diff --git a/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Ldap/LdapAuthService.cs b/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Ldap/LdapAuthService.cs
index 892c173..0f7aa86 100644
--- a/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Ldap/LdapAuthService.cs
+++ b/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Ldap/LdapAuthService.cs
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ namespace ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Ldap;
/// so the logic is unit-testable without a live server.
///
///
+///
/// Fully fail-closed: authentication never throws to the caller — every error, expected
/// or unexpected, is mapped to a structured .
/// A success is only returned for a user that resolved to exactly one entry, whose password
@@ -18,11 +19,37 @@ namespace ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Ldap;
/// Service-account bind failures () are
/// kept distinct from end-user bind failures () so
/// a system misconfiguration is not mistaken for bad user input.
+///
+///
+/// When is non-empty the flow above runs against
+/// an ordered endpoint list (primary first, then fallbacks in declared order) and moves on
+/// to the next endpoint ONLY on a system-side failure — connect/TLS, service-account bind,
+/// or search — i.e. when the endpoint gave no authoritative answer. Any answer from a healthy
+/// directory (success, or a user-side failure such as
+/// / )
+/// is final and is never retried elsewhere: retrying a rejected password against a second DC
+/// would turn one bad-password event into several, tripping account lockouts. Endpoint
+/// preference is sticky — the last endpoint that answered is tried first next time — so a
+/// primary outage costs its connect timeout once, not once per login.
+///
+///
+/// The service is safe to share (it is registered as a singleton). The sticky index is the
+/// only mutable state; concurrent logins may race on it, which is benign — the worst outcome
+/// is one login starting at a stale endpoint and walking on.
+///
///
public sealed class LdapAuthService : ILdapAuthService
{
private readonly LdapOptions _options;
private readonly ILdapConnectionFactory _connectionFactory;
+ private readonly IReadOnlyList _endpoints;
+
+ ///
+ /// Index into of the endpoint tried first. Written on any
+ /// authoritative answer from a non-preferred endpoint. Accessed via
+ /// only; benign races are accepted (see the type remarks).
+ ///
+ private int _preferredIndex;
///
/// Production constructor: binds against a live directory via the real
@@ -46,6 +73,25 @@ public sealed class LdapAuthService : ILdapAuthService
{
_options = options;
_connectionFactory = connectionFactory;
+ _endpoints = BuildEndpoints(options);
+ }
+
+ ///
+ /// Primary first, then fallbacks in declared order. The validator rejects malformed
+ /// entries at boot; unparseable entries are skipped defensively here so a service
+ /// constructed without options validation degrades to the parseable subset rather
+ /// than throwing from a constructor.
+ ///
+ private static IReadOnlyList BuildEndpoints(LdapOptions options)
+ {
+ var endpoints = new List { new(options.Server, options.Port) };
+ foreach (var entry in options.FallbackServers)
+ {
+ if (LdapEndpointParser.TryParse(entry, options.Port, out var endpoint, out _))
+ endpoints.Add(endpoint);
+ }
+
+ return endpoints;
}
///
@@ -54,7 +100,10 @@ public sealed class LdapAuthService : ILdapAuthService
/// bind-then-search-then-bind flow is wrapped so that any error — expected or unexpected —
/// is mapped to a structured . A
/// Succeeded == true result is only ever returned when the user resolved to exactly
- /// one entry, their password verified, AND at least one group was extracted.
+ /// one entry, their password verified, AND at least one group was extracted. With
+ /// configured the flow may run against more than
+ /// one endpoint before answering — see the type-level remarks for the walk and its
+ /// system-side-only failover rule.
///
public Task AuthenticateAsync(string username, string password, CancellationToken ct)
{
@@ -80,25 +129,87 @@ public sealed class LdapAuthService : ILdapAuthService
// filter and the returned result (avoids two identities for one person).
username = username.Trim();
+ // 4. Walk the endpoint list, preferred one first. A single-endpoint configuration
+ // (no FallbackServers) collapses to exactly one attempt — unchanged behaviour.
