After you have your system up and running, the next step in setting up security is to select an authentication mechanism. An authentication mechanism defines rules about security information (for example, whether a credential is forwardable to another Java™ process) and the format of how security information is stored in both credentials and tokens. Authentication is the process of establishing whether a client is valid in a particular context. A client can be either an end user, a machine, or an application.
An authentication mechanism in WebSphere® Application Server typically collaborates closely with a user registry. The user registry is the user and groups accounts repository that the authentication mechanism consults with when performing authentication. The authentication mechanism is responsible for creating a credential which is an internal product representation of successfully authenticated client user. Not all credentials are created equal. The abilities of the credential are determined by the configured authentication mechanism.