Synchronization

The synchronization component of an authentication service imports users from an external system into the portal so that the users can be categorized in the portal's group hierarchy. The synchronization process is handled by the portal Automation Server, as scheduled in the Job associated with the Authentication Source object in the portal.

Synchronization does not store users' passwords in the portal database. Authentication is handled by the authentication component and the system of record.

Authentication

The authentication component of an authentication service handles real-time authentication of portal users against an external system. Since the portal cannot change an externally managed password, a user's login must be compared against the system of record. The remote authentication service must maintain state and handle the communication between the portal and the back-end system. The user name and password can be captured in the session at login to be used later for basic authentication.

Development

The following topics provide detailed instructions on developing custom authentication services:

• Authentication Service Internals describes the interfaces that must be implemented when creating an authentication service, and how the interfaces will be called by the portal.
• Implementing an Authentication Service provides step by step instructions on implementing the required interfaces, with example code.
• Deploying a Java Authentication Service andDeploying a .NET Authentication Service describe how to deploy an authentication service to a Java or .NET application server.
• Configuring an Authentication Service describes how to configure the authentication service in the portal.