Sunday, April 10, 2011

Get current user info in a Server Object Extension

Server Object Extensions (SOEs) give developers the ability to utilize the extensive geoanalytical capabilities of ArcObjects within an ArcGIS Server service. They also provide a framework that enables access to custom functionality in a service through the standard Web service protocols SOAP and REST. Enabling Web access to an SOE is well documented in the ArcObjects SDK.

ArcGIS Server Web services can also be secured using token or Web server authentication methods. Since SOEs are can be enabled on a specific service, authentication rules configured on a service apply to all of its extensions, including custom SOEs. This poses the question: if an SOE is enabled on a secured Web service, can the authenticated user be retrieved within the SOE? Yes, in ArcGIS Server 10 this is possible.

Use the C# code provided below as an example. Basically, within your SOE code get the current server environment and cast to IServerEnvironment2 to gain access to UserInfo. If authentication is enabled for ArcGIS Server Web services, each request to a service will be associated with an authenticated user. UserInfo will contain the user name and roles within which that user is present for the current request. Note, when Web server authentication is based on Windows users and groups, the user name is in the format domain\user.



Unfortunately, REST SOE's hosted on ArcGIS Server for .NET require ArcGIS Server 10 service pack 2 for this to function. ArcGIS Server 10 service pack 2 will be available for download on the ArcGIS Resource Center soon.