+ var preferred = Volatile.Read(ref _preferredIndex);
+ if ((uint)preferred >= (uint)_endpoints.Count)
+ preferred = 0; // defensive: the list is immutable, but never index out of it
+
+ // Seeded so an exhausted walk still returns the conservative system-side bucket
+ // even in the impossible case of an empty endpoint list.
+ var lastSystemSideFailure = LdapAuthResult.Fail(LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed);
+
+ foreach (var index in WalkOrder(_endpoints.Count, preferred))
+ {
+ var result = AuthenticateAgainst(_endpoints[index], username, password);
+
+ // ServiceAccountBindFailed is the (sole) system-side bucket: this endpoint gave
+ // no authoritative answer, so try the next one. Every other outcome — success, or
+ // a user-side failure like UserNotFound/BadCredentials — came from a healthy
+ // directory and is FINAL: re-asking a second DC about a rejected password would
+ // multiply one bad-password event into several against the account lockout policy.
+ if (result.Failure == LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed)
+ {
+ lastSystemSideFailure = result;
+ continue;
+ }
+
+ // Sticky preference: any authoritative answer proves this endpoint healthy.
+ // Updating only on Succeeded would re-pay the dead primary's connect timeout on
+ // every mistyped password for the whole outage.
+ if (index != preferred)
+ Volatile.Write(ref _preferredIndex, index);
+
+ return result;
+ }
+
+ // Every endpoint failed system-side. The preference is deliberately left where it was:
+ // a total outage says nothing about which endpoint to prefer once one recovers.
+ return lastSystemSideFailure;
+ }
+
+ /// Preferred endpoint first, then every other endpoint in declared order.
+ private static IEnumerable WalkOrder(int count, int preferred)
+ {
+ yield return preferred;
+ for (var i = 0; i < count; i++)
+ {
+ if (i != preferred)
+ yield return i;
+ }
+ }
+
+ ///
+ /// Runs one full bind-then-search-then-bind attempt against a single endpoint on a fresh
+ /// connection. The fail-closed contract holds per attempt: this never throws, and it
+ /// returns for — and only for —
+ /// system-side faults, which is what the caller reads as "no authoritative answer, try
+ /// the next endpoint".
+ ///
+ private LdapAuthResult AuthenticateAgainst(LdapEndpoint endpoint, string username, string password)
+ {
// The whole flow runs inside an outer fail-closed guard: a StageFailure carries an
// already-mapped failure out of a stage, and any OTHER unexpected exception defaults to
// the most conservative system-side bucket. Either way the caller gets a structured result.
try
{
+ // A fresh connection per attempt: a Novell connection that has failed to connect
+ // or bind is not safely reusable against another host.
using var conn = _connectionFactory.Create();
- // 4. Open the connection (transport/TLS handling lives in the adapter). The
+ // 5. Open the connection (transport/TLS handling lives in the adapter). The
// per-operation timeout (ConnectionTimeoutMs) is applied by the adapter here.
- // A failure to connect/upgrade means the directory is unreachable — a
- // system-side fault, not the user's, so map it to ServiceAccountBindFailed.
+ // A failure to connect/upgrade means this endpoint is unreachable — a
+ // system-side fault, not the user's, so map it to ServiceAccountBindFailed
+ // and let the caller try the next endpoint.
// NOTE: the LdapAuthFailure enum has no dedicated DirectoryUnavailable value;
// ServiceAccountBindFailed is the closest system-side bucket. A future
// Abstractions change could add DirectoryUnavailable to disambiguate.
try
{
conn.Connect(
- _options.Server,
- _options.Port,
+ endpoint.Host,
+ endpoint.Port,
_options.Transport,
_options.AllowInsecure,
_options.ConnectionTimeoutMs,
@@ -106,10 +217,10 @@ public sealed class LdapAuthService : ILdapAuthService
}
catch (LdapException)
{
- throw new StageFailure(LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed);
+ throw new StageFailure(LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed, "connect");
}
- // 5. Service-account bind so we can search for the user's DN. A bind failure
+ // 6. Service-account bind so we can search for the user's DN. A bind failure
// here is a service-account misconfiguration — DISTINCT from a user-credential
// failure — so it maps to ServiceAccountBindFailed.
try
@@ -118,10 +229,10 @@ public sealed class LdapAuthService : ILdapAuthService
}
catch (LdapException)
{
- throw new StageFailure(LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed);
+ throw new StageFailure(LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed, "service-bind");
}
- // 6. Search for the user entry by the configured username attribute. A search
+ // 7. Search for the user entry by the configured username attribute. A search
// failure is infrastructure (directory unreachable / unhealthy) — system-side.
