Role Mapping Providers

Role mapping is the process whereby principals are dynamically mapped to roles at runtime. In WebLogic Server, a Role Mapping provider determines what roles apply to the principals stored a subject when the subject is attempting to perform an operation on a WebLogic resource. Because this operation usually involves gaining access to the WebLogic resource, Role Mapping providers are typically used with Authorization providers.

The following sections describe Role Mapping provider concepts and functionality, and provide step-by-step instructions for developing a custom Role Mapping provider:

• Role Mapping Concepts
• The Role Mapping Process
• Do You Need to Develop a Custom Role Mapping Provider?
• How to Develop a Custom Role Mapping Provider

 

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Role Mapping Concepts

Before you develop a Role Mapping provider, you need to understand the following concepts:

• Roles
• Dynamic Role Association

Roles

A role is a named collection of users or groups that have similar permissions to access WebLogic resources. Like groups, roles allow you to control access to WebLogic resources for several users at once. However, roles are scoped to specific resources within a single application in a WebLogic Server security domain (unlike groups, which are scoped to an entire WebLogic Server security domain), and can be defined dynamically (as described in Dynamic Role Association).

Notes: For more information about roles, see "Understanding Roles" in Managing WebLogic Security. For more information about WebLogic resources, see WebLogic Resources.

Role Definitions

The SecurityRole interface in the weblogic.security.service package is used to represent the abstract notion of a role. (For more information, see the WebLogic Server 7.0 API Reference Javadoc for the SecurityRole interface.)

Mapping a principal (that is, a user or a group) to a security role confers the defined access permissions to that principal, as long as the principal is "in" the role. For example, an application may define a role called "AppAdmin," which provides write access to a small subset of that application's resources. Any principal in the AppAdmin role would then have write access to those resources. Many principals can be mapped to a single role. For more information about principals, see Users and Groups, Principals and Subjects.

Roles are specified in Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) deployment descriptor files and/or in the WebLogic Server Administration Console. For more information, see Managing Role Mapping Providers and Deployment Descriptors.

Roles and WebLogic Resources

Once you create a role, you define an association between that role and a WebLogic resource. This association (called a security policy) specifies who has what access to the WebLogic resource. Security policies (as well as roles) are instantiated for each level of the WebLogic resource hierarchy.

Notes: For more information about WebLogic resources, see WebLogic Resources and "Understanding WebLogic Security Policies" in Managing WebLogic Security.

Dynamic Role Association

Roles can be declarative (that is, Java 2 Enterprise Edition roles) or dynamically computed based on the context of the request. This dynamic computation of roles provides a very important benefit: users can be associated with a role based on business rules. For example, a user may be allowed to be in a manager role only while the actual manager is away on an extended business trip. Dynamically associating this role means that you do not need to change or redeploy your application to allow for such a temporarily arrangement. Further, you would not need to remember to revoke the special privileges when the actual manager returns, as you would if you temporarily added the user to a management group.

Note: You create dynamic role associations by defining role statements in the WebLogic Server Administration Console. For more information, see the sections under "Understanding Roles" in Managing WebLogic Security.

Dynamic role association is the term for this late binding of principals (that is, users or groups) to roles at runtime. The late binding occurs just prior to an authorization decision for a protected WebLogic resource, regardless of whether the principal-to-role association is statically defined or dynamically computed. Because of its placement in the invocation sequence, the result of any principal-to-role associations can be taken as an authentication identity, as part of the authorization decision made for the request.

Note: The association of roles for an authenticated user enhances the Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) security defined by the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) specification.

The computed role is able to access a number of pieces of information that make up the context of the request, including the identity of the target (if available) and the parameter values of the request. The context information is typically used as values of parameters in an expression that is evaluated by the WebLogic Security Framework. This functionality is also responsible for associating roles that were statically defined through a deployment descriptor or through the WebLogic Server Administration Console.

 

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The Role Mapping Process

The WebLogic Security Framework calls each Role Mapping provider that is configured for a security realm as part of an authorization decision. For related information, see The Authorization Process.

