Platform SDK: Transaction Server

Setting MTS Authentication Levels

[This product will work only on Windows NT 4.0 versions and earlier. For Windows 2000 and later, see COM+ (Component Services).]

An application’s authentication level indicates the level of security used to authenticate client requests. If authentication is not required for clients of an application, select the Anonymous option on the Security tab of the Package property sheet. If you want to require authentication of clients, use the Impersonate setting. The server process will set the authentication level to that specified level and the impersonation level to impersonate so it is not affected by distributed COM (DCOM).

Unless you have a thorough understanding of DCOM authentication levels, it is recommended that you leave your package authentication setting at the MTS default setting, which is Packet level.

The following table describes the different DCOM authentication settings:

Level	Description
None	No security checking occurs on communication between this package and another package or a client application.
Connect	Security checking occurs only for the initial connection.
Call	Security checking occurs on every call for the duration of the connection.
Packet	The sender's identity is encrypted. .
Packet Integrity	The sender's identity and signature are encrypted to ensure that packets haven't been changed during transit.
Packet Privacy	The entire packet, including the data, and the sender's identity and signature, are encrypted for maximum security.

To set authentication levels for a computer

In the MTS Explorer, select the package you want to configure.
In the Action menu, click Properties, and select the Security tab. You can also access the property sheets by selecting the package and either right-clicking and choosing Properties, or clicking the Properties button on the MTS toolbar.
Select the level of authentication you want to configure for this package under Authentication level for calls.
Click OK.