// NOTE: same enum limitation as Connect above; ServiceAccountBindFailed is the
// closest system-side bucket until a DirectoryUnavailable value exists.
@@ -133,10 +244,11 @@ public sealed class LdapAuthService : ILdapAuthService
}
catch (LdapException)
{
- throw new StageFailure(LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed);
+ throw new StageFailure(LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed, "search");
}
- // 7. Require exactly one match. Zero -> UserNotFound; two or more -> AmbiguousUser.
+ // 8. Require exactly one match. Zero -> UserNotFound; two or more -> AmbiguousUser.
+ // Both are authoritative answers from a healthy directory, so they end the walk.
// We never attempt a user bind against an ambiguous DN.
if (entries.Count == 0)
return LdapAuthResult.Fail(LdapAuthFailure.UserNotFound);
@@ -145,19 +257,21 @@ public sealed class LdapAuthService : ILdapAuthService
var entry = entries[0];
- // 8. User bind: re-bind as the resolved DN to verify the password. A bind failure
- // here is the end user's bad credentials.
+ // 9. User bind: re-bind as the resolved DN to verify the password. A bind failure
+ // here is the end user's bad credentials — the directory answered, so this is
+ // returned directly and never retried against another endpoint.
try
{
conn.Bind(entry.Dn, password);
}
catch (LdapException)
{
- throw new StageFailure(LdapAuthFailure.BadCredentials);
+ return LdapAuthResult.Fail(LdapAuthFailure.BadCredentials);
}
- // 9. Group extraction. Fail closed: an empty/missing group set, or any error while
- // extracting groups, is a GroupLookupFailed — never a zero-group success.
+ // 10. Group extraction. Fail closed: an empty/missing group set, or any error while
+ // extracting groups, is a GroupLookupFailed — never a zero-group success. This
+ // too is an answer about the user, not about the endpoint, so it ends the walk.
IReadOnlyList groups;
try
{
@@ -165,13 +279,13 @@ public sealed class LdapAuthService : ILdapAuthService
}
catch
{
- throw new StageFailure(LdapAuthFailure.GroupLookupFailed);
+ return LdapAuthResult.Fail(LdapAuthFailure.GroupLookupFailed);
}
if (groups.Count == 0)
return LdapAuthResult.Fail(LdapAuthFailure.GroupLookupFailed);
- // 10. Success — and only here, with a verified password and >= 1 group.
+ // 11. Success — and only here, with a verified password and >= 1 group.
var displayName = ExtractDisplayName(entry, username);
return LdapAuthResult.Success(username, displayName, groups);
}
@@ -194,9 +308,16 @@ public sealed class LdapAuthService : ILdapAuthService
///
private sealed class StageFailure : Exception
{
- public StageFailure(LdapAuthFailure failure) => Failure = failure;
+ public StageFailure(LdapAuthFailure failure, string stage)
+ {
+ Failure = failure;
+ Stage = stage;
+ }
public LdapAuthFailure Failure { get; }
+
+ /// Which stage faulted (connect / service-bind / search), for diagnostics.
+ public string Stage { get; }
}
///
diff --git a/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Ldap.Tests/LdapAuthServiceFailoverTests.cs b/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Ldap.Tests/LdapAuthServiceFailoverTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b01a7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Ldap.Tests/LdapAuthServiceFailoverTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,237 @@
+using ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Abstractions.Ldap;
+
+namespace ZB.MOM.WW.Auth.Ldap.Tests;
+
+///
+/// Covers the multi-endpoint failover walk: which failures fail over (system-side only),
+/// which are final (any authoritative answer from a healthy directory), how the sticky
+/// endpoint preference moves, and that single-endpoint behaviour is unchanged.
