Planning Instant Messaging User Authentication

User authentication enables your users to log in through their Instant Messaging clients to chat and access other features of Instant Messaging.

Instant Messaging and Passwords

User IDs and passwords are stored in your LDAP directory. Password security criteria, such as minimum length, are determined by directory policy requirements. Password security criteria is not part of Instant Messaging administration. See the Directory Server documentation to understand directory server password policies:

http://docs.sun.com/coll/1316.1

Instant Messaging and LDAP

All deployments of Instant Messaging require a directory server. In a deployment without Access Manager, the Instant Messaging server uses the directory server to perform end-user authentication and to search for end users. For various ways to secure the directory, see the Directory Server documentation.

In a deployment with Portal Server, the Instant Messaging server uses the directory used by Portal Server. When installed in an Access Manager deployment environment, the Instant Messaging server uses the directory used by the Access Manager to search for end users, and not for end-user authentication. In an Access Manager deployment, Access Manager performs the authentication.

If you use an LDAP directory to maintain your user namespace, the default configuration makes the following assumptions regarding the schema used by this directory:

• End user entries are identified by the inetOrgPerson object class.

• Group entries are identified by the groupOfUniqueNames or groupofURLs object class.

• Instant Messenger user ID attribute of an end user is provided by the uid attribute (from inetOrgPerson objectclass).

• The email address of an end user is provided by the mail attribute.

• The display name of an end user or group is provided by the cn attribute.

• The list of members of a group is provided by the uniqueMember attribute (groupOfUniqueNames object class).

Some user attributes might contain confidential information. Ensure that your directory access control is set up to prevent unauthorized access by non-privileged users.

Instant Messaging and Searching the Directory Anonymously

Instant Messaging needs to be able to search the directory to function correctly. You need to ensure that your directory is configured to be searchable by anonymous users. If your directory is not readable or searchable by anonymous users, you must take configuration additional steps.

For more information, see Chapter 11, Managing Instant Messaging’s LDAP Access Configuration, in Sun Java System Instant Messaging 7.2 Administration Guide.