The native digest authentication mechanism as shipped with IIS requires that the IIS server be a member server in an active directory domain to have digest authentication enabled as an option. Implementing and maintaining active directory is a complex undertaking. Additionally, it can be a security risk if proper precautions are not observed. This is in addition to the requirement to store the passwords using reversible encryption. Finally, accessing the active directory data store from a web application can be problematic ...

Master sites offering tiered access to syndicated content through geographically diverse third party owner affiliate feeder sites can implement partioned control and management of users by using the isapi authentication filter. This applies to entities such as research library networks, online entertainment networks and AVS networks ...