Authentication Macro

When the default authentication fails, the query-meta CGI application processes the macro (e.g., some IBM Watson™ Explorer Engine XML code) specified by the authentication-macro option found on the project's Advanced tab and System sub-tab. This option is a Global Options and should be set accordingly (by default it is set to authentication, a macro which is defined in the default repository).

This macro is a flexible mechanism for defining authentication makes it possible to leverage an external authentication scheme, such as Active Directory-based IIS authentication, standard Apache authentication, LDAP, or a single sign-on mechanism.

The authentication macro is loaded before the project options because authentication may be a requirement for accessing any of the sources associated with the project. The authentication macro does not depend on a project and is valid for the whole Watson Explorer Engine installation. The authentication macro therefore only has access to environment variables, system options and CGI parameters, and not to project options or variables.

Important: To enable Watson Explorer Engine to load an authentication macro from your Watson Explorer Engine repository before loading a project and associated components, the name of the authentication macro that should be used must be specified using the VIVISIMO_AUTHENTICATION_MACRO environment variable or in the vivisimo.conf file in your Watson Explorer Engine installation directory. Because it must be loaded before a project is loaded, you cannot set the name of the authentication macro in Project portions of the Watson Explorer Engine administration tool - it is a read-only entry there.