Authentication

Authentication means verifying the identity of a person. This proof of identity can be provided through specific knowledge (such as a user ID and password), possession (such as a key), or a biometric characteristic (such as a fingerprint).

The datasqill services do not use their own user authentication but rely on the authentication of the operating system on which the datasqill Client runs. This authentication can occur in different ways such as:

• local login to the operating system,
• login via a domain controller, or
• login with the help of Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM).

By logging in to the client operating system, the user is authenticated by it. The datasqill services trust this login and use the user's authentication data for authorization.

The authentication data are the combination of user ID and authentication server (local host, domain controller, LDAP server, etc.). They can be viewed in the datasqill GUI in the About dialog under User:

The first and last name (left) are maintained by the datasqill Administrator; the authentication data, in the example authentication server "mcbook" and user ID "treimers", are shown in parentheses behind it.