The ever growing number of secure web applications the faculty and staff of Saint Cloud State University were using each day revealed the need for a centralized login system to prevent the confusion and frustration associated with trying to remember multiple login points username/password combinations. After I identified this problem, I began consulting with the campus network administrator on devising a central security scheme to provide a single entry point into the administrative portals of each web application. Since SCSU utilizes Active Directory, every student, faculty and staff member on campus has an account that manages their email and roaming profile. I felt that using the user-management functions built-in to Active Directory would be the best place to start, and I was soon introduced to the Active Directory Service Interface.
Using ADSI and ASP, I was quickly able to develop a role-based security scheme and administration portal by authenticating against SCSU’s Active Directory domain controllers. This system was very successful and so well received that all prior applications were quickly adapted to use this security scheme.
Special Note: Because of SCSU’s slow adoption of the .Net Framework, using ASP.Net and the Windows Authentication mode was not feasible alternative to ADSI.