Developing Security Providers for WebLogic Server

Auditing Providers

Auditing is the process whereby information about operating requests and the outcome of those requests are collected, stored, and distributed for the purposes of non-repudiation. In WebLogic Server, an Auditing provider provides this electronic trail of computer activity.

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

• Auditing Concepts
• The Auditing Process
• Extend weblogic.management.security.audit.ContextHandlerImpl
• How to Develop a Custom Auditing Provider

 

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Auditing Concepts

Before you develop an Auditing provider, you need to understand the following concepts:

• Audit Channels
• Auditing Events From Custom Security Providers

Audit Channels

An Audit Channel is the component of an Auditing provider that determines whether a security event should be audited, and performs the actual recording of audit information based on Quality of Service (QoS) policies.

Note: For more information about Audit Channels, see Implement the AuditChannel SSPI.

Auditing Events From Custom Security Providers

Each type of security provider can call the configured Auditing providers with a request to write out information about security-related events, before or after these events take place. For example, if a user attempts to access a withdraw method in a bank account application (to which they should not have access), the Authorization provider can request that this operation be recorded. Security-related events are only recorded when they meet or exceed the severity level specified in the configuration of the Auditing providers.

For information about how to post audit events from a custom security provider, see Auditing Events From Custom Security Providers.

 

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The Auditing Process

Figure 10-1 shows how Auditing providers interact with the WebLogic Security Framework and other types of security providers (using Authentication providers as an example) to audit selected events. An explanation follows.

Figure 10-1 Auditing Providers, the WebLogic Security Framework, and Other Security Providers

 

Auditing providers interact with the WebLogic Security Framework and other types of security providers in the following manner:

Note: In Figure 10-1 and the explanation below, the "other types of security providers" are a WebLogic Authentication provider and a custom Authentication provider. However, these can be any type of security provider that is developed as described in Auditing Events From Custom Security Providers.

A resource container passes a user's authentication information (for example, a username/password combination) to the WebLogic Security Framework as part of a login request.
The WebLogic Security Framework passes the information associated with the login request to the configured Authentication providers.
If, in addition to providing authentication services, the Authentication providers are designed to post audit events, the Authentication providers will each:
Instantiate an AuditEvent object. At minimum, the AuditEvent object includes information about the event type to be audited and an audit severity level.

Note: An AuditEvent class is created by implementing either the AuditEvent SSPI or an AuditEvent convenience interface in the Authentication provider's runtime class, in addition to the other security service provider interfaces (SSPIs) the custom Authentication provider must already implement. For more information about Audit Events and the AuditEvent SSPI/convenience interfaces, see Create an Audit Event.

Make a trusted call to the Auditor Service, passing in the AuditEvent object.

Note: This is a trusted call because the Auditor Service is already passed to the security provider's initialize method as part of its "Provider" SSPI implementation. For more information, see Understand the Purpose of the "Provider" SSPIs.

The Auditor Service passes the AuditEvent object to the configured Auditing providers' runtime classes (that is, the AuditChannel SSPI implementations), enabling audit event recording.

Note: Depending on the Authentication providers' implementations of the AuditEvent convenience interface, audit requests may occur both pre and post event, as well as just once for an event.

The Auditing providers' runtime classes use the event type, audit severity and other information (such as the Audit Context) obtained from the AuditEvent object to control audit record content. Typically, only one of the configured Auditing providers will meet all the criteria for auditing.

Note: For more information about audit severity levels and the Audit Context, see Audit Severity and Audit Context, respectively.

When the criteria for auditing specified by the Authentication providers in their AuditEvent objects is met, the appropriate Auditing provider's runtime class (that is, the AuditChannel SSPI implementation) writes out audit records in the manner their implementation specifies.

Note: Depending on the AuditChannel SSPI implementation, audit records may be written to a file, a database, or some other persistent storage medium when the criteria for auditing is met.

 

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Implementing the ContextHandler MBean

The ContextHandlerMBean, weblogic.management.security.audit.ContextHandler, provides a set of attributes for ContextHandler support. You use this interface to manage audit providers that support context handler entries in a standard way.

An Auditor provider MBean can optionally implement the ContextHandlerMBean MBean. The Auditor provider can then use the MBean to determine the supported and active ContextHandler entries.

The WebLogic Server Administration Console detects when an Auditor provider implements this MBean and automatically provides a tab for using these attributes.

