Configure a Custom Authentication Namespace

You can configure IBM® Cognos® components to use a custom authentication namespace. Any additional configuration for authentication source access, single signon, or custom attributes are dependent on the custom authentication provider implementation.

Ensure that the versions of Java™ runtime environment (JRE) and Java Software Development Kit that you use are compatible with each other. If you use supported versions of the JRE and Java Software Development Kit that are not compatible with each other, then the custom Java authentication provider that you configure will not appear in the list of namespaces in IBM Cognos Configuration.

Procedure

  1. In every location where Content Manager is installed, open IBM Cognos Configuration.
  2. In the Explorer window, under Security, right-click Authentication, and click New resource > Namespace.
  3. In the Name box, type a name for your authentication namespace.
  4. In the Type list, select Custom Java Provider and then click OK.

    The new authentication provider resource appears in the Explorer window, under the Authentication component.

  5. In the Properties window, for the NamespaceID property, specify a unique identifier for the namespace.
    Tip: Do not use colons (:) in the Namespace ID property.
  6. Specify the values for all other required properties to ensure that IBM Cognos can locate and use your existing authentication provider.
  7. From the File menu, click Save.
  8. Test the connection to a new namespace. In the Explorer window, under Authentication, right-click the new authentication resource and click Test.

    You are prompted to enter credentials for a user in the namespace to complete the test.

    Depending on how your namespace is configured, you can enter either a valid user ID and password for a user in the namespace or the bind user DN and password.

Results

IBM Cognos loads, initializes, and configures the provider libraries for the namespace.