external authentication -shib IdP tutorial and config and working mode

[C G]

After digging a  bit on Shib documentation on IdP, I would like to
do the following:

Have an external authentication system that is another web application, can be colocated to shib
but under different context name in servlet container (tomcat or any). It is pure java/servlet/jsp.
Lets call it EA.


I became aware that Shib IdP has hooks to integrate such external authentication (EA) mechanism and would like
to explore this seemingly easy option (lets see :) Appreciate deeply if any can help me understand the process
geeting this done 


1. What are the files that need to be tweaked, if any, in Shib IdP package?

2. What data goes between the external auth system and Shib? Specifically my situation is
    a) external Auth (EA) system needs only user-id and is self contained in all aspects. It can authenticate
the user and redirect back the session to Shib. What parameters or http session variables if any need to be set?
Yes, both ways, incoming session from Shib to EA and from EA to Shib?

3. Any java class tweaking is needed to convey the auth results? The EA can set or pass results?
BTW, EA has its own API jars that can be dropped in Shib to parse result data (not saml, but prop)

4. In this scenerio, I dont need Ldap, what are the things 'can get rid of in config?

Any step by step documentation on this is highly appreciated with thanks!

Many thanks in advance.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://shibboleth.net/pipermail/users/attachments/20120922/f8ef2583/attachment.html