Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Open Client Introduction and Programming

Secure connections

Open Clients support two types of secure connections to an AppServer, depending on the type of Open Client:

Secure Internet connections using the AppServer Internet Adapter (AIA) or Web Services Adapter (WSA).
Secure intranet connections to an SSL-enabled AppServer.

The following sections briefly describe how secure AppServer connections work with Open Clients. For more information on AppServer support for secure connections, see OpenEdge Application Server: Developing AppServer Applications and on support for secure connections in OpenEdge, see OpenEdge Getting Started: Core Business Services .

Secure Internet connections

.NET/Java Open Clients and Web service clients can access the AppServer over secure Internet connections using HTTPS. The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) provides the security by tunneling HTTP requests, with data privacy provided by symmetric key encryption and authentication between the client and server (in this case the Web server) provided using public key (digital) certificates. The requirement for using HTTPS connections is to have access to a root digital certificate that corresponds to a certificate that is stored on the server. For more information on managing root digital certificates for Open Clients, see Chapter 2, " Configuration."

Secure Internet connections do not by themselves secure the entire route to the AppServer. OpenEdge can secure the connection beyond the Web server by supporting SSL connections from the AIA and WSA to an SSL-enabled AppServer over the intranet. For more information on AIA and WSA connections to an SSL-enabled AppServer, see OpenEdge Application Server: Developing AppServer Applications .

Secure intranet connections

.NET and Java Open Clients can access the AppServer over secure intranet connections using OpenEdge SSL. SSL provides the security by tunneling AppServer protocol requests, where data privacy is provided by symmetric key encryption and authentication between the client and server (in this case the SSL-enabled AppServer) is provided by public key (digital) certificates. The requirement for using SSL-enabled AppServer connections is that the client must have access to a root digital certificate that corresponds to a digital certificate stored on the server. For more information on managing root digital certificates for Open Clients, see Chapter 2, " Configuration."

A secure intranet connection to an SSL-enabled AppServer from an Open Client secures the entire connection between the client and the AppServer.