LDAP/AD Authentication

QPR ProcessAnalyzer uses three methods for authenticating users:

• The built-in authentication method in which the user is authenticated against the user id/password combination in QPR ProcessAnalyzer database.
• The LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) authentication method in which the user is authenticated by validating the username against a corporate LDAP server.
• The combination of the built-in and the LDAP authentication method: if the LDAP method fails, the built-in method is used.

Configuring the Authentication Settings

The authentication method options can be configured in the PA_CONFIGURATION table in the QPR ProcessAnalyzer database. The options relevant for authentication are listed in the following table:

Name Description Value AuthenticationMethod Indicates which authentication method is used. 1 (the default value) = The user is authenticated against the passwords in QPR ProcessAnalyzer database. 2 = The user is authenticated using the LDAP method by validating the username against a corporate LDAP server. 3 = The user is authenticated using both methods: if LDAP authentication fails, then logging in will be done using the built-in authentication method. If the value has not been defined (or if you try to define any other value than 1, 2, or 3), the login will fail and you will receive an error message. LDAPConnectionString The IP address for establishing the connection to the LDAP server. LDAPUserFilter This string is used by the LDAP library to locate and search the user from corporate LDAP server. LDAPUserSearchBase The distinguished name of the object at which to start the search. LDAPUserIdAttributeName The user id attribute name. LDAPServerUserName LDAP server credentials: the distinguished name of the user. If no value is given, then anonymous authentication is used. LDAPServerPassword LDAP server credentials: the password of the user. If no value is given, then anonymous authentication is used.

All values except for AuthenticationMethod are empty by default.

The authentication method that is currently used is shown in Session Information dialog.

Creating a New LDAP User

The LDAP authentication method can be used in QPR ProcessAnalyzer Pro and QPR ProcessAnalyzer Database. However, the LDAP settings have no effect in QPR ProcessAnalyzer Xpress as it does not use named user authentication.

1. Open the PA_CONFIGURATION table from QPR ProcessAnalyzer database and manually configure the options as described in the table above. Allow built-in authentication.
2. Log in to QPR ProcessAnalyzer as a user that has "All" and "Administrator" rights.
3. Create a new user account. If the user is meant to be a user authenticated using the LDAP method, then leave the password empty. The username in QPR ProcessAnalyzer must match the LDAP username.

Note that if the user (other than an Administrator) has successfully been authenticated using the LDAP method, this user is not able to change his or her own password in QPR ProcessAnalyzer.