Note: The ContextHandler entries associated with the ContextHandlerMBean are not related to, nor do they affect, the contents of an AuditEvent that is passed to the Audit providers. An AuditEvent received by a provider may or may not include a ContextHandler with ContextElements. If a ContextHandler is included, an Audit provider can get the ContextHandler from the AuditEvent, regardless of whether you implemented the ContextHandlerMBean management interface. In particular, the AuditContext getContext method returns a weblogic.security.service.ContextHandler interface that is independent of the context handler implemented by the ContextHandlerMBean.

You can choose to implement the ContextHandlerMBean context handler in a manner that compliments the AuditContext getContext method. (The SimpleSampleAuditProviderImpl.java sample takes this approach.) However, there is no requirement that you do so.

ContextHandlerMBean Methods

The ContextHandlerMBean interface implements the following methods:

getActiveContextHandlerEntries

public String[] getActiveContextHandlerEntries()

Returns the ContextHandler entries that the Audit provider is currently configured to process.

getSupportedContextHandlerEntries

public String[] getSupportedContextHandlerEntries()

Returns the list of all ContextHandler entries supported by the auditor.

setActiveContextHandlerEntries

public void setActiveContextHandlerEntries(String[] types) throws InvalidAttributeValueException

Sets the ContextHandler entries that the Audit provider will process. The entries you specify must be listed in the Audit provider's SupportedContextHandlerEntries attribute.

Example: Implementing the ContextHandlerMBean

Listing 10-5 shows the SimpleSampleAuditProviderImpl.java class, which is the runtime class for the sample Auditing provider. This sample Auditing provider has been enhanced to implement the ContextHandlerMBean.

An MBean Definition File (MDF) is an XML file used by the WebLogic MBeanMaker utility to generate the Java files that comprise an MBean type. All MDFs must extend a required SSPI MBean that is specific to the type of the security provider you have created, and can implement optional SSPI MBeans.

Listing 10-1 shows the key sections of the MDF for the sample Auditing provider, which implements the optional ContexthandlerMBean.

Listing 10-1 Example: SimpleSampleAuditor.xml

<MBeanType
Name          = "SimpleSampleAuditor"
DisplayName   = "SimpleSampleAuditor"
Package       = "examples.security.providers.audit.simple"
Extends       = "weblogic.management.security.audit.Auditor"
Implements    = "weblogic.management.security.audit.ContextHandler"
PersistPolicy = "OnUpdate"
>

...

<MBeanAttribute
Name          = "SupportedContextHandlerEntries"
Type          = "java.lang.String[]"
Writeable     = "false"
Default       = "new String[] { 
&quot;com.bea.contextelement.servlet.HttpServletRequest&quot; }"
Description   = "List of all ContextHandler entries
supported by the auditor."
/>

Extend weblogic.management.security.audit.ContextHandlerImpl

The ContextHandlerMBean has an setActiveContextHandlerEntries attribute that sets the ContextHandler entries that the Audit provider is currently configured to process. The entries you specify must be listed in the Audit provider's SupportedContextHandlerEntries attribute. However, this requirement is not actually enforced by the MBean. Additional work is required to validate that this attribute can set only values from the SupportedContextHandlerEntries attribute.

You must also create an MBean customizer (for example, you might call it MyAuditorImpl.java) file that extends weblogic.management.security.audit.ContextHandlerImpl. Extending weblogic.management.security.audit.ContextHandlerImpl gives the provider access to the ActiveContextHandlerEntries attribute validator, which ensures that the entries include only SupportedContextHandlerEntries.

An example of extending ContextHandlerImpl is available in SimpleSampleAuditorImpl, which is shown in Listing 10-2.

Listing 10-2 SimpleSampleAuditorImpl

package examples.security.providers.audit.simple;

import javax.management.MBeanException;
import javax.management.modelmbean.RequiredModelMBean;
import weblogic.management.security.audit.ContextHandlerImpl;

/**
* The simple sample auditor's mbean implementation.
* <p>
* It is needed to inherit the ContextHandlerMBean's ActiveContextHandlerEntries
* attribute validator that ensures that the ActiveContextHandlerEntries
* attribute only contains values from the SupportedContextHandlerEntries
* attribute.
*

* @author Copyright (c) 2005 by BEA Systems. All Rights Reserved.
*/

public class SimpleSampleAuditorImpl extends ContextHandlerImpl
// Note: extend ContextHandlerImpl instead of AuditorImpl to inherit
// the ActiveContextHandlerEntries attribute validator.
{

/**
* Standard mbean impl constructor.
*
* @throws MBeanException
*/
public SimpleSampleAuditorImpl(RequiredModelMBean base) throws MBeanException
{
super(base);
}
}

After you implement code similar to that in SimpleSampleAuditorImpl, add code to your Audit runtime provider to get the ActiveContextHandlerEntries. One possible way to do this is shown in Listing 10-3.

