The Liberty-based Web Services Modules
Liberty-based web services are those based on specifications in the Liberty ID-WSF and the Liberty ID-SIS. They are accessible from the Access Manager Console by clicking the Web Services tab. The following diagram illustrates how the different web service specifications have been implemented.
Figure 2–3 Architecture of Liberty-based Web Services
The web interface for the Liberty ID-WSF in Access Manager is accessible from the Web Services tab in the Access Manager Console, as shown. The implemented web services include:
Liberty Personal Profile Service
The Liberty Personal Profile Service is a data service that supports storing and modifying a principal's identity attributes. Identity attributes might include information such as first name, last name, home address, and emergency contact information. The Liberty Personal Profile Service is queried or updated by a WSC acting on behalf of the principal. For more information, see Chapter 7, Data Services.
Discovery Service
The Discovery Service is a web service that allows a requesting entity, such as a service provider, to dynamically determine a principal’s registered attribute provider. Typically, a service provider queries the Discovery Service, which responds by providing a resource offering that describes the location of the requested attribute provider. (A resource offering defines associations between a piece of identity data and the service instance that provides access to the data.) The implementation of the Discovery Service includes Java and web-based interfaces. For more information, see Chapter 8, Discovery Service.
Note –
By definition, a discoverable service is assigned a service type Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), allowing the service to be registered in Discovery Service instances. The service type URI is typically defined in the Web Service Definition Language (WSDL) file that defines the service.
SOAP Binding Service
The SOAP Binding Service is the method of transport used to convey identity data between web services. It includes a set of Java APIs used by the developer of a Liberty-enabled identity service. The APIs are used to send and receive identity-based messages using SOAP, an XML-based messaging protocol. The service invokes the correct request handler class (specified by a service endpoint) to handle the messages. For more information, see Chapter 9, SOAP Binding Service.
Authentication Web Service
The Authentication Web Service adds authentication functionality to the SOAP binding. It provides authentication to a WSC, allowing the WSC to obtain security tokens for further interactions with other services at the same provider. These other services may include a discovery service or single sign-on service. Upon successful authentication, the final Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) response contains the resource offering for the Discovery Service. For more information, see Chapter 6, Authentication Web Service.
Caution – Do not confuse the Liberty-based Authentication Web Service with the proprietary Access Manager Authentication Service discussed in the Sun Java System Access Manager 7.1 Technical Overview.
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