9 Using Forms Services with Oracle Single Sign-On

This chapter contains the following sections:

Section 9.1, "Overview"
Section 9.2, "Available Features with OracleAS Single Sign-On, Oracle Internet Directory and Forms"
Section 9.3, "OracleAS Single Sign-On Components Used By Oracle Forms"
Section 9.4, "Enabling OracleAS Single Sign-On for an Application"
Section 9.5, "Integrating Oracle Forms and Reports"
Section 9.6, "Enabling and Configuring Proxy Users"
Section 9.7, "Configuring Oracle Internet Directory"

9.1 Overview

Oracle Forms Services applications can run in a Single Sign-on environment using Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Server (OracleAS Single Sign-On) and Oracle Internet Directory to store user name and password information. OracleAS Single Sign-On is designed to work in Web environments where multiple Web-based applications are accessible from a browser. Without OracleAS Single Sign-On, each user must maintain a separate identity and password for each application they access. Maintaining multiple accounts and passwords for each user is unsecured and expensive.

OracleAS Single Sign-On Server 10g enables an application to authenticate users by means of a shared authentication token or authentication authority. That means that a user authenticated for one application is automatically authenticated for all other applications within the same authentication domain.

Forms applications use OracleAS Single Sign-On Server 10g only for obtaining database connection authentication. Once this connection is made, interaction with OracleAS Single Sign-On Server 10g no longer occurs. Exiting a Forms application does not perform an OracleAS Single Sign-On Server 10g logout. Conversely, logging out of an OracleAS Single Sign-On Server session does not terminate an active Forms session. The database session exists until the Forms Runtime (for example, frmweb.exe) on the server terminates, usually by explicitly exiting the form.

OracleAS Single Sign-On Server 10g can be used to authenticate other applications that are not Oracle products, for example, custom-built Java EE applications.

Oracle Forms applications integrate into a company's OracleAS Single Sign-On Server architecture based on OracleAS Single Sign-On Server and the Oracle Internet Directory. Oracle Forms Services provides out-of-the box support for single sign-on for as many Forms applications as run by the server instance with no additional coding required in the Forms application.

Note:

Refer to the Section 3.4.2, "Forms Single Sign-On on Mozilla 3.x" for more information on browser support for Forms and single sign-on.

Note:

Oracle Forms Services applications runs in a Single Sign-on environment using the following OID and SSO combinations:

Oracle Internet Directory 10g (10.1.2.3) with Oracle Single Sign-On 10g (10.1.2.3)
Oracle Internet Directory 10g (10.1.4.3) with Oracle Single Sign-On 10g (10.1.4.3)
Oracle Internet Directory 11g (11.1.1) with Oracle Single Sign-On 10g (10.1.4.3)

For more information on OracleAS Single Sign-On, see the Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Administrator's Guide on OTN. For more information on Oracle Internet Directory, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Enterprise Deployment Guide for Oracle Identity Management.

9.1.1 Authentication Flow

Figure 9-1 describes the authentication flow of OracleAS Single Sign-On Server 10g support in Oracle Forms the first time the user requests an application URL that is protected by OracleAS Single Sign-On Server 10g :

Figure 9-1 Authentication Flow for First Time Client Request

Authentication flow when client makes initial request.

In the upper left of the image, the user requests a Forms URL similar to http(s)://<hostname>:<port>/forms/frmservlet?config= <application>&...

Note:
Use the HTTP or Web Cache port number in the Forms URL for Forms applications that use single sign-on. The Forms URL is similar to http://<host name>:<http port>/forms/frmservlet?config=ssoapp where ssoapp is the name of the section in forms configuration file with single sign-on (ssoMode) enabled.
The Forms servlet redirects the user to the OracleAS Single Sign-On Server login page, indicated on the bottom left of the image.
The user provides user name and password through the login form.
The password is verified through Oracle Internet Directory (LDAP Server), shown at the center of the image.
The user is redirected to the URL with sso_userid information, indicated in the upper right of the image.
The Forms servlet retrieves the database credentials from Oracle Internet Directory.
The Forms servlet sets the user ID parameter in the Runform session and permits the applet to connect to the Forms listener servlet.
The Forms servlet starts the Forms server.

