User guide

Chapter 1: Overview
1-2
What Is Single Sign-on
A business information system uses multiple Web Servers and Web Services together. Users usually
need to enter the each their ID and password for Web server and Web service.
The Single Sign-on function enables the user to obtain authorization to access multiple Web Servers
and Web Services by a single sign-on (Authentication) operation.
The Single Sign-on function provides an authentication and authorization infrastructure for multiple Web
servers and Web services comprising an enterprise system.
Authentication
Authentication is the process used to verify the validity and identification of the person who uses the
system.
Authorization
Authorization is the process used to make sure that the user who requests access to a resource is
allowed to access that resource. It is to confirm that a user who requests access to a resource, for
example, a HTML document, image data, voice data on a Web server, and a CGI application operating
on a Web server is allowed to access the resource.
Problems in Conventional Systems
It is often stated that a company cannot fully adapt to changes in the market and grow unless their
business information system is constructed on application servers based on Internet technology. This
means that not all-in-one information systems are used, but the system that can be flexibility to adapt to
changes is used by the construction on the Web servers and services adapted to needs and purposes
of individual, and operation it integrally.
However, business information systems that use multiple Web servers and Web services often occurs
troubles.
User authentication is essential to business information systems, so conventional systems must supply
Web servers and Web services with authentication functionality.
Common problems such as listed on the following page faced to system administrators and users.