Authentication Components

In order for the credential/authentication process to work the following components must be in place:

• Principal's DES credential information. This information is initially created by an NIS+ administrator for each principal. It is stored in the cred table of the principal's home domain. A principal's DES credential information consists of:

  • Principal name. This would be a user's fully qualified login ID or a machine's fully qualified host name.

  • Principal's Secure RPC netname. Each principal has a unique Secure RPC netname. (See "DES Credential Secure RPC Netname" for more information on Secure RPC netnames.)

  • Principal's public key.

  • Principal's encrypted private key.

• Principal's LOCAL credential.

• Server's public keys. Each directory object stores copies of the public keys of all the servers in that domain. Note that each server's DES credentials are also stored in the cred table.

• Keyserver copy of principal's private key. The keyserver has a copy of the private key of the principal that is currently logged in (user or machine).