Figure 9-2 describes the authentication flow of single sign-on support in Oracle Forms Services when a user, authenticated through another partner application, requests an application that is protected by OracleAS Single Sign-On Server.

Figure 9-2 Authentication Flow for Subsequent Client Requests

The user requests the Forms URL, as shown in the upper left side of the image.
The Forms servlet redirects the user to the OracleAS Single Sign-On Server server and its login page, indicated on the bottom left of the image.
The user is redirected to the URL with the sso_userid information.
The Forms servlet retrieves the database credentials from Oracle Internet Directory, as shown in the center of the image.
The Forms servlet sets the user ID parameter in the Runform session and the applet connects to the Forms listener servlet.
The Forms servlet starts the Forms server, shown on the bottom right of the image.

9.2 Available Features with OracleAS Single Sign-On, Oracle Internet Directory and Forms

The following features and enhancements are available with this release of Oracle Forms Services:

Section 9.2.1, "Dynamic Resource Creation When A Resource Is Not Found In Oracle Internet Directory"
Section 9.2.2, "Support for Dynamic Directives With Forms and OracleAS Single Sign-On"
Section 9.2.3, "Support for Database Password Expiration for Forms Running with OracleAS Single Sign-On"

9.2.1 Dynamic Resource Creation When A Resource Is Not Found In Oracle Internet Directory

In single-sign on mode, when a user tries to connect to a database using Forms, the user is authenticated by mod_osso in combination with the OracleAS Single Sign-On Server and Oracle Internet Directory. Once the user is authenticated, the user is directed to the Forms servlet which takes the user's request information containing the single sign-on user name. The user name and the application name build a unique pair that identifies the user's resource information for this application in Oracle Internet Directory.

When an authenticated Forms user has neither the resource for a particular application that is being requested nor a default resource in Oracle Internet Directory, then the user is redirected to the self-service console page of Oracle Internet Directory/DAS to dynamically create them. After creating the resource, the user is redirected back to the original Forms request URL.

The way Forms Services handles the missing resource information can be customized by the application or Forms Services administrator. The following options are available:

Allow dynamic resource creation (default)
Redirect the user to a pre-defined URL as specified by the ssoErrorUrl parameter
Display the Forms error message

The redirection URL is provided by the system administrator in the Forms configuration files and should be either absolute or relative.

9.2.2 Support for Dynamic Directives With Forms and OracleAS Single Sign-On

Enforcing single sign-on in Forms is done within the formsweb.cfg file. The single sign-on parameter, ssoMode, when set to TRUE, indicates that the application requires authentication by OracleAS Single Sign-On Server.

This parameter allows a Forms Services instance to handle both application types, ones protected by database password and ones protected by OracleAS Single Sign-On Server. Because single sign-on is configured in the formsweb.cfg file, Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control can be used to manage this aspect of authentication.

9.2.3 Support fo r Database Password Expiration for Forms Running with OracleAS Single Sign-On

In previous releases of Oracle Forms, changing a database password would be successful, but the changes (including expirations) would not propagate to Oracle Internet Directory.

In Oracle Forms Services 11g, if the database password has expired, the Forms Services application, running in single sign-on mode, is used to renew it, the new password entered by the user is used to update the Resource Access Descriptor (RAD) in Oracle Internet Directory for this application. This feature ensures that authenticating a Forms user via OracleAS Single Sign-On Server with Forms continues to work even when the user's database password has changed. However, if password changes are made in SQL*PLUS, and not in Oracle Forms, the database connect string is not updated in Oracle Internet Directory.

9.3 OracleAS Single Sign-On Components Used By Oracle Forms

The following software components in Oracle Fusion Middleware are involved when running Forms applications in single sign-on mode:

OracleAS Single Sign-On Server - an authentication service in Oracle Fusion Middleware that uses Oracle Internet Directory to store user names and passwords
mod_osso - The HTTP module mod_osso simplifies the authentication process by serving as the sole partner application to the OracleAS Single Sign-On Server, rendering authentication transparent for applications. Oracle Forms Services and Oracle Reports Services use mod_osso to register as partner applications with the OracleAS Single Sign-On Server.
Oracle Internet Directory - A LDAP v3 compliant directory server that stores user login information. An LDAP server is a special database that is optimized for read access.
Forms servlet - The Oracle Forms Services component that accepts the initial user request to start a Forms application. The Forms servlet detects if an application requires OracleAS Single Sign-On Server, directs the request to the OracleAS Single Sign-On Server and accesses the Oracle Internet Directory to obtain the database connect information.
formsweb.cfg - The Forms configuration file that contains the parameters to enable a Forms application for single sign-on. The formsweb.cfg file is located in the $DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/servers/WLS_FORMS/applications/formsapp_11.1.1/config directory.

