What is the correct authentication mechanism when there are users inside and outside the domain?
- by Gary Barrett
We have a Windows 7 enterprise desktop data entry app for mobile (laptop) users with local SQL Express 2008 R2 Express db that syncs data with an SQL Server 2008 R2 Server db. Authentication is required before syncing the data.
The existing group of users are part of the organisation's domain so normal scenario and they connect to the Sql Server directly.
But there are plans for a second group of app users who belong to various partner organisations so they are outside our domain and have their own various separate domains/accounts. The aim is to deploy the desktop app to them and they will periodically sync data to our SQL Server.
What I am uncertain of: Is it possible to authenticate users from another domain? Can permissions be managed via Active Directory etc?
Which authentication protocol should be used in this scenario? Windows, Forms, SQL, etc?
The IT people are requesting users of the system be managed via Active Directory. Is it possible to manage the external domain users access via Active Directory?