Remote Procedure Calls With GSS-API

Programmers who use the RPC (Remote Procedure Call) protocol for networking applications can use RPCSEC_GSS to provide security. RPCSEC_GSS is a separate layer that sits on top of GSS-API. RPCSEC_GSS provides all the functionality of GSS-API in a way that is tailored to RPC. In fact, RPCSC_GSS serves to hide many aspects of GSS-API from the programmer, making RPC security especially accessible and portable. For more information on RPCSEC_GSS, see Authentication Using RPCSEC_GSS in ONC+ RPC Developer’s Guide .

The following diagram illustrates how the RPCSEC_GSS layer sits between the application and GSS-API.

Figure 4-2  RPCSEC_GSS and GSS-API