOP END Node Manager (NM) configuration parameters [security] and [internode security] as described in nm_config(4T) in BEA TOP END Programmer's Reference Manual.

When started, the TEDG checks the configuration to determine whether security is enabled (that is, to determine whether a value of CLEAR, SAFE, or PRIVATE has been assigned to the SECURITY parameter). If it is enabled, the TEDG needs a Kerberos Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT), just as the BEA TOP END NM does at start of day. To obtain a TGT, the Kerberos database used by the BEA TOP END system must contain an entry (Principal) for the machine on which the TEDG is running. If the TEDG cannot obtain a TGT, the TEDG logs an error and terminates.

The TEDG to NI connection process follows the BEA TOP END sign-on protocol. As part of this protocol, the TEDG and NI exchange security configurations and check to make sure the two configurations match exactly. If the configurations do not match, the TEDG logs an error (see userlog(3c) in BEA Tuxedo C Function Reference) and refuses the connection. If the configuration matches, the TEDG and the remote BEA TOP END system perform mutual authentication, using the protocol for the BEA TOP END Node Manager. If SECURITY is set to either SAFE or PRIVATE in the DMCONFIG file, the TEDG obtains an encryption key as part of the authentication process.

Encryption of messages between BEA TOP END and BEA Tuxedo systems is based on the BEA TOP END internode message security used between NIs. Internode message security is based, in turn, on the Kerberos 4.9 application libraries.

Note: To use BEA TOP END internode security, you must have the BEA TOP END Security Services Product installed on the same machine as the TEDG.