How does CICS user authentication work with HostBridge?
How CICS user authentication works is determined by the transport mechanism used to exchange requests/responses with HostBridge. In all cases, however, user authentication is handled by CICS (not HostBridge). For example, the most common transport used by our customers is the CICS TS HTTP Listener, which is configured by the TCPIPSERVICE CSD entry. If you set the AUTHENTICATE parameter of the TCPIPSERVICE definition to BASIC, then then CICS expects the HTTP request to contain a basic authentication header that includes a valid userid and password. CICS invokes your external security manager (ESM) to make this determination (e.g., RACF, ACF2). If (and only if) the ESM validated access, CICS passes control to HostBridge to process the request. From that point on, CICS and HostBridge work together to insure that any STARTed transaction, or LINKed program, execute under the authenticated user’s identity.