+///
+public class LdapAuthServiceFailoverTests
+{
+ private static LdapOptions Opts(params string[] fallbacks) => new()
+ {
+ Enabled = true,
+ Server = "dc1",
+ Port = 636,
+ Transport = LdapTransport.Ldaps,
+ SearchBase = "dc=x",
+ ServiceAccountDn = "cn=svc,dc=x",
+ ServiceAccountPassword = "svcpw",
+ FallbackServers = fallbacks,
+ };
+
+ private static FakeLdapConnection HealthyWithUser() =>
+ new FakeLdapConnection().WithUserEntry("cn=alice,dc=x", new[] { "cn=ops,dc=x" });
+
+ // ---- failover triggers (system-side) ----
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task ConnectFailure_FailsOverToFallback_AndSucceeds()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnConnect(), HealthyWithUser());
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2:3894"), factory);
+
+ var result = await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None);
+
+ Assert.True(result.Succeeded);
+ Assert.Equal(2, factory.Created.Count);
+ Assert.Equal("dc1", factory.Created[0].ConnectArgs!.Value.Host);
+ Assert.Equal("dc2", factory.Created[1].ConnectArgs!.Value.Host);
+ Assert.Equal(3894, factory.Created[1].ConnectArgs!.Value.Port);
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task ServiceBindFailure_FailsOverToFallback()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnServiceBind(), HealthyWithUser());
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2"), factory);
+
+ var result = await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None);
+
+ Assert.True(result.Succeeded);
+ Assert.Equal(636, factory.Created[1].ConnectArgs!.Value.Port); // bare host adopts Port
+ }
+
+ // ---- user-side results NEVER fail over ----
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task BadUserCredentials_DoesNotFailOver()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ HealthyWithUser().ThrowOnUserBind());
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2"), factory);
+
+ var result = await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "wrong", CancellationToken.None);
+
+ Assert.Equal(LdapAuthFailure.BadCredentials, result.Failure);
+ Assert.Single(factory.Created);
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task UserNotFound_DoesNotFailOver()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(new FakeLdapConnection());
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2"), factory);
+
+ var result = await svc.AuthenticateAsync("ghost", "pw", CancellationToken.None);
+
+ Assert.Equal(LdapAuthFailure.UserNotFound, result.Failure);
+ Assert.Single(factory.Created);
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task GroupLookupFailed_DoesNotFailOver()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ new FakeLdapConnection().WithUserEntry("cn=alice,dc=x", Array.Empty()));
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2"), factory);
+
+ var result = await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None);
+
+ Assert.Equal(LdapAuthFailure.GroupLookupFailed, result.Failure);
+ Assert.Single(factory.Created);
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task AmbiguousUser_DoesNotFailOver()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ new FakeLdapConnection().WithDuplicateMatch());
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2"), factory);
+
+ var result = await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None);
+
+ Assert.Equal(LdapAuthFailure.AmbiguousUser, result.Failure);
+ Assert.Single(factory.Created);
+ }
+
+ // ---- exhaustion ----
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task AllEndpointsDown_ReturnsServiceAccountBindFailed()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnConnect(),
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnConnect());
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2"), factory);
+
+ var result = await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None);
+
+ Assert.Equal(LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed, result.Failure);
+ Assert.Equal(2, factory.Created.Count);
+ }
+
+ // ---- stickiness ----
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task StickyPreference_SecondLoginStartsAtLastGoodEndpoint()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnConnect(), // login 1 @ dc1: dead
+ HealthyWithUser(), // login 1 @ dc2: answers
+ HealthyWithUser()); // login 2: should go straight to dc2
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2"), factory);
+
+ Assert.True((await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None)).Succeeded);
+ Assert.True((await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None)).Succeeded);
+
+ Assert.Equal(3, factory.Created.Count);
+ Assert.Equal("dc2", factory.Created[2].ConnectArgs!.Value.Host);
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task StickyPreference_DriftsBackToPrimary_WhenPreferredFails()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnConnect(), // login 1 @ dc1: dead
