articleschannelstagsspacestoolkit
Microsoft Dev Blogs

Integrating Microsoft Entra ID for enhanced security in three-tier architecture

View Original
thumbnail

Summary

Key Terminology and Concepts

  • ID Token: A type of security token for authentication.
  • Registering Your Application: Establishes a trust relationship between your app and the Microsoft identity platform.
  • Main Service API: Relies on Microsoft Entra ID to protect its API and data.
  • Hybrid Flow: Combines sign-in requests for ID token and access token in a single transaction.

API Layer (Main Service)

  • Variation 1: OBO Flow: Main service API requests an access token for data layer in exchange for received access token to maintain user context.
  • Variation 2: Managed Identity Flow: Establishes trust between main service API and data layer using managed identity.

Data Layer

  • Secured through Microsoft Entra ID in two variations (OBO Flow and Managed Identity Flow).
  • Authorization of requests is handled based on the chosen approach.

Technical Components

Microsoft Entra ID

  • Cloud-based identity and access management service for employees' resource access.
  • Utilized for authentication and access token generation.

Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL)

  • Enables developers to acquire security tokens from Microsoft identity platform for user authentication and API access.

Overall, the integration of Microsoft Entra ID in a three-tier architecture enhances security by implementing secure token authentication and access management at each layer.