External Auth for web site driven by FMS 8 Advanced (XML/XSLT, not IWP)

[anachron]

Hi,

I am building a web site for students in our short-course program to be able to log in & view their student records, etc. The front end of the site will be on an independent server running Apache & PHP. The site will use XML (or XSLT) to query a separate Filemaker database being served on another machine, using FM Server 8.0v4 Advanced running under Mac OS X 10.4.

I understand that Server 8 Advanced can use an external auth server (i.e. Apple's Open Directory, in this case) to control user access to a database. Is there a way to make this same authentication process work using PHP calls to Filemaker Server?

I.e., for example, a student goes to www.ourclass.com/login.php (sample site, doesn't actually exist,) enters their username and passowrd, and clicks "log in." The PHP script on the Apache web server then queries the separately-hosted Filemaker Server computer about the validity of this user/password pair. Filemaker Server then queries the Open Directory server, which replies "yes, good credentials" or "no, bad ones," and FMS then allows or denies the user further access, as appropriate.

Can this work? Is it automatic, or are there hoops I have to jump through to make it happen?

Thank you.

[Steven H. Blackwell]

There is no Single Sign On for Macintosh FMP clients. So credentials generally must be stored in the KeyChain.

Distinct from that however, if the FileMaker Server is a proper member of the OD domain, if External Server Authentication is enabled in the Server SAT Tool, and if proper Groups are set up in the database files, then the credentials can be managed by the OD domain controller. Since this is CWP, there should be a basic http authentication credentials challenge; the user will enter the credentials; and, then, the credentials will be validated by the OD and the user will be admitted to the file with the specified privileges.

See http://www.filemaker.com/support/upgrade/techbriefs.html for a long Tech Brief/White Paper on External Server Authentication. Or download it here:

http://www.filemaker.com/downloads/pdf/techbrief_fm8_server_auth.pdf

HTH

Steven