Authentication Service

Authentication is the first step in determining whether a user is allowed to access a resource protected by Access Manager. The Access Manager Authentication Service verifies that a user really is the person he claims to be. It consists of the following components:

• Plug-in modules

• A framework for connecting plug-in modules

• A core authentication component

• A graphical user interface

• Client APIs

The Authentication Service interacts with the Authentication database to validate user credentials, and with Identity Repository Management plug-ins to retrieve user profile attributes. When the Authentication Service determines that a user’s credentials are genuine, a valid user session token is issued, and the user is said to be authenticated.