Application Integration is provided in the Moonshot architecture by the GSS-API, the SSPI, and SASL. This page gives an overview of the SSPI, and exactly where it fits within Moonshot.

Contents

1. What is the SSPI?

The Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI) is a Microsoft Windows Application Programming Interface (API) for security related services. Application developers need not write complex security infrastructures in their applications, rather, they simply make calls to the SSPI which does all of the heavy lifting for them.

The SSPI is a proprietary variant of the GSS-API, with some Windows-specific. However, the tokens generated by the GSS-API and the SSPI are largely compatible so in many circumstances the two can interoperate.

2. Key Concepts and Terminology

The key terminology and concepts used in the SSPI are generally very similar to the GSS-API - see Section 2.1 of the GSS-API wiki page for more information.

An SSP mechanism takes the form of a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) that provides one (or more) SSPs to the system.

2.1. Security Support Providers

Technically, the SSPI itself doesn't actually do anything - it's an API. Instead, SSPs of the SSPI do all of the work. These need to be installed as libraries on the systems which wish to make use of them.

Some of the more common SSPs include:

Kerberos
and more

3. Moonshot and the SSPI

Overview of where this tech fits in with Moonshot, and why this tech was chosen.

3.1. How Moonshot uses the SSPI

Specific details of how Moonshot makes use of this tech.

3.2. Where Moonshot uses the SSPI

Where in all of the flows this tech is used.