Server Permissioning

Setting files to authenticate permissions

Overview

The server permissioning option in Omniscope allows you to save a file with a URL pointing to the server which will be used to authenticate users who try to open the file. For more detailed information on options for using HTTP authentication with Omniscpe files, see the KnowledgeBase.

Requirements

• Enterprise Edition of Omniscope
• HTTP authentication already running on a web server
• A signed and valid certificate if you intend to use HTTPS connections.

The example below describes how to set up basic authentication using Apache. However, server permissioning will work with any other HTTP/HTTPS authentication server.

Apache example

Step 1: Creating authentication directory

In your main website root directory create a new folder which can be named anything i.e. test. This new folder should be accessible from the web in the following format:

http://<domain name>/<folder name>

or

https://<domain name>/<folder name>

Where <domain name> should be replaced with the actual domain name e.g. 'www.visokio.com' and <folder name> with the name of the folder created above i.e. authentication. The final URL should look like http://www.visokio.com/authentication or https://www.visokio.com/authentication

Once the URL above is working, create an index.html/index.jsp/index.php relevant page which is just a welcome message e.g. "You have successfully logged in from Omniscope" in the folder created above. This page is shown to the user once they have successfully logged in through Omniscope and the file will then open. 

Step 2: Creating HTTP password

The next step is to create HTTP authentication to determine which users are allowed to access to this location. First you need to create the password file with the usernames and passwords using Apache htpasswd.exe. For further information please refer to http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/programs/htpasswd.html

Step 3: Creating .htaccess file

Once you have created the HTTP password file the next step is to create the .htaccess file. Create a new file called '.htaccess' in the folder created in Step 1. Open the file in Notepad and enter the authentication information please refer to Apache docs for further information. For example:

AuthType Basic
AuthName "My test"
AuthUserFile "C:\Apache\htPasswdFile"
Require user test

Helpful information: 

AuthType: The type of authentication
AuthName: This name is shown when asking for user credentials
AuthUserFile: Is the full path to the http password file.
Require user: This can be either 'valid-user' or certain user names from the htpasswd file. Please consult apache document for further information.