One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates single sign-on of an application cluster, wherein the application cluster includes a plurality of computer applications residing on the same computer system. The system operates by first receiving a logon request at a server from the application cluster, wherein the logon request specifies an account for the server. Next, the system authenticates the application cluster to the server and determines if the application cluster is authorized to use the specified account. If so, the system authorizes the application cluster to use the specified account.