The result of the dynamic role association (performed by the Role Mapping providers) is a set of roles that apply to the principals stored in a subject at a given moment. These roles can then be used to make authorization decisions for protected WebLogic resources, as well as for resource container and application code. For example, an Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) could use the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) isCallerInRole method to retrieve fields from a record in a database, without having knowledge of the business policies that determine whether access is allowed.

Figure 8-1 shows how the Role Mapping providers interact with the WebLogic Security Framework to create dynamic role associations, and an explanation follows.

Figure 8-1 Role Mapping Providers and the Role Mapping Process

 

Generally, role mapping is performed in the following manner:

1. A user or system process requests a WebLogic resource on which it will attempt to perform a given operation.
2. The resource container that handles the type of WebLogic resource being requested receives the request (for example, the EJB container receives the request for an EJB resource).
3. The resource container constructs a ContextHandler object that may be used by Role Mapping providers to obtain information associated with the context of the request.

   Note: A ContextHandler is a high-performing WebLogic class that allows a variable number of arguments to be passed as strings to a method. For more information about ContextHandlers, see the WebLogic Server 7.0 API Reference Javadoc for the ContextHandler interface.

   The resource container calls the WebLogic Security Framework, passing in the subject (which already contains user and group principals), an identifier for the WebLogic resource, and optionally, the ContextHandler object (to provide additional input).

   Note: For more information about subjects, see Users and Groups, Principals and Subjects. For more information about resource identifiers, see WebLogic Resource Identifiers.

4. The WebLogic Security Framework calls each configured Role Mapping provider to obtain a list of the roles that apply. This works as follows:
   1. The Role Mapping providers use the ContextHandler to request various pieces of information about the request. They construct a set of Callback objects that represent the type of information being requested. This set of Callback objects is then passed as an array to the ContextHandler using the handle method.

   The Role Mapping providers may call the ContextHandler more than once in order to obtain the necessary context information. (The number of times a Role Mapping provider calls the ContextHandler is dependent upon its implementation.)

   2. Using the context information and their associated security provider databases containing security policies, the subject, and the resource, the Role Mapping providers determine whether the requestor (represented by the user and group principals in the subject) is entitled to a certain role.

   The security policies are represented as a set of expressions or rules that are evaluated to determine if a given role is to be granted. These rules may require the Role Mapping provider to substitute the value of context information obtained as parameters into the expression. In addition, the rules may also require the identity of a user or group principal as the value of an expression parameter.

   Note: The rules for security policies are set up in the WebLogic Server Administration Console and in Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) deployment descriptors. For more information, see "Understanding WebLogic Security Policies" in Managing WebLogic Security.

   3. If a security policy specifies that the requestor is entitled to a particular role, the role is added to the list of roles that are applicable to the subject.
   4. This process continues until all security policies that apply to the WebLogic resource or the resource container have been evaluated.
5. The list of roles is returned to the WebLogic Security Framework, where it can be used as part of other operations, such as access decisions.

 

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Do You Need to Develop a Custom Role Mapping Provider?

The default (that is, active) security realm for WebLogic Server includes a WebLogic Role Mapping provider. The WebLogic Role Mapping provider determines dynamic roles for a specific user (subject) with respect to a specific protected WebLogic resource for each of the default users and WebLogic resources. The WebLogic Role Mapping provider supports the deployment and undeployment of roles within the system. The WebLogic Role Mapping provider uses the same security policy engine as the WebLogic Authorization provider. If you want to use a role mapping mechanism that already exists within your organization, you could create a custom Role Mapping provider to tie into that system.

 

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How to Develop a Custom Role Mapping Provider

If the WebLogic Role Mapping provider does not meet your needs, you can develop a custom Role Mapping provider by following these steps:

1. Create Runtime Classes Using the Appropriate SSPIs
2. Generate an MBean Type Using the WebLogic MBeanMaker
3. Configure the Custom Role Mapping Provider Using the Administration Console

Create Runtime Classes Using the Appropriate SSPIs

Before you start creating runtime classes, you should first:

• Understand the Purpose of the "Provider" SSPIs
• Determine Which "Provider" Interface You Will Implement
• Understand the SSPI Hierarchy and Determine Whether You Will Create One or Two Runtime Classes

When you understand this information and have made your design decisions, create the runtime classes for your custom Role Mapping provider by following these steps:

• Implement the RoleProvider SSPI or Implement the DeployableRoleProvider SSPI
• Implement the RoleMapper SSPI

Note: At least one Role Mapping provider in a security realm must implement the DeployableRoleProvider SSPI, or else it will be impossible to deploy Web applications and EJBs.

