CLAWS

CLAWS is a modular open-source software package that provides account and identity management functions in a heterogeneous computing environment. Developed at Rochester Institute of Technology, CLAWS was designed to simplify the process of managing user accounts across multiple systems.

Design

The software design is relatively simple. The CLAWS Central Server (CAT) represents the interchange point for the entire system. The client front-end is a PHP-based API foundation that is designed to support high-level web-clients. The primary management web-client allows help desk staff to easily manage user accounts and identities from any computer. Additionally, users can manage their identity and mail preferences using a separate self-help web-client.

On the back-end, special modules can be created to interface with various computing systems. These modules are subscriber-based components that can detect and handle updates from CAT. Data that is specific to CLAWS, such as update history, is stored in an Oracle database. External systems can both update and receive updates through CLAWS subscriptions and feeds.

Running under Apache Tomcat, CAT communicates with the components through SOAP over HTTPS. CLAWS supports the delegation of granular permissions to accommodate the various roles within the Institute. This highly-extensible design permits the addition of new systems and clients as needed.

External links

* [http://claws.rit.edu/ Official website]