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15.2. About Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS)

The security architecture of JBoss EAP 6 is comprised of the security configuration subsystem, and application-specific security configurations which are included in several configuration files within the application.
Domain, Server Group, and Server Specific Configuration

Server groups (in a managed domain) and servers (in a standalone server) include the configuration for security domains. A security domain includes information about a combination of authentication, authorization, mapping, and auditing modules, with configuration details. An application specifies which security domain it requires, by name, in its jboss-web.xml.

Application-specific Configuration

Application-specific configuration takes place in one or more of the following four files.

Table 15.1. Application-Specific Configuration Files

File Description
ejb-jar.xml
The deployment descriptor for an Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) application, located in the META-INF directory of the archive. Use the ejb-jar.xml to specify roles and map them to principals, at the application level. You can also limit specific methods and classes to certain roles. It is also used for other EJB-specific configuration not related to security.
web.xml
The deployment descriptor for a Java Enterprise Edition (EE) web application. Use the web.xml to declare the resource and transport constraints for the application, such as limiting the type of HTTP requests that are allowed. You can also configure simple web-based authentication in this file. It is also used for other application-specific configuration not related to security. The security domain the application uses for authentication and authorization is defined in jboss-web.xml.
jboss-ejb3.xml
Contains JBoss-specific extensions to the ejb-jar.xml descriptor.
jboss-web.xml
Contains JBoss-specific extensions to the web.xml descriptor.

Note

The ejb-jar.xml and web.xml are defined in the Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE) specification. The jboss-ejb3.xml provides JBoss-specific extensions for the ejb-jar.xml, and the jboss-web.xml provides JBoss-specific extensions for the web.xml.