9.4 Enabling OracleAS Single Sign-On for an Application

Oracle Forms applications are configured using a central configuration file, the formsweb.cfg file in the $DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/servers/WLS_FORMS/applications/formsapp_11.1.1/config directory. The recommended method of managing formsweb.cfg file is using Fusion Middleware Control.

Single sign-on and error handling are defined by the following parameters in the formsweb.cfg file:

ssoMode [true|false]
ssoProxyConnect [yes|no]
ssoDynamicResourceCreate [true|false]
ssoErrorUrl [String URL]
ssoCancelUrl [String URL]

These Oracle Forms parameters in the formsweb.cfg file are set in the User Parameter section, which define the behavior for all Forms applications run by the server. These parameters can also be set in a Named Configuration, which define the settings for a particular application only. A single sign-on parameter set in a Named Configuration section overrides the same parameter set in the User Parameter section.

To enable single sign-on for an application:

Start Fusion Middleware Control.
Select Web Configuration from the Forms menu.
Select the row that lists the configuration section for your application.
In the Section region, select sso in the Show drop down list.
In the Section region, select the row containing ssoMode.
In the Value field, enter true.
Click Apply to update the formsweb.cfg file.

Single sign-on is now enabled for the selected application.

To disable single sign-on for an application:

Select Web Configuration from the Forms menu.
Select the row that lists the configuration section for your application.
In the Section region, select sso in the Show drop down list.
In the Section region, select the row containing ssoMode.
In the Value column, enter false.
Click Apply.

Single sign-on is now disabled for the selected application.

9.4.1 ssoMode

The ssoMode parameter enables a Forms Services application to connect to OracleAS Single Sign-On Server. By default, Oracle Forms applications are not configured to run in single sign-on mode. The ssoMode parameter can be set in two places in the formsweb.cfg file:

By setting ssoMode in the default section of formsweb.cfg with a value of true which allows all applications to run in single sign-on mode by this Forms Services instance
By setting the ssoMode parameter in a named configuration of an Oracle Forms application which enables or disables single sign-on only for this particular application, for example:
```
[myApp]
form=myFmx
ssoMode=true
```

9.4.2 ssoProxyConnect

The ssoProxyConnect parameter enables a user to control when Oracle Forms should use a proxy connection to the database and when it should not. The ssoProxyConnect parameter can be set in two ways:

By setting ssoProxyConnect in the default section of formsweb.cfg with a value of yes which allows all applications to run in single sign-on mode by this Forms Services instance
By passing the ssoProxyConnect parameter in the URL at runtime, for example http://<host>:<port>/?config=myapp&……&ssoProxyConnect=yes

9.4.3 ssoDynamicResourceCreate

The ssoDynamicResourceCreate parameter is set to true by default which allows the user to create a Resource Access Descriptor (RAD) entry in Oracle Internet Directory to run the application if this resource entry does not exist. The Web page used is a standard form provided by the Oracle Delegated Administration Services. This Web page cannot be customized as it is not owned by Oracle Forms.

Allowing dynamic resource creation simplifies Oracle Internet Directory administration because there is no longer the need for an administrator to create user RAD information in advance. The ssoDynamicResourceCreate parameter can be set as a system parameter in the formsweb.cfg file or as a parameter of a named configuration. Because the default is set to true, this parameter may be used in a named configuration for a specific application to handle a missing RAD entry differently from the default.

Note that enabling an application for single sign-on with the value of the ssoDynamicResourceCreate parameter set to false, while not specifying a value for the ssoErrorURL, causes Oracle Forms to show an error message if no RAD resource exists for the authenticated user and this application.

