Core Middleware

These five services are central to middleware as a whole.

Identifiers

A set of computer-readable codes that uniquely specify a subject.

Authentication

The process of a subject electronically establishing that it is, in fact, the subject associated with a particular identity.

Directories

Central repositories that hold information and data associated with identities. These repositories are accessed by people and by applications to, for example, get information, customize generic environments to individual preferences, and route mail and documents.

Authorization

Those permissions and workflow engines that drive transaction handling, administrative applications and automation of business processes.

Certificates and public-key infrastructures (PKI)

Certificates and PKI are related to the previous four core middleware services in several important ways.