52n WAS: Authenticate users and return a SAML ticket
The 52n Web Authentication Service (WAS) provides a standardized means to authenticate users (or more generally speaking: clients). On successful authentication it returns a SAML (Security Assertions Markup Language) compliant authentication assertion. This XML formatted, digitally signed document may serve as a general proof of a client's identity for any application. In the 52n Security System suite the "SAML ticket" the standard way to authenticate at a WSS to get access to a protected service.
The WAS specification (originating from the german regional spatial data infratructure "GDI NRW") does not dictate the kind and/or format of the user repository that is used to authenticate users. It is also designed to support any kind of authentication method (password-based, signature cards etc.) to be used for the authentication process. Of course, the 52n implementation of the WAS can only implement a small selection of possible methods and user repositories. The current implementation supports:
Authentication methods
- password-based authentication
User repositories
- custom XML file where users/password/roles are defined (default)
- custom SQL database, accessible via JDBC