Since not all administrators want their users to create resources for themselves (and potentially raising issues with Oracle Internet Directory), these parameters allow administrators to control Oracle Internet Directory resource creation. Although the default behavior is to direct users to an HTML form that allows them to create the resource, the administrator can change the setting and redirect the user to a custom URL.

For the configuration section for the Forms application, you need to set these parameters:

[myApp]
form=myFmx
ssoMode=true
ssoDynamicResourceCreate=false

For information about setting these parameters through Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control, see Section 4.2.4, "Managing Parameters".

9.4.4 ssoErrorURL

The ssoErrorURL parameter allows an administrator to specify a redirection URL that handles the case where a user RAD entry is missing for a particular application. This parameter only has effect if the ssoDynamicResourceCreate parameter is set to false, which disables the dynamic resource creation behavior. The ssoErrorURL parameter can be defined in the default section and as a parameter in a named configuration section. The URL can be of any kind of application, a static HTML file, or a custom Servlet (JSP) application handling the RAD creation, as in the example below.

[myApp]
form=myFmx
ssoMode=true
ssoDynamicResourceCreate=false
ssoErrorURL=http://example.com:7779/servlet/handleCustomRADcreation.jsp
…

9.4.5 ssoCancelUrl

The ssoCancelURL parameter is used in combination with the dynamic RAD creation feature (ssoDynamicResourceCreate= true) and defines the URL that a user is redirected to if the user presses the cancel button in the HTML form that is used to dynamically create the RAD entry for the requested application.

9.4.6 Accessing Single Sign-on Information From Forms

Optionally, if you need to work with OracleAS Single Sign-On Server authentication information in a Forms application, the GET_APPLICATION_PROPERTY() Built-in can be used to retrieve the following single sign-on login information: single sign-on user ID, the user distinguished name (dn), and the subscriber distinguished name (subscriber dn)

authenticated_username := get_application_property(SSO_USERID);
userDistinguishedName := get_application_property(SSO_USRDN);
subscriberName := get_application_property(SSO_SUBDN);
config := get_application_property(CONFIG).

Note:

config can be obtained even in non-SSO mode.

9.4.7 Registering Oracle HTTP Server with OracleAS Single Sign-On Server

Perform these steps if you chose to install and configure Forms in non-SSO mode and later need to enable SSO. Perform the following steps to register the module mod_osso in the WebTier OHS with the OracleAS Single Sign-On Server as a partner application.

Generate and copy the osso.conf file as mentioned in steps 3, and 4 of "To re-associate an OID Host with a Forms Application".

Create a mod_osso.conf file under $ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/OHS/<OHS_INSTANCE>/moduleconf directory. The contents of the file should look similar to this:

 LoadModule osso_module ${ORACLE_HOME}/ohs/modules/mod_osso.so 
<IfModule mod_osso.c> 
OssoIpCheck off 
OssoSecureCookies off 
OssoIdleTimeout off 
OssoConfigFile osso.conf 
# 
# Insert Protected Resources: (see Notes below for 
# how to protect resources) 
# 
#______- 
# 
# Notes 
# 
#______- 
# 
# 1. Here's what you need to add to protect a resource, 
#    e.g. <ApacheServerRoot>/htdocs/private: 
# 
<Location /private> 
require valid-user 
AuthType Osso 
</Location> 
 
</IfModule> 
 
# 
# If you would like to have short hostnames redirected to 
# fully qualified hostnames to allow clients that need 
# authentication via mod_osso to be able to enter short 
# hostnames into their browsers uncomment out the following 
# lines 
# 
#PerlModule Apache::ShortHostnameRedirect 
#PerlHeaderParserHandler Apache::ShortHostnameRedirect

Add the following lines to the beginning of forms.conf file.

<IfModule !mod_osso.c> 
LoadModule osso_module  ${ORACLE_HOME}/ohs/modules/mod_osso.so 
</IfModule> 
<IfModule mod_osso.c> 
OssoHTTPOnly off 
</IfModule>

Associate the OID Host in Enterprise Manager as given in the topic "To Associate OID Host with a Forms Application" of the Section 9.7, "Configuring Oracle Internet Directory".
Restart the Oracle WebLogic Managed Server (WLS_FORMS) and the front-end OHS for the changes to take effect.