Listing 10-3 Getting Active Context Handler Entries

 String [] activeHandlerEntries = myMBean.getActiveContextHandlerEntries();

    if (activeHandlerEntries != null) {

      for (int i=0; i<activeHandlerEntries.length; i++) {

        if ((activeHandlerEntries[i] != null) &&

            (activeHandlerEntries[i].equalsIgnoreCase(HTTP_REQUEST_ELEMENT))) {

          handlerEnabled = true;

          break;

        }

      }

    }

 

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Do You Need to Develop a Custom Auditing Provider?

The default (that is, active) security realm for WebLogic Server includes a WebLogic Auditing provider. The WebLogic Auditing provider records information from a number of security requests, which are determined internally by the WebLogic Security Framework. The WebLogic Auditing provider also records the event data associated with these security requests, and the outcome of the requests.

The WebLogic Auditing provider makes an audit decision in its writeEvent method, based on the audit severity level it has been configured with and the audit severity contained within the AuditEvent object that is passed into the method. (For more information about AuditEvent objects, see Create an Audit Event.

Note: You can change the audit severity level that the WebLogic Auditing provider is configured with using the WebLogic Server Administration Console. For more information, see Configuring a WebLogic Auditing Provider" in Securing WebLogic Server.

If there is a match, the WebLogic Auditing provider writes audit information to the DefaultAuditRecorder.log file, which is located in the WL_HOME\yourdomain\ yourserver\logs directory. Listing 10-4 is an excerpt from the DefaultAuditRecorder.log file.

Listing 10-4 DefaultAuditRecorder.log File: Sample Output

When Authentication suceeds. [SUCCESS]

#### Audit Record Begin <Feb 23, 2005 11:42:17 AM>  <Severity=SUCCESS> 
<<<Event Type = Authentication Audit Event><TestUser><AUTHENTICATE>>> Audit 
Record End ####

When Authentication fails. [FAILURE]

#### Audit Record Begin <Feb 23, 2005 11:42:01 AM>  <Severity=FAILURE> 
<<<Event Type = Authentication Audit Event><TestUser><AUTHENTICATE>>> Audit
Record End ####When Operations are invoked.[SUCCESS]

When a user account is unlocked. [SUCCESS]

#### Audit Record Begin <Feb 23, 2005 11:42:17 AM>  <Severity=SUCCESS> 
<<<Event Type = Authentication Audit Event><TestUser><USERUNLOCKED>>> Audit 
Record End ####

When an Authorization request succeeds. [SUCCESS]

#### Audit Record Begin <Feb 23, 2005 11:42:17 AM>  <Severity=SUCCESS> 
<<<Event Type = Authorization Audit Event ><Subject: 1
																 Principal = class weblogic.security.principal.WLSUserImpl("TestUser")
><ONCE><<jndi>><type=<jndi>, application=, path={weblogic}, action=lookup>>>
Audit Record End ####

Specifically, Listing 10-4 shows the Role Manager (a component in the WebLogic Security Framework that deals specifically with security roles) recording an audit event to indicate that an authorized administrator has accessed a protected method in a certificate servlet.

Each time the WebLogic Server instance is booted, a new DefaultAuditRecorder.log file is created (the old DefaultAuditRecorder.log file is renamed to DefaultAuditRecorder.log.old).

You can specify a new directory location for the DefaultAuditRecorder.log file on the command line with the following Java startup option:

-Dweblogic.security.audit.auditLogDir=c:\foo

The new file location will be c:\foo\yourserver\DefaultAuditRecorder.log.

If you want to write audit information in addition to that which is specified by the WebLogic Security Framework, or to an output repository that is not the DefaultAuditRecorder.log (that is, to a simple file with a different name/location or to an existing database), then you need to develop a custom Auditing provider.

 

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How to Develop a Custom Auditing Provider

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

Create Runtime Classes Using the Appropriate SSPIs
Generate an MBean Type Using the WebLogic MBeanMaker
Configure the Custom Auditing 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
• 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 Auditing provider by following these steps:

• Implement the AuditProvider SSPI
• Implement the AuditChannel SSPI

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

Implement the AuditProvider SSPI

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

getAuditChannel

public AuditChannel getAuditChannel();

The getAuditChannel method obtains the implementation of the AuditChannel SSPI. For a single runtime class called MyAuditProviderImpl.java, the implementation of the getAuditChannel method would be:

return this;

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

return new MyAuditChannelImpl;

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

For more information about the AuditProvider SSPI and the getAuditChannel method, see the WebLogic Server API Reference Javadoc.

