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Secure your Web service with WSDK

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by maryweilage

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The Nov. 18, Web Services TechMail discusses Web services security using the capabilities of Microsoft's Web Service Development Kit (WSDK). Do you think you will use WSDK for your Web services security? Share with us the whys and the why nots.

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by simon 123

Did I get it wrong, or does the article say that for this technology to work then the .NET environment is needed at both ends. Does this not undermine one of the core priniciples of Web Services development, which is to expose functionality withoutdefining the requirements for the client?

by author - kevin koch

You are correct in that both sides need to have the .NET environment with the WSDK installed. However, the WSDK is a microsoft product designed to adopt new standards in the Web services domain. These standards have been developed by IBM, Microsoft and Verisign. The reason you need it on both sides is because Microsoft is the only company who currently provides an SDK for these new standards. IBM is releasing support for WS-Security in WebSphere 5.
If anything Microsoft is encouraging the coreprinciples of Web services by being the first to implement the ability to use new cutting edge standards in the Web service industry. Once these specifications are adopted by other companies, you will be able to code the consumer in your choice of technologies

by simon 123

Kevin,

Thanks for the reply. Forgive me for being an old cynic, but it seems like IBM and Microsoft are both struggling against their natural instincts in trying to cooperate on a set of standards for Web Services.

Simon

by simon cso

Nice article - of course shortly afterwards Microsoft changed the name of the WSDK to "Web Services Enhancements 1.0 for Microsoft .NET"! It's hard to keep track of all the Web services acronyms. Anyway, my point is that as well as the availability of SDKs, it is important that security infrastructure also supports WS-Security. I've been playing with the WSDK along with VordelSecure from Vordel - using WSDK and Visual Studio .NET to make SOAP messages containing security tokens, then filtering these using my security policy loaded into VordelSecure. VordelSecure also has filters for SAML, SSL certificate, XML content, etc. So it means that the WSDK doesn't have to be used by each consumer - which I guess is the point of Web Services - youdon't need to same technology at each end.

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