For an example of how to create a runtime class for a custom Role Mapping provider, see Example: Creating the Runtime Class for the Sample Role Mapping Provider.

Implement the RoleProvider SSPI

To implement the RoleProvider SSPI, provide implementations for the methods described in Understand the Purpose of the "Provider" SSPIs and the following method:

getRoleMapper

public RoleMapper getRoleMapper()

The getRoleMapper method obtains the implementation of the RoleMapper SSPI. For a single runtime class called MyRoleProviderImpl.java, the implementation of the getRoleMapper method would be:

return this;

If there are two runtime classes, then the implementation of the getRoleMapper method could be:

return new MyRoleMapperImpl;

This is because the runtime class that implements the RoleProvider SSPI is used as a factory to obtain classes that implement the RoleMapper SSPI.

For more information about the RoleProvider SSPI and the getRoleMapper method, see the WebLogic Server 7.0 API Reference Javadoc.

Implement the DeployableRoleProvider SSPI

To implement the DeployableRoleProvider SSPI, provide implementations for the methods described in Understand the Purpose of the "Provider" SSPIs, Implement the RoleProvider SSPI, and the following methods:

deployRole

public void deployRole(Resource resource, java.lang.String roleName, java.lang.String[] userAndGroupNames) throws RoleCreationException

The deployRole method creates a role on behalf of a deployed Web application or EJB, based on the WebLogic resource to which the role should apply, the name of the role within the application, and the user and group names that are in the role.

undeployRole

public void undeployRole(Resource resource, java.lang.String roleName) throws RoleRemovalException

The undeployRole method deletes a role on behalf of an undeployed Web application or EJB, based on the WebLogic resource to which the role applied and the name of the role within the application.

For more information about the DeployableRoleProvider SSPI and the deployRole and undeployRole methods, see the WebLogic Server 7.0 API Reference Javadoc.

Implement the RoleMapper SSPI

To implement the RoleMapper SSPI, provide implementations for the following methods:

getRoles

public Map getRoles(Subject subject, Resource resource, ContextHandler handler)

The getRoles method returns the roles associated with a given subject for a specified WebLogic resource, possibly using the optional information specified in the ContextHandler.

A ContextHandler is a high-performing WebLogic class that allows a variable number of arguments to be passed as strings to a method. For more information about ContextHandlers, see the WebLogic Server 7.0 API Reference Javadoc for the ContextHandler interface.

For more information about the RoleMapper SSPI and the getRoles methods, see the WebLogic Server 7.0 API Reference Javadoc.

Example: Creating the Runtime Class for the Sample Role Mapping Provider

Listing 8-1 shows the SampleRoleMapperProviderImpl.java class, which is the runtime class for the sample Role Mapping provider. This runtime class includes implementations for:

• The three methods inherited from the SecurityProvider interface: initialize, getDescription and shutdown (as described in Understand the Purpose of the "Provider" SSPIs.)
• The method inherited from the RoleProvider SSPI: the getRoleMapper method (as described in Implement the RoleProvider SSPI).
• The two methods in the DeployableRoleProvider SSPI: the deployRole and undeployRole methods (as described in Implement the DeployableRoleProvider SSPI).
• The method in the RoleMapper SSPI: the getRoles method (as described in Implement the RoleMapper SSPI).

Note: The bold face code in Listing 8-1 highlights the class declaration and the method signatures.

