Policy Server Guides › Policy Server Administration Guide › Configuring and Managing Encryption Keys › Agent Keys

Agent Keys

SiteMinder Web Agents use an Agent key to encrypt cookies before passing the cookies to a user's browser. When a Web Agent receives a SiteMinder cookie, the Agent key enables the Agent to decrypt the contents of the cookie. Keys must be set to the same value for all Web Agents communicating with a Policy Server.

The Policy Server provides the following types of Agent keys:

• Dynamic Keys are generated by a Policy Server algorithm and are distributed to connected Policy Servers and any associated SiteMinder Web Agents. Dynamic keys can be rolled over at a regular interval, or by using the Key Management dialog box of the Administrative UI. For security reasons, this is the recommended type of Agent key.
• Static Keys remain the same indefinitely, and can be generated by a Policy Server algorithm or entered manually. SiteMinder deployments uses this type of key for a subset of features that require information to be stored in cookies on a user's machine over extended periods of time.

  Note: A static agent key is always generated at installation. This static key is used for certain other product features, such as user management, whether or not you use the static key as the Agent key.