Configuring Web Services Security using JAX-RPC at the platform level

In the platform configuration, general properties and additional properties can be specified, and the default binding is included. You can configure security for web services at a platform level with a variety of tasks including configuring key locators, trust anchors, and the collection certificate at the generator, consumer binding, and sever levels.

Before you begin

Best practice: IBM® WebSphere® Application Server supports the Java™ API for XML-Based Web Services (JAX-WS) programming model and the Java API for XML-based RPC (JAX-RPC) programming model. JAX-WS is a web services programming model that extends the foundation provided by the JAX-RPC programming model. The JAX-WS programming model simplifies development of web services and clients through support of a standards-based annotations model. Although the JAX-RPC programming model and applications are still supported, take advantage of the easy-to-implement JAX-WS programming model to develop new web services applications and clients.

Besides the application-level constraints, there is a cell-level and server-level Web Services Security (WSS) configuration called a platform-level configuration:

These configurations are global for all applications and include some configurations only for WebSphere Application Server Version 5.x applications and some only for version 6.0.x applications.
You can use the default binding as an application-level binding configuration so that applications do not have to define the binding in the application. There is only one set of default bindings that can be shared by multiple applications. This set is only available for WebSphere Application Server Version 6.x applications.

Therefore, binding configuration files can be specified at these levels: application, server, and cell. Each binding configuration overrides the next higher one. For any deployed application, the nearest configuration binding is applied. The visibility scope of the binding depends on where the file is located. If the binding is defined in an application, its visibility is scoped to that particular application. If it is located at the server level, the visibility scope is all applications that are deployed on that server. For WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment, if it is located at the cell level, the visibility scope is all applications deployed on all servers of the cell.

About this task

To ensure Web Services Security at the platform level, you can configure:

A nonce on the server or cell level
The key locator for the generator or consumer binding on the application level, server level, or cell level
Trust anchors for the generator or consumer binding on the application level, server level, or cell level
The collection certificate store for the generator or consumer binding on the application level, server level or cell level
Trusted ID evaluators on the server or cell level
Hardware cryptographic devices for Web Services Security
The rrdSecurity.props property file

Procedure

To configure a nonce on the server or cell level, see the steps in Configuring a nonce on the server or cell level
To configure the key locator for the generator binding on the application level, see the steps in Configuring the key locator using JAX-RPC for the generator binding on the application level
To configure the key locator for the consumer binding on the application level, see the steps in Configuring the key locator using JAX-RPC for the consumer binding on the application level
To configure the key locator on the server or cell level, see the steps in Configuring the key locator using JAX-RPC on the server or cell level
To configure trust anchors for the generator binding on the application level, see the steps in Configuring trust anchors for the generator binding on the application level
To configure trust anchors for the consumer binding on the application level, see the steps in Configuring trust anchors for the consumer binding on the application level
To configure trust anchors on the server or cell level, see the steps in Configuring trust anchors on the server or cell level
To configure the collection certificate store for the generator binding on the application level, see the steps in Configuring the collection certificate store for the generator binding on the application level
To configure the collection certificate store for the consumer binding on the application level, see the steps in Configuring the collection certificate store for the consumer binding on the application level
To configure the collection certificate on the server or cell level, see the steps in Configuring the collection certificate on the server or cell level
To configure trusted ID evaluators on the server or cell level, see the steps in Configuring trusted ID evaluators on the server or cell level
To enable hardware cryptographic devices for Web Services Security, see the steps in Enabling hardware cryptographic devices for Web Services Security
To work with the rrdSecurity.props file, see rrdSecurity.props file

Results

By completing these steps, you have configured Web Services Security at the platform level.