Listing 8-1 SampleRoleMapperProviderImpl.java

package examples.security.providers.roles;

import java.security.Principal;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Enumeration;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.Properties;
import java.util.Set;
import javax.security.auth.Subject;
import weblogic.management.security.ProviderMBean;
import weblogic.security.WLSPrincipals;
import weblogic.security.service.ContextHandler;
import weblogic.security.spi.DeployableRoleProvider;
import weblogic.security.spi.Resource;
import weblogic.security.spi.RoleCreationException;
import weblogic.security.spi.RoleMapper;
import weblogic.security.spi.RoleRemovalException;
import weblogic.security.spi.SecurityServices;

public final class SampleRoleMapperProviderImpl implements DeployableRoleProvider, RoleMapper
{
   private String description;
   private SampleRoleMapperDatabase database;
   private static final Map NO_ROLES = Collections.unmodifiableMap(new 
     HashMap(1));

   public void initialize(ProviderMBean mbean, SecurityServices services)
   {
      System.out.println("SampleRoleMapperProviderImpl.initialize");
      SampleRoleMapperMBean myMBean = (SampleRoleMapperMBean)mbean;
      description = myMBean.getDescription() + "\n" + myMBean.getVersion();
      database = new SampleRoleMapperDatabase(myMBean);
   }

   public String getDescription()
   {
      return description;
   }

   public void shutdown()
   {
      System.out.println("SampleRoleMapperProviderImpl.shutdown");
   }

   public RoleMapper getRoleMapper()
   {
      return this;
   }

   public Map getRoles(Subject subject, Resource resource, ContextHandler 
   handler)
   {
      System.out.println("SampleRoleMapperProviderImpl.getRoles");
      System.out.println("\tsubject\t= " + subject);
      System.out.println("\tresource\t= " + resource);

      Map roles = new HashMap();
      Set principals = subject.getPrincipals();

      for (Resource res = resource; res != null; res = res.getParentResource()) 
      {
         getRoles(res, principals, roles);
      }

      getRoles(null, principals, roles);

      if (roles.isEmpty()) {
         return NO_ROLES;
      }

      return roles;
   }

   public void deployRole(Resource resource, String roleName, String[] 
   principalNames) throws RoleCreationException
   {
      System.out.println("SampleRoleMapperProviderImpl.deployRole");
      System.out.println("\tresource\t\t= " + resource);
      System.out.println("\troleName\t\t= " + roleName);

      for (int i = 0; principalNames != null && i < principalNames.length; i++) 
      {
         System.out.println("\tprincipalNames[" + i + "]\t= " + 
         principalNames[i]);
      }

      database.setRole(resource, roleName, principalNames);
   }

   public void undeployRole(Resource resource, String roleName) throws 
   RoleRemovalException
   {
      System.out.println("SampleRoleMapperProviderImpl.undeployRole");
      System.out.println("\tresource\t= " + resource);
      System.out.println("\troleName\t= " + roleName);

      database.removeRole(resource, roleName);
   }

   private void getRoles(Resource resource, Set principals, Map roles)
   {
      for (Enumeration e = database.getRoles(resource); e.hasMoreElements();) 
      {
         String role = (String)e.nextElement();
         if (roleMatches(resource, role, principals)) 
         {
            roles.put(role, new SampleSecurityRoleImpl(role, "no description"));
         }
      }
   }

   private boolean roleMatches(Resource resource, String role, Set 
   principalsHave)
   {
      for (Enumeration e = database.getPrincipalsForRole(resource, role); 
        e.hasMoreElements();) 
      {
         String principalWant = (String)e.nextElement();
         if (principalMatches(principalWant, principalsHave)) 
         {
            return true;
         }
      }
      return false;
   }

   private boolean principalMatches(String principalWant, Set principalsHave)
   {
      if (WLSPrincipals.getEveryoneGroupname().equals(principalWant) ||
        (WLSPrincipals.getUsersGroupname().equals(principalWant) && 
        !principalsHave.isEmpty()) || (WLSPrincipals.getAnonymousUsername().
        equals(principalWant) && principalsHave.isEmpty()) ||
        principalsContain(principalsHave, principalWant)) 
        {
           return true;
        }
      return false;
   }

   private boolean principalsContain(Set principalsHave, String 
   principalNameWant)
   {
      for (Iterator i = principalsHave.iterator(); i.hasNext();) 
      {
         Principal principal = (Principal)i.next();
         String principalNameHave = principal.getName();
         if (principalNameWant.equals(principalNameHave)) 
         {
            return true;
         }
      }
      return false;
   }
}

Listing 8-2 shows the sample SecurityRole implementation that is used along with the SampleRoleMapperProviderImpl.java runtime class.