9.5 Integrating Oracle Forms and Reports

Oracle Reports is installed with OracleAS Single Sign-On Server enabled.

The best practice for Oracle Forms applications calling integrated Oracle Reports is to use the Oracle Forms Built-in, RUN_REPORT_OBJECT.

When requesting a report from a SSO-enabled Oracle Forms application, the authenticated user's SSO identity is implicitly passed to the Reports Server with each call to RUN_REPORT_OBJECT built-in. The SSO identity is used to authenticate the user to the Reports Server for further authorization checking, if required.

A Forms application running in non-SSO mode can run a report on a SSO-secured Reports Server, but fails if the Reports Server requires authorization. Also, users must provide their SSO credentials when retrieving the Reports output on the Web.

For more information on enabling single sign-on in Forms, see Section 9.4, "Enabling OracleAS Single Sign-On for an Application".

For more information on configuring single sign-on in Reports, refer to the Oracle Fusion Middleware Publishing Reports to the Web with Oracle Reports Services.

For more information about integrating Oracle Forms and Oracle Reports, see the white paper Integrating Oracle Forms 11g and Oracle Reports 11g at http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/forms/.

9.5.1 Forms and Reports Integration in non-SSO mode

Prior to 11g Release 1 (11.1.1), Oracle Reports generated sequential job IDs, making it easy to predict the job ID. This meant that unauthorized or malicious users could potentially view the job output using GETJOBID through rwservlet to obtain job output that belongs to another user. In 11g, Oracle Reports generates random and non-sequential job IDs to make it impossible to predict the job ID for a particular job. Only the user who runs a report from Oracle Forms Services is able to see its output. Other users should not be able to see the report output as job IDs are random non-sequential numbers.

For a non-secure Reports Server, the user ID and password for administrators can be set in the identifier element of the Reports Server configuration file.

For more information on configuring the access levels for the users, refer to the Oracle Fusion Middleware Publishing Reports to the Web with Oracle Reports Services.

9.5.2 Using Multiple Reports Server Clusters in Oracle Forms Services

If your Oracle Forms application from a prior release uses multiple Reports Server cluster names, you can map each of those cluster names to a different Reports Server. In Oracle Reports 11g Release 1 (11.1.1), Reports Server clustering was deprecated. An Oracle Forms application from prior releases that includes a Reports Server cluster name will fail to bind to the Reports Server cluster it references.

To resolve this issue, the reports_servermap element maps a cluster name to a Reports Server name. This avoids the necessity to change the cluster name in all Oracle Forms applications.

An Oracle Forms application can call Oracle Reports in the following ways:

Using RUN_REPORT_OBJECT: If the call specifies a Reports Server cluster name instead of a Reports Server name, the reports_servermap environment variable must be set in the Oracle Forms Services default.env file. If your Oracle Forms application uses multiple Reports Server cluster names, you can map each of those cluster names to a different Reports Server using reports_servermap in rwservlet.properties, as follows:

<reports_servermap>

cluster1:repserver1;cluster2:repserver2;cluster3:repserver3

</reports_servermap>

For example, if your Oracle Forms application includes 3 clusters with names dev_cluster, prd_cluster, and qa_cluster in 10.1.2, you can map these cluster names to respective server names in later releases, as follows:

<reports_servermap>

dev_cluster:dev_server;prd_cluster:prd_server;qa_cluster:qa_server

</reports_servermap>
Using WEB.SHOW_DOCUMENT: In this case, the request is submitted to rwservlet. If the call specifies a Reports Server cluster name instead of a Reports Server name, the reports_servermap element must be set in the rwservlet.properties file. For example:

<reports_servermap>

cluster:repserver

</reports_servermap>

For more information, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Publishing Reports to the Web with Oracle Reports Services.

9.5.3 Integrating Forms and Reports Installed in Different Instances

In 11g, Forms and Reports can be configured separately in different instances. If you chose to install Forms and Reports in different Oracle instances, and later require Forms and Reports integration, you need to manually configure files required to establish communication with Reports Servers. For more information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Publishing Reports to the Web with Oracle Reports Services.

