SECURe Documentation: Evaluating Your Needs

The purpose of this documentation is to show how to set up a secure environment for Web and other applications, both within an institution and extending beyond it. The answer to each of the following questions will link to a page which estimates the time it will take (assuming the pre-requisites are met), the skill required, and describes the process. A description is available of the conventions used in the documentation.

The environment suggested by SECURe consists of the following components (the links are to explanations of the technologies and the requirements involved):

Institional directory server - one per institution
Single sign on authentication system using the institutional directory server - one per institution
Resource sharing authorisation system client - one per resource to be protected
Resource sharing authorisation system server (if sharing resources with external users) - one per web server containing resources to be shared
Resources to protect using the authentication and authorisation systems
Personal certificate generation system - one per institution

Do you have an existing institutional directory service?: Yes - Microsoft Active Directory; Yes - other system; No
Do you have an existing single sign on authentication system which uses your institutional directory to authenticate users?: Yes (no work needed); No
Do you wish to protect an existing web application?: Yes - for institutional users only (required for authorisation system); Yes - for institutional and external users
Do you have an existing authorisation system?: Yes (no work needed); No

Document last updated: 28.02.2004