AD FS Overview

In order to provide SSO access to Web-based applications located in different organizations or on different networks in the same organization, IT departments are deploying identity federation solutions. Windows Server 2008 AD FS is an identity federation solution. Identity federation solutions provide a standards-based technology for collaborating with other organizations.

Identity Federation

Identity federation is a means by which organizations can enable user access to resources between different organizations or between different server platforms. One of the goals of an identity federation solution is to allow organizations to manage their own directories while still securely exchanging authentication and authorization information between organizations. Another important goal for identity federation solutions is to enable SSO to multiple Web-based applications.