Single Sign-On Authentication

Single sign-on (SSO) enables end users to enter a password or other credentials once to gain authenticated access to various resource servers, which supply applications or services. Portal Server provides two ways of providing SSO:

• Access Manager - Within Java Enterprise System, the Access Manager product manages SSO. Portal Server is one of the resource servers for which SSO is enabled.

  Once an end user is authenticated with Access Manager, he can access Portal Server and any other resource server that Access Manager controls.

• SSO Adapter service - To deliver content from a third-party server that is not integrated with Access Manager, Portal Server provides an SSO Adapter service. Services accessed using SSO Adapter can include mail, calendar, address book, WSRP portlets, and data web services.

  The SSO Adapter service:

  • Establishes a connection to third-party server back-end systems

  • Stores configuration data and user credentials that Portal Server needs to access these services on behalf of the end user

  • Defines two levels of data:

    • SSO Adapter template defines a class of connections to be made available to end users. Many end users use a single template. Because the template defines the same data values, including default values and what values an end user can edit, for all users, SSO Adapter templates are defined at a global service level.

    • SSO Adapter configuration provides data values that are specific to an end user. A configuration references a template and takes data values from the template for properties that end users cannot change. End users can change user-editable properties of an SSO Adapter configuration. Changes to these properties apply only to the individual end user who makes the changes.