RFC 2485 (rfc2485) - Page 1 of 4


DHCP Option for The Open Group's User Authentication Protocol



Alternative Format: Original Text Document



Network Working Group                                           S. Drach
Request for Comments: 2485                              Sun Microsystems
Category: Standards Track                                   January 1999



     DHCP Option for The Open Group's User Authentication Protocol

Status of this Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This document defines a DHCP [1] option that contains a list of
   pointers to User Authentication Protocol servers that provide user
   authentication services for clients that conform to The Open Group
   Network Computing Client Technical Standard [2].

Introduction

   The Open Group Network Computing Client Technical Standard, a product
   of The Open Group's Network Computing Working Group (NCWG), defines a
   network computing client user authentication facility named the User
   Authentication Protocol (UAP).

   UAP provides two levels of authentication, basic and secure.  Basic
   authentication uses the Basic Authentication mechanism defined in the
   HTTP 1.1 [3] specification.  Secure authentication is simply basic
   authentication encapsulated in an SSLv3 [4] session.

   In both cases, a UAP client needs to obtain the IP address and port
   of the UAP service.  Additional path information may be required,
   depending on the implementation of the service.  A URL [5] is an
   excellent mechanism for encapsulation of this information since many
   UAP servers will be implemented as components within legacy HTTP/SSL
   servers.






Drach                       Standards Track