Listing 8-2 SampleSecurityRoleImpl.java

package examples.security.providers.roles;

import weblogic.security.service.SecurityRole;

public class SampleSecurityRoleImpl implements SecurityRole
{
   private String _roleName;
   private String _description;
   private int _hashCode;

   public SampleSecurityRoleImpl(String roleName, String description)
   {
      _roleName = roleName;
      _description = description;
      _hashCode = roleName.hashCode() + 17;
   }

   public boolean equals(Object secRole)
   {
      if (secRole == null) 
      {
         return false;
      }

      if (this == secRole) 
      {
         return true;
      }

      if (!(secRole instanceof SampleSecurityRoleImpl)) 
      {
         return false;
      }

      SampleSecurityRoleImpl anotherSecRole = (SampleSecurityRoleImpl)secRole;

      if (!_roleName.equals(anotherSecRole.getName())) 
      {
         return false;
      }

      return true;
   }

   public String toString () { return _roleName; }
   public int hashCode () { return _hashCode; }
   public String getName () { return _roleName; }
   public String getDescription () { return _description; }
}

Generate an MBean Type Using the WebLogic MBeanMaker

Before you start generating an MBean type for your custom security provider, you should first:

• Understand Why You Need an MBean Type
• Determine Which SSPI MBeans to Extend and Implement
• Understand the Basic Elements of an MBean Definition File (MDF)
• Understand the SSPI MBean Hierarchy and How It Affects the Administration Console
• Understand What the WebLogic MBeanMaker Provides

When you understand this information and have made your design decisions, create the MBean type for your custom Role Mapping provider by following these steps:

1. Create an MBean Definition File (MDF)
2. Use the WebLogic MBeanMaker to Generate the MBean Type
3. Use the WebLogic MBeanMaker to Create the MBean JAR File (MJF)
4. Install the MBean Type Into the WebLogic Server Environment

Notes: Several sample security providers (available under "Code Direct" on the dev2dev Web site) illustrate how to perform these steps.

All instructions provided in this section assume that you are working in a Windows environment.

Create an MBean Definition File (MDF)

To create an MBean Definition File (MDF), follow these steps:

1. Copy the MDF for the sample Role Mapping provider to a text file.

   Note: The MDF for the sample Role Mapping provider is called SampleRoleMapper.xml.

2. Modify the content of the <MBeanType> and <MBeanAttribute> elements in your MDF so that they are appropriate for your custom Role Mapping provider.
3. Add any custom attributes and operations (that is, additional <MBeanAttribute> and <MBeanOperation> elements) to your MDF.
4. Save the file.

Note: A complete reference of MDF element syntax is available in MBean Definition File (MDF) Element Syntax.

Use the WebLogic MBeanMaker to Generate the MBean Type

Once you create your MDF, you are ready to run it through the WebLogic MBeanMaker. The WebLogic MBeanMaker is currently a command-line utility that takes as its input an MDF, and outputs some intermediate Java files, including an MBean interface, an MBean implementation, and an associated MBean information file. Together, these intermediate files form the MBean type for your custom security provider.

The instructions for generating an MBean type differ based on the design of your custom Role Mapping provider. Follow the instructions that are appropriate to your situation:

• No Custom Operations
• Custom Operations

No Custom Operations

If the MDF for your custom Role Mapping provider does not include any custom operations, follow these steps:

1. Create a new DOS shell.
2. Type the following command:

   java -DMDF=xmlfile -DFiles=filesdir -DcreateStubs=true weblogic.management.commo.WebLogicMBeanMaker

   where xmlFile is the MDF (the XML MBean Description File) and filesdir is the location where the WebLogic MBeanMaker will place the intermediate files for the MBean type.

