Bruce Gruenbaum:
The Authentication Service is responsible for authenticating a user when the session starts up. All it does is determine that the user is known to the system and that the user's credentials have been authenticated. In most applications, the Authentication Service is a façade that allows implements
its authentication through an LDAP or other authentication service. The Authentication Service also provides the Connection Factory and other services with the credentials they need to authenticate the user of this session against other targets.
Thomas Mercer-Hursh
Are non-humans, i.e., services also authenticated and how?
Does this return a token which is then used to indicate that the current session is authenticated?
Initial content adapted from an exchange on the PEG