User's Manual

12
4 Requirements
This chapter describes the minimum requisites in terms of software and hardware that are
compulsory for WebOTP operations.
The WebOTP product features different requirements on the client side and on the server side, according to the
authentication protocol in use.
4.1 Client
The hardware device can be used on every system that is provided with a USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 connection.
The WebOTP authentication protocol can be used on any operating system that supports USB connected keyboards, in
particular W INDOWS , L INUX and M AC OS X. Also all web browsers that are compatible with J AVA S CRIPT , among
which I
NTERNET
E
XPLORER
, F
IREFOX
, O
PERA
, M
OZILLA
and S
AFARI
are supported. For being operative the system
requires no software to install and no special permits are required.
The WebCHR authentication protocol can be used only with W
INDOWS
operating systems and with I
NTERNET
E XPLORER browser. For being operative the installation of an A CTIVE X component on the system is required. Upon
installation of the component the administrator’s permits are required. During operation no special permits are required.
The WebSMS authentication protocol only requires the user to own a telephone which can receive an SMS.
4.1.1 Incompatibility
The WebOTP authentication protocols are not compatible with some special configurations:
• W
INDOWS
95 and W
INDOWS
NT – It is advisable to upgrade the operating system.
• M
AC
OS X 10.2 – It is advisable to upgrade the system to the Mac OS X 10.3 version or higher.
• Browser O
PERA
9 for M
AC
OS X – It is advisable to use the S
AFARI
or F
IREFOX
browsers.
The WebCHR authentication protocol is not compatible with some special configurations:
• W
INDOWS
95 and W
INDOWS
NT – It is advisable to upgrade the operating system.
The WebSMS authentication protocol has no chances of incompatibility, as it does not interact with any software.
4.2 Server
For operating at a server level the SDK provides support for W
INDOWS
2000, W
INDOWS
XP, W
INDOWS
2003 and
W INDOWS V ISTA platforms, both with 32 and with 64 bit versions.
On request the SDK can be adapted to other software and hardware architectures as it is based on an easily portable C
language.
For the authentication process, it will be necessary to store per each user on the server a data record called Blob of about
128 alphanumeric characters. Each Blob is associated with the serial number of the device made up of a 4 byte integer
number. The information reserved in the Blob are always encrypted, therefore it will not be necessary to adopt other
security measures when storing the database.
The time-based devices require an exact time source on the server for carrying out the authentication. If the clock
system is used, the clock must be always synchronized with a public time server by using an NTP client. Further details
are provided in the chapter Integration.
4.2.1 Incompatibility
There are no known incompatibilities.