Sun Java System Web Server 7.0 Update 6 Administrator's Configuration File Reference

AuthTrans

When the server receives a request, it executes the AuthTrans directives in the default object to check if the client is authorized to access the server. If there is more than one AuthTrans directive, the server executes them in sequence until one succeeds in authorizing the user, unless one of them results in an error. If an error occurs, the server skips all other directives except for the Error directive.

AuthTrans directives work in conjunction with the PathCheck directives. The AuthTrans directive checks if the user name and password associated with the request are acceptable, but it does not allow or deny access to the request; that is done by the PathCheck directive.

The authorization process is split into two steps to incorporate multiple authorization schemes easily and provide the flexibility to have resources that record authorization information.

When a client initially makes a request, the user name and password are unknown. The AuthTrans directive gets the user name and password from the headers associated with the request. The AuthTrans and PathCheck directives work together to reject the request if they cannot validate the user name and password. When a request is rejected, the server displays a dialog box. The client includes the user name and password in the headers and resubmits the request.