The Web services security model used by WebSphere® Application
Server is the declarative model. WebSphere Application
Server does not include any application programming interfaces (APIs)
for programmatically interacting with Web services security. However,
a few Server Provider Interfaces (SPIs) are available for extending
some security-related behaviors.
Important: There is an important distinction between Version
5.x and Version 6 and later applications. The information in
this article supports Version 5.x applications only that are
used with WebSphere Application Server Version 6.0.x and
later. The information does not apply to Version 6 and later applications.
Figure 1. Web services security model
The security constraints for Web services security are specified
in IBM
® deployment descriptor extensions for Web
services. The Web services security run time acts on the constraints
to enforce Web services security for the SOAP message. The scope of
the IBM deployment descriptor extension is at the
enterprise bean (EJB) or Web module level. Bindings are associated
with each of the following IBM deployment descriptor extensions:
- Client (Might be either a Java Platform,
Enterprise Edition (Java EE)
client (application client container) or Web services acting as a
client)
- ibm-webservicesclient-ext.xmi
- ibm-webservicesclient-bnd.xmi
- Server
- ibm-webservices-ext.xmi
- ibm-webservices-bnd.xmi
It is recommended that you use the assembly tools provided by IBM to
create the IBM deployment descriptor extension and bindings.
After the bindings are created, you can use the administrative console
or an assembly tool to specify the bindings.
Important: The binding information is collected after
application deployment rather than during application deployment.
The alternative is to specify the required binding information before
deploying your application.
Figure 2. Web services security message interpretation

The Web services security run time enforces Web services security
based on the defined security constraints in the deployment descriptor
and binding files. Web services security has the following four points
where it intercepts the message and acts on the security constraints
defined:
Table 1. Web services security
message points. The descriptions of the points provides
examples of Web services security runtime environment behavior.
Message points |
Description |
Request sender (defined in the ibm-webservicesclient-ext.xmi and ibm-webservicesclient-bnd.xmi files) |
- Applies the appropriate security constraints to the SOAP message
(such as signing or encryption) before the message is sent, generating
the time stamp or the required security token.
|
Request receiver (defined in the ibm-webservices-ext.xmi and ibm-webservices-bnd.xmi files) |
- Verifies that the Web services security constraints are met.
- Verifies the freshness of the message based on the time stamp.
The freshness of the message indicates whether the message complies
with predefined time constraints.
- Verifies the required signature.
- Verifies that the message is encrypted and decrypts the message
if encrypted.
- Validates the security tokens and sets up the security context
for the downstream call.
|
Response sender (defined in the ibm-webservices-ext.xmi and ibm-webservices-bnd.xmi files) |
- Applies the appropriate security constraints to the SOAP message
response, like signing the message, encrypting the message, or generating
the time stamp.
|
Response receiver (defined in the ibm-webservicesclient-ext.xmi or ibm-webservicesclient-bnd.xmi files) |
- Verifies that the Web services security constraints are met.
- Verifies the freshness of the message based on the time stamp.
The freshness of the message indicates whether the message complies
with predefined time constraints.
- Verifies the required signature.
- Verifies that the message is encrypted and decrypts the message,
if encrypted.
|