Implement the AuditChannel SSPI

To implement the AuditChannel SSPI, provide an implementation for the following method:

writeEvent

public void writeEvent(AuditEvent event)

The writeEvent method writes an audit record based on the information specified in the AuditEvent object that is passed in. For more information about AuditEvent objects, see Create an Audit Event.

For more information about the AuditChannel SSPI and the writeEvent method, see the WebLogic Server API Reference Javadoc.

Example: Creating the Runtime Class for the Sample Auditing Provider

Listing 10-5 shows the SimpleSampleAuditProviderImpl.java class, which is the runtime class for the sample Auditing 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 AuditProvider SSPI: the getAuditChannel method (as described in Implement the AuditProvider SSPI).
• The method in the AuditChannel SSPI: the writeEvent method (as described in Implement the AuditChannel SSPI).

Note: The bold face code in Listing 10-5 highlights the class declaration and the method signatures.

Listing 10-5 SimpleSampleAuditProviderImpl.java

package examples.security.providers.audit.simple;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.PrintStream;

import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;

import weblogic.management.security.ProviderMBean;
import weblogic.security.service.ContextHandler;
import weblogic.security.spi.AuditChannel;
import weblogic.security.spi.AuditContext;
import weblogic.security.spi.AuditEvent;
import weblogic.security.spi.AuditProvider;
import weblogic.security.spi.SecurityServices;

public final class SimpleSampleAuditProviderImpl implements AuditProvider, AuditChannel

{
   private String      description; // a description of this provider
   private PrintStream log;         // the log file that events are written to
   private boolean     handlerEnabled = false;
   private final static String HTTP_REQUEST_ELEMENT = "com.bea.contextelement.servlet.HttpServletRequest";

   public void initialize(ProviderMBean mbean, SecurityServices services)
   {
     System.out.println("SimpleSampleAuditProviderImpl.initialize");

     SimpleSampleAuditorMBean myMBean = (SimpleSampleAuditorMBean)mbean;

     description = myMBean.getDescription() + "\n" + myMBean.getVersion();

     String [] activeHandlerEntries = myMBean.getActiveContextHandlerEntries();
     if (activeHandlerEntries != null) {
       for (int i=0; i<activeHandlerEntries.length; i++) {
         if ((activeHandlerEntries[i] != null) &&
             (activeHandlerEntries[i].equalsIgnoreCase(HTTP_REQUEST_ELEMENT))) {
           handlerEnabled = true;
           break;
        }
       }
     }

     File file = new File(myMBean.getLogFileName());
     System.out.println("\tlogging to " + file.getAbsolutePath());

     try {
       log = new PrintStream(new FileOutputStream(file), true);
     } catch (IOException e) {
       throw new RuntimeException(e.toString());
     }

   }

   public String getDescription()
   {
     return description;
   }

   public void shutdown()
   {
     System.out.println("SimpleSampleAuditProviderImpl.shutdown");
     log.close();
   }

   public AuditChannel getAuditChannel()
   {
     return this;
   }

   public void writeEvent(AuditEvent event)
   {
     log.println(event);

     if ((!handlerEnabled) || (!(event instanceof AuditContext)))
       return;

     AuditContext auditContext = (AuditContext)event;
     ContextHandler handler = auditContext.getContext();

     if ((handler == null) || (handler.size() == 0))
       return;

     Object requestValue = handler.getValue("com.bea.contextelement.servlet.HttpServletRequest");
     if ((requestValue == null) || (!(requestValue instanceof HttpServletRequest)))
       return;

     HttpServletRequest request = (HttpServletRequest) requestValue;
     log.println("    " + HTTP_REQUEST_ELEMENT + " method: " + request.getMethod());
     log.println("    " + HTTP_REQUEST_ELEMENT + " URL: " + request.getRequestURL());
     log.println("    " + HTTP_REQUEST_ELEMENT + " URI: " + request.getRequestURI());
     return;
   }
}

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 Auditing provider by following these steps:

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

Notes: Several sample security providers (available under Code Samples: WebLogic Server 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:

Copy the MDF for the sample Auditing provider to a text file.

Note: The MDF for the sample Auditing provider is called SampleAuditor.xml.

