Configurable user management

Abstract

A user is authenticated by receiving an indication that a portal user wants to access a server. An attempt is made to access the server using a first authentication technique. If the first technique fails, an attempt is made to access the server using a second authentication technique.

1 . A method of authenticating a user comprising:
 receiving an indication that a portal user wants to access a server;   attempting to access the server using a first authentication technique; and   attempting to access the server using a second authentication technique if the first technique fails.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first authentication technique includes portal user mapping which includes providing, to the server, a stored username that is unique to the portal user being authenticated. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second authentication technique includes principal login which includes providing, to the server, a non-user-specific password that is not unique to the portal user being authenticated. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the non-user-specific password includes a superuser password and/or a public key. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising receiving, from an administrator, a configuration specifying which authentication technique to use as the first authentication technique and which authentication technique to use as the second authentication technique. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the server is one of a plurality of servers and the method further includes selecting which authentication technique to use as the first authentication technique and which authentication technique to use as the second authentication technique based at least in part on the types and numbers of authentication techniques used by the plurality of servers. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 receiving from the portal user a first username and a first password at a portal server; and   authenticating the portal user at the portal server using the first username and the first password, wherein:
 attempting to access the server using a first authentication technique includes determining, at the portal server, a second username and a second password and passing the second username and the second password from the portal server to the server; and 
 attempting to access the server using a second authentication technique includes determining, at the portal server, a third username and a third password and passing the third username and the third password from the portal server to the server. 
   
   
   
       8 . A system for authenticating a user comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:
 receive an indication that a portal user wants to access a server; 
 attempt to access the server using a first authentication technique; and 
 attempt to access the server using a second authentication technique if the first technique fails. 
   
   
   
       9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the first authentication technique includes portal user mapping which includes providing, to the server, a stored username that is unique to the portal user being authenticated. 
   
   
       10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the second authentication technique includes principal login which includes providing, to the server, a non-user-specific password that is not unique to the portal user being authenticated. 
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the non-user-specific password includes a superuser password and/or a public key. 
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with further instructions to receive, from an administrator, a configuration specifying which authentication technique to use as the first authentication technique and which authentication technique to use as the second authentication technique. 
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the server is one of a plurality of servers and the memory is configured to provide the processor with further instructions to select which authentication technique to use as the first authentication technique and which authentication technique to use as the second authentication technique based at least in part on the types and numbers of authentication techniques used by the plurality of servers. 
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with further instructions to:
 receive from the portal user a first username and a first password at a portal server; and   authenticate the portal user at the portal server using the first username and the first password, wherein:
 the instructions for attempting to access the server using a first authentication technique include instructions for determining, at the portal server, a second username and a second password and passing the second username and the second password from the portal server to the server; and 
 the instructions for attempting to access the server using a second authentication technique include instructions for determining, at the portal server, a third username and a third password and passing the third username and the third password from the portal server to the server. 
   
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the server includes one or more of the following: a business server, a document server, a database, or a docbase. 
   
   
       16 . A computer program product for authenticating a user, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:
 receiving an indication that a portal user wants to access a server;   attempting to access the server using a first authentication technique; and   attempting to access the server using a second authentication technique if the first technique fails.   
   
   
       17 . The computer program product of  claim 16 , wherein the first authentication technique includes portal user mapping which includes providing, to the server, a stored username that is unique to the portal user being authenticated. 
   
   
       18 . The computer program product of  claim 16 , wherein the second authentication technique includes principal login which includes providing, to the server, a non-user-specific password that is not unique to the portal user being authenticated. 
   
   
       19 . The computer program product of  claim 18 , wherein the non-user-specific password includes a superuser password and/or a public key. 
   
   
       20 . The computer program product of  claim 1  further comprising computer instructions for receiving, from an administrator, a configuration specifying which authentication technique to use as the first authentication technique and which authentication technique to use as the second authentication technique. 
   
   
       21 . The computer program product of  claim 20  wherein the server is one of a plurality of servers and the computer program product further includes computer instructions for selecting which authentication technique to use as the first authentication technique and which authentication technique to use as the second authentication technique based at least in part on the types and numbers of authentication techniques used by the plurality of servers. 
   
   
       22 . The computer program product of  claim 16  further comprising computer instructions for:
 receiving from the portal user a first username and a first password at a portal server; and   authenticating the portal user at the portal server using the first username and the first password, wherein:
 the computer instructions for attempting to access the server using a first authentication technique include computer instructions for determining, at the portal server, a second username and a second password and passing the second username and the second password from the portal server to the server; and 
 the computer instructions for attempting to access the server using a second authentication technique include computer instructions for determining, at the portal server, a third username and a third password and passing the third username and the third password from the portal server to the server.