n-Tier Authentication

Summary

In this chapter, we learned about the proxy authentication or n-Tier authentication capabilities available to us when programming in OCI. This feature allows a middle tier application server to act as a trusted agent into the database, on behalf of a client known to the application. We have seen how Oracle allows us to restrict the set of roles available to the application server proxy account, so that the proxy account can only perform application specific operations. Further, we have seen how auditing has been enhanced to support this new feature. We can audit actions specifically performed by proxy accounts on behalf of any given user or all users. We can clearly see when a given user, via the application proxy account, performed an action, and when it was done by the user directly.

We modified one of Oracle’s simple demonstration programs to provide us with a simple SQL*PLUSlike environment to test this feature. The environment it provides is optimal for testing out various pieces of this functionality, and will help you see how it works interactively.