FamousWhy Editor:
There are plenty of websites that are using a login system based on user name and password. In fact, more than 80% of the current websites are using this system because it offers protection and websites can create users databases (potential customers).

The system is quite simple: if you have a password protected website, a window will pop up to enter user name and password (every time when you try to log in). A standard Apache authentication system stores these data into text files somewhere on the same box as Apache server.

Mod_authnz_ibmdb2 can read that stored data from IBM DB2 database. It is a powerful and useful Apache authentication module using IBM DB2 as the backend database for storing user and group information. It also supports several encryption methods.

There are a few advantages for using Mod_authnz_ibmdb. First, if a user or group credentials might already be used for another authentication, Mod_authnz_ibmdb can be used to secure a particular webpage or site. Secondly, the user and group information does not have to be on the same machine as the web server.

Another advantage, also extremely important is that Mod_authnz_ibmdb can catch the credentials so that the database does not have to be queried for every single http request.

This module incorporates some interesting and useful features. Let's have a short look over the most important ones for a better understanding of what mod_authnz_ibmdb can offer:

- runs under Apache 1.x and Apache 2.0.x (mod_auth_ibmdb2)
- runs under Apache 2.2.x (mod_authnz_ibmdb2)
- If passwords are encrypted, the validation process checks the kind of encryption method
- UDFs for DB2 to generate passwords within DB2
- PHP scripts for importing users to DB2
- Support for user and group conditions (restricting result set of query)
- User authentication: normal md5 hash (32 chars as in PHP), seeded md5 value, plain text, sha1, crypt, no password (checks only if user exists).

Why is mod_authnz_ibmdb famous?

Mod_authnz_ibmdb is famous because is a powerful and useful Apache authentication module using IBM DB2 as the backend database for storing user and group information. Mod_authnz_ibmdb2 supports several encryption methods.

Publisher: Helmut K. C. Tessarek

Tags: ibmdb2 authentication module, Apache module,