SEAM(5) Standards, Environments, and Macros SEAM(5)
NAME
SEAM - overview of Sun Enterprise Authentication Mechanism
DESCRIPTION
SEAM (Sun Enterprise Authentication Mechanism) authenticates clients in a network environment, allowing for secure transactions. (A client
may be a user or a network service) SEAM validates the identity of a client and the authenticity of transferred data. SEAM is a single-
sign-on system, meaning that a user needs to provice a password only at the beginning of a session. SEAM is based on the Kerberostm system
developed at MIT, and is compatible with Kerberos V5 systems over heterogeneous networks.
SEAM works by granting clients tickets, which uniquely identify a client, and which have a finite lifetime. A client possessing a ticket is
automatically validated for network services for which it is entitled; for example, a user with a valid SEAM ticket may rlogin into another
machine running SEAM without having to identify itself. Because each client has a unique ticket, its identity is guaranteed.
To obtain tickets, a client must first initialize the SEAM session, either by using the kinit(1) command or a PAM module. (See
pam_krb5(5)). kinit prompts for a password, and then communicates with a Key Distribution Center (KDC). The KDC returns a Ticket-Granting
Ticket (TGT) and prompts for a confirmation password. If the client confirms the password, it can use the Ticket-Granting Ticket to obtain
tickets for specific network services. Because tickets are granted transparently, the user need not worry about their management. Current
tickets may be viewed by using the klist(1) command.
Tickets are valid according to the system policy set up at installation time. For example, tickets have a default lifetime for which they
are valid. A policy may further dictate that privileged tickets, such as those belonging to root, have very short lifetimes. Policies may
allow some defaults to be overruled; for example, a client may request a ticket with a lifetime greater or less than the default.
Tickets can be renewed using kinit. Tickets are also forwardable, allowing you to use a ticket granted on one machine on a different host.
Tickets can be destroyed by using kdestroy(1). It is a good idea to include a call to kdestroy in your .logout file.
Under SEAM, a client is referred to as a principal. A principal takes the following form:
primary/instance@REALM
primary A user, a host, or a service.
instance A qualification of the primary. If the primary is a host -- indicated by the keyword host-- then the instance is
the fully-qualified domain name of that host. If the primary is a user or service, then the instance is optional.
Some instances, such as admin or root, are privileged.
realm The Kerberos equivalent of a domain; in fact, in most cases the realm is directly mapped to a DNS domain name. SEAM
realms are given in upper-case only. For examples of principal names, see the EXAMPLES.
By taking advantage of the General Security Services API (GSS-API), SEAM offers, besides user authentication, two other types of security
service: integrity, which authenticates the validity of transmitted data, and privacy, which encrypts transmitted data. Developers can take
advantage of the GSS-API through the use of the RPCSEC_GSS API interface (see rpcsec_gss(3NSL)).
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Examples of valid principal names
The following are examples of valid principal names:
joe
joe/admin
joe@ENG.ACME.COM
joe/admin@ENG.ACME.COM
rlogin/bigmachine.eng.acme.com@ENG.ACME.COM
host/bigmachine.eng.acme.com@ENG.ACME.COM
The first four cases are user principals. In the first two cases, it is assumed that the user joe is in the same realm as the client, so no
realm is specified. Note that joeand joe/admin are different principals, even if the same user uses them; joe/admin has different privi-
leges from joe. The fifth case is a service principal, while the final case is a host principal. The word host is required for host princi-
pals. With host principals, the instance is the fully qualified hostname. Note that the words admin and host are reserved keywords.
SEE ALSO
kdestroy(1), kinit(1), klist(1), kpasswd(1), krb5.conf(4), krb5envvar(5)
Sun Enterprise Authentication Mechanism Guide
NOTES
If you enter your username and kinit responds with this message:
Principal unknown (kerberos)
you haven't been registered as a SEAM user. See your system administrator or the Sun Enterprise Authentication Mechanism Guide.
SunOS 5.10 17 Nov 1999 SEAM(5)