9.6 Enabling and Configuring Proxy Users

This section contains the following:

Section 9.6.1, "Proxy User Overview"
Section 9.6.2, "Enabling Proxy User Connections"
Section 9.6.3, "Enabling SSO in formsweb.cfg"
Section 9.6.4, "Accessing the Forms Application"
Section 9.6.5, "Changes in Forms Built-ins"
Section 9.6.6, "Reports Integration with Proxy Users"

9.6.1 Proxy User Overview

Many large applications, including Oracle's own E-Business Suite, use a single username for all connections. This makes it possible to manage users in a way that often suits large companies better but it creates a problem with auditing. All inserts, updates and removals of records appear, from the database's perspective, to have been done by a single user. To restore auditing, the application developers must write and implement customized auditing code in the database that requires a user name to be passed to the database from the application. This step not only takes development time, but also duplicates functionality that is already implemented in the Oracle Database.The second issue is security. If that single user access is ever compromised, the compromised user will have access to the entire application schema.To address these two issues, Oracle Database supports proxy user authentication, which allows a client user to connect to the database through an application server, as a proxy user.

Figure 9-3 describes the authentication of a Forms proxy user.

Figure 9-3 Proxy User Authentication

Oracle Forms authenticates the user through Oracle Internet Directory or LDAP, as shown in the center of the image.
Forms then connects as the proxy user with or without a password, passing in the real username from the Oracle Internet Directory repository.
Typically, the proxy user is configured with least set of privileges. In the following procedure, the proxy user has "connect" and "create session" privileges.
The database accepts the create session action for the proxy user and uses the real username in audits and access control.
The Oracle Internet Directory user cannot connect to the database independently without configuration of the proxy user account.
The proxy user account isolates the client from direct SQL*Plus connections.

9.6.2 Enabling Proxy User Connections

To use a proxy support in Forms, you first need to create a proxy user. In this example, the proxy user is called midtier:

Create a proxy user in the database.

SQL> CREATE USER midtier IDENTIFIED BY midtierPW;

Assign connect and create session privileges to midtier:
```
SQL> GRANT CONNECT,CREATE SESSION TO midtier; 
```
At this point, this proxy user has connect and create session privileges and has no grants on any of the user schemas.
Create a database user which has one-to-one mapping with a SSO username (that is, if appuser is the SSO username create database user appuser).
```
SQL> CREATE USER appuser IDENTIFIED BY appuserPW;
```
Assign create session privileges to appuser.
```
SQL> GRANT CREATE SESSION TO appuser; 
```
To make it possible to connect through the midtier user you need to alter the database user:
```
SQL> ALTER USER appuser GRANT CONNECT THROUGH midtier;
```
The user appuser can now connect through the midtier account.

Alternatively, you can define the roles that the proxy user can connect to the database as
```
SQL> ALTER USER appuser GRANT CONNECT THROUGH midtier WITH ROLE <role_name>;
```
Repeat Step 3 and 4 for all database users who need to use the proxy user account.

It is also possible to set up the database users in Oracle Internet Directory with the help of the database functionality called Enterprise User Security. If you choose this method, the proxy user is the only user defined in the database and the additional benefit of easy administration is gained. For more information on using Enterprise User Security, refer to the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle Internet Directory 11g Release 1 (11.1.1).

The application user's password is not presented to the database; only the user name and the proxy user's user name and password. Forms, with the help of OCI calls, issues the equivalent of:

SQL> connect midtier[appuser]/midtierPW@databaseTnsName

For example, suppose your application always connects to the database using midtier. This midtier now informs the database that the actual user is appuser. Without using proxy users, the SQL command select USER from DUAL would return midtier, but, using proxy users, this query returns appuser. This essentially tells the database to trust that the user is authenticated elsewhere and to let the user connect without a password and to grant the connect role.

Note:

In the Step 3 of the above procedure, the database users are typically configured to have a subset of permissions granted to a schema. For example, appuser is granted CREATE permissions to the schema app_schema with the SQL command:
```
SQL> GRANT CREATE ON SCHEMA app_schema TO appuser
```
Thus, the appuser is restricted to perform only a set of actions in proxy user mode.
When the database user (for example, appuser) is connected in proxy mode, user actions of the database users are audited rather than that of the proxy user. For more information on user action auditing, refer to the Oracle Database documentation at http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/index.html.

