Configuring SiteMinder for Sametime components

SiteMinder uses agents to intercept HTTP requests in Sametime Advanced, and then forwards them to the SiteMinder Policy Server for authentication. There are two types of SiteMinder agents used when you configure SiteMinder to work with Sametime.

• SiteMinder Web Agent - Installed on the Sametime HTTP server and the Sametime Community Server

  Web agents control access to web content and deliver a user's security credentials directly to any web application being accessed by the user. By placing an agent in a web server that is hosting protected web content or applications, administrators can coordinate security across a heterogeneous environment of systems and create a single sign-on domain for all users. For web servers, the web agent integrates through each web server's extension API. It intercepts all requests for resources (URLs) and determines whether each resource is protected by SiteMinder. If the resource is not SiteMinder protected, the request is passed through to the web server for regular processing. If it is protected by SiteMinder, the web agent interacts with the policy server to authenticate the user and to determine if access to the specific resource is allowed.

• Application Server Agents - Installed on the IBM® WebSphere® Application Server

  To secure more finely-grained objects such as servlets, JSPs, or EJB components, which could comprise a full-fledged distributed application, SiteMinder provides a family of SiteMinder application server agents (ASAs). ASAs are plug-ins that communicate with the SiteMinder Policy Server to extend single sign-on (SSO) across the enterprise, including J2EE application server-based applications. ASAs also enable SiteMinder to centralize security policy management by externalizing J2EE authorization policies through standard interfaces such as those based on JSR 115.