User Authentication

Authentication enables you to verify the identity of both internal and external users based on user name and a simple text password, or on a user name and SecurID token passcode, or both.

Proxies provide a means to validate, regulate, and extend the abilities of certain services beyond those afforded by kernel-based stateful packet filtering. (See Chapter 10, Proxies).

User Identification

SunScreen contains two aspects of user identification: authorized user (as defined in the authuser database) and proxy user (as defined in the proxyuser database). The authuser database describes unique individuals; the proxyuser database identifies mappings of individuals to roles, which specify what given users can do. In addition, there is an alias--administrative users--for authorized users. Administrative users are functionally identical to authorized users and their role is defined by the access rules.

The administration GUI edits authorized users, which are authuser objects; administrative users, which are adminuser objects; or proxy users, which are proxyuser objects.