2 Overview of the WebLogic Security Service

Introduction to the WebLogic Security Service

Deploying, managing, and maintaining security is a huge challenge for an information technology (IT) organization that is providing new and expanded services to customers using the Web. To serve a worldwide network of Web-based users, an IT organization must address the fundamental issues of maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the system and its data. Challenges to security involve every component of the system, from the network itself to the individual client machines. Security across the infrastructure is a complex business that requires vigilance as well as established and well-communicated security policies and procedures.

WebLogic Server includes a security architecture that provides a unique and secure foundation for applications that are available via the Web. By taking advantage of the security features in WebLogic Server, enterprises benefit from a comprehensive, flexible security infrastructure designed to address the security challenges of making applications available on the Web. WebLogic security can be used standalone to secure WebLogic Server applications or as part of an enterprise-wide, security management system that represents a best-in-breed, security management solution.

Features of the WebLogic Security Service

The open, flexible security architecture of WebLogic Server delivers advantages to all levels of users and introduces an advanced security design for application servers. Companies now have a unique application server security solution that, together with clear and well-documented security policies and procedures, can assure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the server and its data.

The key features of the WebLogic Security Service include:

• A comprehensive and standards-based design.

• End-to-end security for WebLogic Server-hosted applications, from the mainframe to the Web browser.

• Legacy security schemes that integrate with WebLogic Server security, allowing companies to leverage existing investments.

• Security tools that are integrated into a flexible, unified system to ease security management across the enterprise.

• Easy customization of application security to business requirements through mapping of company business rules to security policies.

• A consistent model for applying security policies to Java EE and application-defined resources.

• Easy updates to security policies. This release includes usability enhancements to the process of creating security policies as well as additional expressions that control access to WebLogic resources.

• Easy adaptability for customized security solutions.

• A modularized architecture, so that security infrastructures can change over time to meet the requirements of a particular company.

• Support for configuring multiple security providers, as part of a transition scheme or upgrade path.

• A separation between security details and application infrastructure, making security easier to deploy, manage, maintain, and modify as requirements change.

• Default WebLogic security providers that provide you with a working security scheme out of the box. This release supports additional authentication stores such as databases, and gives the option to configure an external RDBMS system as a datastore to be used by select security providers.

• Customization of security schemes using custom security providers

• Unified management of security rules, security policies, and security providers through the WebLogic Server Administration Console.

• Support for standard Java EE security technologies such as the Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS), Java Secure Sockets Extensions (JSSE), Java Cryptography Extensions (JCE), and Java Authorization Contract for Containers (JACC).

• A foundation for Web services security including support for Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) 1.1 and 2.0.

• Capabilities which allow WebLogic Server to participate in single sign-on (SSO) with web sites, web applications, and desktop clients.

• A framework for managing public keys which includes certificate lookup, verification, validation, and revocation as well as a certificate registry.

Oracle Platform Security Services (OPSS)

Oracle Platform Security Services (OPSS) provides enterprise product development teams, systems integrators (SIs), and independent software vendors (ISVs) with a standards-based, portable, integrated, enterprise-grade security framework for Java Standard Edition (Java SE) and Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE) applications.

OPSS provides an abstraction layer in the form of standards-based application programming interfaces (APIs) that insulates developers from security and identity management implementation details. With OPSS, developers don't need to know the details of cryptographic key management or interfaces with user repositories and other identity management infrastructures. With OPSS, in-house developed applications, third-party applications, and integrated applications all benefit from the same uniform security, identity management, and audit services across the enterprise. OPSS is available as part of WebLogic Server.

For more information about OPSS, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Security Overview.

Balancing Ease of Use and Customizability

The components and services of the WebLogic Security Service seek to strike a balance between ease of use, manageability (for end users and administrators), and customizability (for application developers and security developers). The following paragraphs highlight some examples:

Easy to use: WebLogic Server provides a Domain Configuration Wizard to help with the creation of new domains with an administration server, managed servers, and optionally, a cluster, or with extending existing domains by adding individual severs. The Domain Configuration Wizard also automatically generates a config.xml file and start scripts for the servers you choose to add to the new domain.

Manageable: Administrators who configure and deploy applications in the WebLogic Server environment can use the WebLogic security providers included with the product. These default providers support all required security functions, out of the box. An administrator can store security data in the WebLogic Server-supplied, security store (an embedded, special-purpose, LDAP directory server) or use an external LDAP server, database, or user source. To simplify the configuration and management of security in WebLogic Server, a robust, default security configuration is provided.

Customizable: For application developers, WebLogic Server supports the WebLogic security API and Java EE security standards such as JAAS, JSS, JCE, and JACC. Using these APIs and standards, you can create a fine-grained and customized security environment for applications that connect to WebLogic Server.

For security developers, the WebLogic Server Security Service Provider Interfaces (SSPIs) support the development of custom security providers for the WebLogic Server environment.

New and Changed Features in This Release

See "What's New in Oracle WebLogic Server" for new and changed features in this release.