ASP.NET in a Nutshell

Name

<authentication>

Synopsis

                     <authentication>
</authentication>

Provides attributes and contains child elements used to configure authentication options in ASP.NET.

Scope

Machine, Application

Attributes

Mode

Determines the type of authentication that will be used by ASP.NET. Valid values are:

Windows (default)

Uses credentials provided by IIS authentication methods (Basic, Digest, Integrated Windows Authentication, or Certificates) to authenticate user requests. Requests can then be permitted or denied based on settings contained within the <authorization> element, using the authenticated username (or an associated group/role name) to allow or deny the request. This is the default authentication mode defined in machine.config.

Forms

Provides an infrastructure for performing custom authentication in situations when Windows authentication is not possible. When Forms authentication is enabled, users who have not logged in are automatically redirected to a login URL provided as an attribute of the <forms> element. Once logged in, a cookie is sent as an authentication token. Users can be authenticated against any credentials database the developer chooses -- from Active Directory to a custom credentials database. This mode requires the inclusion of the <forms> child element.

Passport

Takes advantage of Microsoft’s Passport authentication service. This mode requires inclusion of the <passport> child element.

None

Specifies that no authentication be performed at the ASP.NET level. Requests ...