+ HealthyWithUser(), // login 1 @ dc2: answers -> preferred
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnConnect(), // login 2 @ dc2: now dead
+ HealthyWithUser(), // login 2 @ dc1 (declared order): recovered
+ HealthyWithUser()); // login 3: should start at dc1 again
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2"), factory);
+
+ Assert.True((await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None)).Succeeded);
+ Assert.True((await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None)).Succeeded);
+ Assert.True((await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None)).Succeeded);
+
+ Assert.Equal(5, factory.Created.Count);
+ Assert.Equal("dc1", factory.Created[3].ConnectArgs!.Value.Host);
+ Assert.Equal("dc1", factory.Created[4].ConnectArgs!.Value.Host);
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task StickyPreference_UpdatesOnUserSideAnswer_NotOnlySuccess()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnConnect(), // login 1 @ dc1: dead
+ new FakeLdapConnection(), // login 1 @ dc2: answers UserNotFound
+ HealthyWithUser()); // login 2: should start at dc2
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2"), factory);
+
+ var first = await svc.AuthenticateAsync("ghost", "pw", CancellationToken.None);
+ Assert.Equal(LdapAuthFailure.UserNotFound, first.Failure);
+
+ Assert.True((await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None)).Succeeded);
+ Assert.Equal("dc2", factory.Created[2].ConnectArgs!.Value.Host);
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task AllEndpointsDown_LeavesPreferenceUnchanged()
+ {
+ // A total outage teaches nothing about which endpoint is healthy, so the walk
+ // must not move the preference — the next login still starts at the primary.
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnConnect(), // login 1 @ dc1
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnConnect(), // login 1 @ dc2
+ HealthyWithUser()); // login 2: must start at dc1 again
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2"), factory);
+
+ Assert.Equal(LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed,
+ (await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None)).Failure);
+ Assert.True((await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None)).Succeeded);
+
+ Assert.Equal("dc1", factory.Created[2].ConnectArgs!.Value.Host);
+ }
+
+ // ---- back-compat ----
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task NoFallbacks_SingleAttempt_UnchangedBehavior()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(
+ new FakeLdapConnection().ThrowOnConnect());
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts(/* no fallbacks */), factory);
+
+ var result = await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None);
+
+ Assert.Equal(LdapAuthFailure.ServiceAccountBindFailed, result.Failure);
+ Assert.Single(factory.Created);
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task Disabled_NeverOpensAConnection_EvenWithFallbacks()
+ {
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(HealthyWithUser());
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts("dc2") with { Enabled = false }, factory);
+
+ var result = await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None);
+
+ Assert.Equal(LdapAuthFailure.Disabled, result.Failure);
+ Assert.Empty(factory.Created);
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task MalformedFallbackEntry_IsSkippedDefensively()
+ {
+ // The validator rejects this at boot; a service constructed without validation
+ // must degrade to the parseable subset, not throw.
+ var factory = new SequenceLdapConnectionFactory(HealthyWithUser());
+ var svc = new LdapAuthService(Opts(":::"), factory);
+
+ Assert.True((await svc.AuthenticateAsync("alice", "pw", CancellationToken.None)).Succeeded);
+ Assert.Single(factory.Created);
+ }
+}
diff --git a/docs/plans/2026-08-10-ldap-backup-dc-failover-design.md b/docs/plans/2026-08-10-ldap-backup-dc-failover-design.md
index 7550ba1..04c529b 100644
--- a/docs/plans/2026-08-10-ldap-backup-dc-failover-design.md
+++ b/docs/plans/2026-08-10-ldap-backup-dc-failover-design.md
@@ -94,6 +94,13 @@ Inside `LdapAuthService.Authenticate`, an endpoint walk over an internal
preferred fails; when it does, the walk tries declared order again, so
preference drifts back to the primary naturally.
+> **Refinement (Task 4):** sticky preference updates on ANY authoritative answer
+> (success or user-side failure), not only on success — a DC that answers is healthy,
+> and success-only stickiness would re-pay the dead primary's connect timeout on every
+> mistyped password during an outage. Corollary, also implemented: an *exhausted* walk
+> (every endpoint system-side-down) leaves the preference untouched, since a total
+> outage says nothing about which endpoint to prefer once one recovers.
+
## Stickiness state
`volatile int _preferredIndex` on the singleton `LdapAuthService` (registered