CENTRALIZED AUTHENTICATION SERVICES

Centralized Authentication Service (CAS) is a single sign-on protocol for the web. Its purpose is to permit a user to log into multiple applications simultaneously and automatically. It also allows web applications to authenticate users without gaining access to a user’s security credentials, such as a password.Single sign-on allows a user to enter his or her name and password once and gain access to multiple applications or systems. Utilizing this authentication process eliminates the need for multiple prompts when the user switches from one application to the next. Web single sign-on works strictly with applications accessed with a web browser. The request to access a web resource is intercepted either by a component in the web server, or by the application itself. Unauthenticated users are diverted to an authentication service and returned only after a successful authentication.