Modify the content of the <MBeanType> and <MBeanAttribute> elements in your MDF so that they are appropriate for your custom Auditing provider.
Add any custom attributes and operations (that is, additional <MBeanAttribute> and <MBeanOperation> elements) to your MDF.
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 Auditing provider. Follow the instructions that are appropriate to your situation:

• No Custom Operations
• Custom Operations

No Custom Operations

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

Create a new DOS shell.
Type the following command:

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

where the -DMDF flag indicates that the WebLogic MBeanMaker should translate the MDF into code, 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.

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

Note: As of version 9.0 of WebLogic Server, you can also provide a directory that contains multiple MDF's by using the -DMDFDIR <MDF directory name> option. In prior versions of WebLogic Server, the WebLogic MBeanMaker processed only one MDF at a time. Therefore, you had to repeat this process if you had multiple MDFs (in other words, multiple Auditing providers).

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

Custom Operations

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

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

Create a new DOS shell.
Type the following command:

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

where the -DMDF flag indicates that the WebLogic MBeanMaker should translate the MDF into code, 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.

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

Note: As of version 9.0 of WebLogic Server, you can also provide a directory that contains multiple MDF's by using the -DMDFDIR <MDF directory name> option. In prior versions of WebLogic Server, the WebLogic MBeanMaker processed only one MDF at a time. Therefore, you had to repeat this process if you had multiple MDFs (in other words, multiple Auditing providers).

For any custom operations in your MDF, implement the methods using the method stubs.
Save the file.
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:

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

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

where the -DMDF flag indicates that the WebLogic MBeanMaker should translate the MDF into code, 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.

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 Auditing providers).

If you modified the MDF to include any custom operations that were not in the original MDF, implement the methods using the method stubs.
Save the version of the MBean implementation file that is complete (that is, has all methods implemented).
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.)
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 SampleAuditor MDF through the WebLogic MBeanMaker will yield an MBean interface file called SampleAuditorMBean.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 Auditing provider into an MBean JAR File (MJF). The WebLogic MBeanMaker also automates this process.

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

Create a new DOS shell.
Type the following command:

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

where the -DMJF flag indicates that the WebLogic MBeanMaker should build a JAR file containing the new MBean types, 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: When you create a JAR file for a custom security provider, a set of XML binding classes and a schema are also generated. You can choose a namespace to associate with that schema. Doing so avoids the possiblity that your custom classes will conflict with those provided by BEA. The default for the namespace is vendor. You can change this default by passing the -targetNameSpace argument to the WebLogicMBeanMaker or the associated WLMBeanMaker ant task.

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 Auditing provider—that is, it makes the custom Auditing provider manageable from the WebLogic Server Administration Console.

Note: WL_HOME\server\lib\mbeantypes is the default directory for installing MBean types. (Beginning with 9.0, security providers can be loaded from ...\domaindir\lib\mbeantypes as well.) However, if you want WebLogic Server to look for MBean types in additional directories, use the -Dweblogic.alternateTypesDirectory=<dir> command-line flag when starting your server, where <dir> is a comma-separated list of directory names. When you use this flag, WebLogic Server will always load MBean types from WL_HOME\server\lib\mbeantypes first, then will look in the additional directories and load all valid archives present in those directories (regardless of their extension). For example, if -Dweblogic.alternateTypesDirectory = dirX,dirY, WebLogic Server will first load MBean types from WL_HOME\server\lib\mbeantypes, then any valid archives present in dirX and dirY. If you instruct WebLogic Server to look in additional directories for MBean types and are using the Java Security Manager, you must also update the weblogic.policy file to grant appropriate permissions for the MBean type (and thus, the custom security provider). For more information, see Using the Java Security Manager to Protect WebLogic Resources in Programming WebLogic Security.

You can create instances of the MBean type by configuring your custom Auditing provider (see Configure the Custom Auditing 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.

Configure the Custom Auditing Provider Using the Administration Console

Configuring a custom Auditing provider means that you are adding the custom Auditing provider to your security realm, where it can be accessed by security providers requiring audit 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 Auditing providers:

• Configuring Audit Severity

Note: The steps for configuring a custom Auditing provider using the WebLogic Server Administration Console are described under Configuring WebLogic Security Providers in Securing WebLogic Server.

Configuring Audit Severity

During the configuration process, an Auditing provider's audit severity must be set to one of the following severity levels:

• INFORMATION
• WARNING
• ERROR
• SUCCESS
• FAILURE

This severity represents the level at which the custom Auditing provider will initiate auditing.