adding support for user authentication within Mapserver for GetCapablities and GetMap

[Kralidis,Tom [Burlington]]

In addition, one can use mapscript WxS to intercept a request and, say, authenticate and process accordingly.
 
Check out http://www.geoxacml.org as an OGC-ish way extending the OASIS XACML spec.
 
..Tom
 
 

________________________________

From: UMN MapServer Users List on behalf of Gregor Mosheh
Sent: Fri 31-Aug-07 14:58
To: MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU
Subject: Re: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] adding support for user authentication within Mapserver for GetCapablities and GetMap



John Mitchell wrote:
> How would I add support for user authentication within Mapserver for
> GetCapablities and GetMap?

Sean's answer is basially right: You don't. Security is the webserver's
job, and not Mapserver's. In fact, none of the OGC WxS standards
supports security; they assume that the webserver has already done such
things before calling the application.

You would have to password protect the mapserv binary or the cgi-bin
directory which houses it, not just the one app nor just those functions
or layers.

I have often wondered why the OGC standards left out such a basic
concept as access control. Mysteries of the universe.

--
Gregor Mosheh / Greg Allensworth
System Administrator, HostGIS cartographic development & hosting services
http://www.HostGIS.com/

"Remember that no one cares if you can back up,
  only if you can restore." - AMANDA