9.6.3 Enabling SSO in formsweb.cfg

Create a configuration section in formweb.cfg for single sign-on (for example, ssoapp) and set SSOProxyConnect to yes and ssoMode to true.

The username and password that is used for the proxy connection is defined in the RAD entry in Oracle Internet Directory for the user that is logging on. If ssoProxyConnect=yes, the connect string equivalent issued by Forms is in effect:

SQL> connect RADUsername[appuserName]/RADPassword@databaseTnsName

9.6.4 Accessing the Forms Application

After enabling proxy user connections and single sign-on, perform the following steps to access the forms applications:

Run the forms application with the URL http://<host name>:<http port>/forms/frmservlet?config=ssoapp where ssoapp is the name of the configuration section with single sign-on (ssoMode) is enabled.
Use the single sign-on user name and password to log in (in this example given in Section 9.6.2, "Enabling Proxy User Connections", the single sign-on username is appuser and password is appuserPW).

9.6.5 Changes in Forms Built-ins

The Built-in get_application_property now takes a new parameter called IS_PROXY_CONNECTION (a Boolean). When this parameter is supplied, the call returns true if the form is running in proxy user mode, false otherwise.

9.6.6 Reports Integration with Proxy Users

The integration with Reports is maintained when a proxy user is used in Forms. The Oracle Reports administrator has to set up a proxy user. Ensure that the following configuration has been completed in the Reports configuration files.

In rwserver.conf, enter the Forms configuration section name (frm_config_name) and database SID name that is configured for proxy user support (dbname).

<dbProxyConnKeys>

<dbProxyKey name="frm_config_name" database="dbname"/>

</dbProxyConnKeys>

In rwservlet.properties, ensure that Proxy mode is enabled.

<enabledbproxy>yes</enabledbproxy>

For more information about Reports configuration files, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Publishing Reports to the Web with Oracle Reports Services

9.7 Configuring Oracle Internet Directory

The users connecting through a Forms application as proxy users must also be defined in OracleAS Single Sign-On Server and Oracle Internet Directory. Oracle Forms authenticates the user via OracleAS Single Sign-On Server (using OracleAS Single Sign-On Server with Forms is a requirement when employing a proxy user). Oracle Forms then connects to the database as the proxy user with a username and password that is in the RAD for the Oracle Internet Directory entry for the application user.

For more information on Oracle Forms and Identity Management integration, see Section 11.1.4, "Leveraging Oracle Identity Management Infrastructure."

Note:

When you change the Oracle Web Cache port using Enterprise Manager, regenerate the osso.conf and copy the generated osso.conf file to $ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/OHS/<OHS_INSTANCE>/moduleconf directory. Restart the Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Web Cache for the changes to take effect.

To access the Associate/Disassociate OID page:

Start Enterprise Manager.
Navigate to the Forms Home page.
From the Forms menu, select Associate/Disassociate OID.

The Associate/Disassociate OID page is displayed.

Figure 9-4 Associate/Disassociate OID

Description of "Figure 9-4 Associate/Disassociate OID"

To Associate OID Host with a Forms Application

To associate an Oracle Internet Directory host with a Forms application for the first time, from the Associate/Disassociate OID page, select the Forms application. Click Associate.

The Associate dialog appears.
Enter the Oracle Internet Directory Host details as described in Table 9-1, "Oracle Internet Directory Host Details".

Click Associate.

The Associate/Disassociate OID page reappears.

Table 9-1 Oracle Internet Directory Host Details

Parameter	Description
OID Host	Select the Oracle Internet Directory Host from the list or select New OID host to add new Host details.
New OID host	Host name of the LDAP directory server. This field is enabled if you have selected to add new Oracle Internet Directory Host.
New OID Port	Port number on which LDAP is listening. This field is enabled if you have selected to add new Oracle Internet Directory Host.
Username	Oracle Administrator username
Password	Oracle Administrator password
Use SSL Port	Select this box if the connection to the Oracle Internet Directory Host should use SSL (in which case the port number provided should be the SSL port).

