Step 1: Initial Request

In the first step of this example, the web client requests the main application URL. This action is shown in Figure 24–1.

Figure 24–1 Initial Request

Since the client has not yet authenticated itself to the application environment, the server responsible for delivering the web portion of the application, hereafter referred to as the web server, detects this and invokes the appropriate authentication mechanism for this resource. For more information on these mechanisms, see Security Mechanisms.