   Whenever xmlfile is provided, a new set of output files is generated. If files already exist in the location specified by filesdir, you are informed that the existing files will be overwritten and are asked to confirm.

   Each time you use the -DcreateStubs=true flag, it overwrites any existing MBean implementation file.

   Note: The WebLogic MBeanMaker processes one MDF at a time. Therefore, you may have to repeat this process if you have multiple MDFs (in other words, multiple Role Mapping providers).

3. Proceed to Use the WebLogic MBeanMaker to Create the MBean JAR File (MJF).

Custom Operations

If the MDF for your custom Role Mapping provider does include custom operations, consider the following:

• Are you creating an MBean type for the first time? If so, follow these steps:

1. Create a new DOS shell.
2. Type the following command:

   java -DMDF=xmlfile -DFiles=filesdir -DcreateStubs=true weblogic.management.commo.WebLogicMBeanMaker

   where xmlFile is the MDF (the XML MBean Description File) and filesdir is the location where the WebLogic MBeanMaker will place the intermediate files for the MBean type.

   Whenever xmlfile is provided, a new set of output files is generated. If files already exist in the location specified by filesdir, you are informed that the existing files will be overwritten and are asked to confirm.

   Each time you use the -DcreateStubs=true flag, it overwrites any existing MBean implementation file.

   Note: The WebLogic MBeanMaker processes one MDF at a time. Therefore, you may have to repeat this process if you have multiple MDFs (in other words, multiple Role Mapping providers).

3. For any custom operations in your MDF, implement the methods using the method stubs.
4. Save the file.
5. Proceed to Use the WebLogic MBeanMaker to Create the MBean JAR File (MJF).

• Are you updating an existing MBean type? If so, follow these steps:

1. Copy your existing MBean implementation file to a temporary directory so that your current method implementations are not overwritten by the WebLogic MBeanMaker.
2. Create a new DOS shell.
3. Type the following command:

   java -DMDF=xmlfile -DFiles=filesdir -DcreateStubs=true weblogic.management.commo.WebLogicMBeanMaker

   where xmlFile is the MDF (the XML MBean Description File) and filesdir is the location where the WebLogic MBeanMaker will place the intermediate files for the MBean type.

   Whenever xmlfile is provided, a new set of output files is generated. If files already exist in the location specified by filesdir, you are informed that the existing files will be overwritten and are asked to confirm.

   Each time you use the -DcreateStubs=true flag, it overwrites any existing MBean implementation file.

   Note: The WebLogic MBeanMaker processes one MDF at a time. Therefore, you may have to repeat this process if you have multiple MDFs (in other words, multiple Role Mapping providers).

4. If you modified the MDF to include any custom operations that were not in the original MDF, implement the methods using the method stubs.
5. Save the version of the MBean implementation file that is complete (that is, has all methods implemented).
6. Copy this MBean implementation file into the directory where the WebLogic MBeanMaker placed the intermediate files for the MBean type. You specified this as filesdir in step 3. (You will be overriding the MBean implementation file generated by the WebLogic MBeanMaker as a result of step 3.)
7. Proceed to Use the WebLogic MBeanMaker to Create the MBean JAR File (MJF).

About the Generated MBean Interface File

The MBean interface file is the client-side API to the MBean that your runtime class or your MBean implementation will use to obtain configuration data. It is typically used in the initialize method as described in Understand the Purpose of the "Provider" SSPIs.

Because the WebLogic MBeanMaker generates MBean types from the MDF you created, the generated MBean interface file will have the name of the MDF, plus the text "MBean" appended to it. For example, the result of running the SampleRoleMapper MDF through the WebLogic MBeanMaker will yield an MBean interface file called SampleRoleMapperMBean.java.

Use the WebLogic MBeanMaker to Create the MBean JAR File (MJF)

Once your have run your MDF through the WebLogic MBeanMaker to generate your intermediate files, and you have edited the MBean implementation file to supply implementations for the appropriate methods within it, you need to package the MBean files and the runtime classes for the custom Role Mapping provider into an MBean JAR File (MJF). The WebLogic MBeanMaker also automates this process.