On the OracleAS Single Sign-On Server, run the ssoreg.sh script from $ORACLE_HOME/sso/bin.

ORACLE_HOME/sso/bin/ssoreg.sh 
-oracle_home_path <ORACLE_HOME>
-site_name www.example.com
-config_mod_osso TRUE
-mod_osso_url http://www.oidtierexample.com:7777
-config_file osso.conf
-remote_midtier

On Windows, run the ssoreg.bat file.

Copy the generated osso.conf file to $ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/OHS/<OHS_INSTANCE>/. For more information, see the Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Administrator's Guide on OTN.
Restart the Oracle WebLogic Managed Server and the front-end OHS for the changes to take effect.

To prevent users from being inadvertently disconnected from active forms sessions, ensure you choose to restart Oracle WebLogic Managed Server and the front-end OHS at a convenient time when users are not running any forms sessions.

To Disassociate OID Host from a Forms Application

From the Associate/Disassociate OID page, select the Forms application. Click Disassociate.

A confirmation box appears.
Click Yes.

The Oracle Internet Directory host is disassociated from the Forms application.
Restart the Oracle WebLogic Managed Server and the front-end OHS for the changes to take effect.

To prevent users from being inadvertently disconnected from active forms sessions, ensure you choose to restart Oracle WebLogic Managed Server and the front-end OHS at a convenient time when users are not running any forms sessions.

To re-associate an OID Host with a Forms Application

From the Associate/Disassociate OID page, select the Forms application. Click Disassociate.
From the Associate/Disassociate OID page, select the Forms application. Click Associate.

Enter the Oracle Internet Directory Host details as described in Table 9-1, "Oracle Internet Directory Host Details".

On the OracleAS Single Sign-On Server, run the ssoreg.sh script from $ORACLE_HOME/sso/bin.

ORACLE_HOME/sso/bin/ssoreg.sh 
-oracle_home_path <ORACLE_HOME>
-site_name www.example.com
-config_mod_osso TRUE
-mod_osso_url http://www.oidtierexample.com:7777
-config_file osso.conf
-remote_midtier

On Windows, run the ssoreg.bat file.

Copy the generated osso.conf file to $ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/OHS/<OHS_INSTANCE>/. For more information, see the Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Administrator's Guide on OTN.
Restart the Oracle WebLogic Managed Server and the front-end OHS for the changes to take effect.

To prevent users from being inadvertently disconnected from active forms sessions, ensure you choose to restart Oracle WebLogic Managed Server and the front-end OHS at a convenient time when users are not running any forms sessions.

9 Using Forms Services with Oracle Single Sign-On

9.1 Overview

9.1.1 Authentication Flow

9.2 Available Features with OracleAS Single Sign-On, Oracle Internet Directory and Forms

9.2.1 Dynamic Resource Creation When A Resource Is Not Found In Oracle Internet Directory

9.2.2 Support for Dynamic Directives With Forms and OracleAS Single Sign-On

9.2.3 Support for Database Password Expiration for Forms Running with OracleAS Single Sign-On

9.3 OracleAS Single Sign-On Components Used By Oracle Forms

9.4 Enabling OracleAS Single Sign-On for an Application

9.4.1 ssoMode

9.4.2 ssoProxyConnect

9.4.3 ssoDynamicResourceCreate

9.4.4 ssoErrorURL

9.4.5 ssoCancelUrl

9.4.6 Accessing Single Sign-on Information From Forms

9.4.7 Registering Oracle HTTP Server with OracleAS Single Sign-On Server

9.5 Integrating Oracle Forms and Reports

9.5.1 Forms and Reports Integration in non-SSO mode

9.5.2 Using Multiple Reports Server Clusters in Oracle Forms Services

9.5.3 Integrating Forms and Reports Installed in Different Instances

9.6 Enabling and Configuring Proxy Users

9.6.1 Proxy User Overview

9.6.2 Enabling Proxy User Connections

9.6.3 Enabling SSO in formsweb.cfg

9.6.4 Accessing the Forms Application

9.6.5 Changes in Forms Built-ins

9.6.6 Reports Integration with Proxy Users

9.7 Configuring Oracle Internet Directory

9.2.3 Support fo r Database Password Expiration for Forms Running with OracleAS Single Sign-On