External Server Authentication (Active Directory / LDAP)
BeginnerConfigure FileMaker Server to authenticate users against Active Directory or LDAP for centralized identity management.
What you'll learn
- Architecture of external server authentication with FileMaker
- Domain-joining FileMaker Server (Windows and macOS)
- Creating and testing external server accounts in FileMaker
- Group-based privilege set assignment
External Server authentication connects FileMaker's account system to a corporate Active Directory or LDAP directory. Users log in with their existing corporate credentials -- no separate FileMaker password. Password resets, account lockouts, and offboarding all happen centrally in the directory, not in FileMaker. This is the right choice for organizations with an existing directory infrastructure.
How external server auth works
FileMaker Server validates credentials by passing them to the configured directory service (AD or LDAP). The directory service returns a success or failure response. FileMaker then checks if the validated identity has a matching account in the file and applies the assigned privilege set. FileMaker never stores the user's directory password.
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