To create an MJF for your custom Role Mapping provider, follow these steps:

1. Create a new DOS shell.
2. Type the following command:

   java -DMJF=jarfile -DFiles=filesdir weblogic.management.commo.WebLogicMBeanMaker

   where jarfile is the name for the MJF and filesdir is the location where the WebLogic MBeanMaker looks for the files to JAR into the MJF.

   Compilation occurs at this point, so errors are possible. If jarfile is provided, and no errors occur, an MJF is created with the specified name.

Notes: If you want to update an existing MJF, simply delete the MJF and regenerate it. The WebLogic MBeanMaker also has a -DIncludeSource option, which controls whether source files are included into the resulting MJF. Source files include both the generated source and the MDF itself. The default is false. This option is ignored when -DMJF is not used.

The resulting MJF can be installed into your WebLogic Server environment, or distributed to your customers for installation into their WebLogic Server environments.

Install the MBean Type Into the WebLogic Server Environment

To install an MBean type into the WebLogic Server environment, copy the MJF into the WL_HOME\server\lib\mbeantypes directory, where WL_HOME is the top-level installation directory for WebLogic Server. This "deploys" your custom Role Mapping provider—that is, it makes the custom Role Mapping provider manageable from the WebLogic Server Administration Console.

You can create instances of the MBean type by configuring your custom Role Mapping provider (see Configure the Custom Role Mapping Provider Using the Administration Console), and then use those MBean instances from a GUI, from other Java code, or from APIs. For example, you can use the WebLogic Server Administration Console to get and set attributes and invoke operations, or you can develop other Java objects that instantiate MBeans and automatically respond to information that the MBeans supply. We recommend that you back up these MBean instances. For more information, see "Backing Up Security Configuration Data" under "Recovering Failed Servers" in Creating and Configuring WebLogic Server Domains.

Configure the Custom Role Mapping Provider Using the Administration Console

Configuring a custom Role Mapping provider means that you are adding the custom Role Mapping provider to your security realm, where it can be accessed by applications requiring role mapping services.

Configuring custom security providers is an administrative task, but it is a task that may also be performed by developers of custom security providers. This section contains information that is important for the person configuring your custom Role Mapping providers:

• Managing Role Mapping Providers and Deployment Descriptors
• Enabling Security Role Deployment

Note: The steps for configuring a custom Role Mapping provider using the WebLogic Server Administration Console are described under "Configuring a Custom Security Provider" in Managing WebLogic Security.

Managing Role Mapping Providers and Deployment Descriptors

Some application components, such as Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs) and Web applications, store relevant deployment information in Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and WebLogic Server deployment descriptors. For Web applications, the deployment descriptor files (called web.xml and weblogic.xml) contain information for implementing the J2EE security model, including security role mappings. Typically, you will want to include this information when first configuring your Role Mapping providers in the WebLogic Server Administration Console.

The Administration Console provides an Ignore Security Data in Deployment Descriptors flag for this purpose, which you or an administrator should deselect the first time a custom Role Mapping provider is configured. (To locate this flag, click Security —> Realms —> realm in the left pane of the Administration Console, where realm is the name of your security realm. Then select the General tab.) When this flag is deselected and a Web application or EJB is deployed, WebLogic Server reads information from the web.xml and weblogic.xml deployment descriptor files (an example of a web.xml file is shown in Listing 8-3). This information is then copied into the security provider database for the Role Mapping provider.

Listing 8-3 Sample web.xml File

<?xml version="1.0" ?>

<!DOCTYPE web-app PUBLIC "-//Sun Microsystems, Inc.//DTD Web Application 2.2//EN" "http://java.sun.com/j2ee/dtds/web-app_2_2.dtd">

<web-app>

     ...

     <context-param>
          <param-name>HTTPS_PORT</param-name>
          <param-value>7502</param-value>
     </context-param>

     ...

     <servlet>
          <servlet-name>Security</servlet-name>
          <servlet-class>com.beasys.commerce.ebusiness.security.
              EncryptionServlet</servlet-class>
     </servlet>

     ...

     <servlet-mapping>
          <servlet-name>Security</servlet-name>
          <url-pattern>/security</url-pattern>
     </servlet-mapping>

     ...

     <session-config>
          <session-timeout>15</session-timeout>
     </session-config>

     ...

     <security-constraint>
          <web-resource-collection>
              <web-resource-name>Administration Tool Pages</web-resource-name>
              <description>The Administration Tool Pages</description>

              <url-pattern>/tools/catalog/*</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/tools/content/*</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/tools/order/*</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/tools/property/*</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/tools/usermgmt/*</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/tools/util/*</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/tools/webflow/*</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/tools/*info.jsp</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/repository/*</url-pattern>
          		    <url-pattern>/security/*</url-pattern>

              <http-method>GET</http-method>
              <http-method>POST</http-method>
          </web-resource-collection>

          <auth-constraint>
              <description>Administrators</description>
              <role-name>SystemAdminRole</role-name>
          </auth-constraint>

          <user-data-constraint>
              <transport-guarantee>NONE</transport-guarantee>
          </user-data-constraint>

     </security-constraint>

     <security-constraint>
          <web-resource-collection>
              <web-resource-name>Portal Administration Tool Pages
              </web-resource-name>
              <description>The Portal Administration Tool Pages</description>

              <url-pattern>/tools/portal/*</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/tools/wlps_home.jsp</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/repository/*</url-pattern>
              <url-pattern>/security/*</url-pattern>

              <http-method>GET</http-method>
              <http-method>POST</http-method>
          </web-resource-collection>

          <auth-constraint>
              <description>Administrators</description>
              <role-name>DelegatedAdminRole</role-name>
              <role-name>SystemAdminRole</role-name> 
          </auth-constraint>

          <user-data-constraint>
              <transport-guarantee>NONE</transport-guarantee>
          </user-data-constraint>

     </security-constraint>

     ...

     <login-config>
          <auth-method>BASIC</auth-method>
     </login-config> 

     <security-role>
          <description>System Administrators</description>
          <role-name>SystemAdminRole</role-name>
     </security-role> 

     ...

</web-app>

While you can set additional security role mappings in the web.xml/weblogic.xml deployment descriptors and in the Administration Console, BEA recommends that you copy the security role mappings defined in the Web application or EJB deployment descriptors once, then use the Administration Console to define subsequent security role mappings. This is because any changes made to the roles through the Administration Console during configuration of a Role Mapping provider will not be persisted to the web.xml and weblogic.xml files. Before you deploy the application again (which will happen if you redeploy it through the Administration Console, modify it on disk, or restart WebLogic Server), you should select the Ignore Security Data in Deployment Descriptors flag. If you do not, the security role mappings defined using the Administration Console will be overwritten by those defined in the deployment descriptors.

Note: The Ignore Security Data in Deployment Descriptors flag also affects Authorization providers and Credential Mapping providers. For more information, see Managing Authorization Providers and Deployment Descriptors and Managing Credential Mapping Providers, Resource Adapters, and Deployment Descriptors, respectively.

Enabling Security Role Deployment

If you implemented the DeployableRoleProvider SSPI and want to support deployable security roles with your custom Role Mapping provider, the person configuring the custom Role Mapping provider (that is, you or an administrator) must be sure that the Role Deployment Enabled flag in the WebLogic Server Administration Console is checked. Otherwise, deployment for the Role Mapping provider is considered "turned off." Therefore, if multiple Role Mapping providers are configured, the Role Deployment Enabled flag can be used to control which Role Mapping provider is used for security role deployment.

The Role Deployment Enabled flag performs the same function as the Ignore Security Data in Deployment Descriptors flag (described in Managing Role Mapping Providers and Deployment Descriptors), but is specific to Role Mapping providers.

Note: If both the Role Deployment Enabled flag and the Ignore Security Data in Deployment Descriptors flag are checked, the Ignore Security Data in Deployment Descriptors flag takes precedence. In other words, if the Ignore Security Data in Deployment Descriptors flag is checked, the Role Mapping provider will not do deployment even if its Role Deployment Enabled flag is checked.

Caution: Deploying a role for a WebLogic resource and role name that already exists will result in the role being overwritten.