Active Directory Federation Services

Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) was first introduced after Windows Server 2003 R2 as an additional download. This chapter focuses on the most relevant aspects of designing and deploying an AD FS environment. AD FS works with existing Internet standards such as WS‐Federation and Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), which are used across a wide variety of platforms and applications. AD FS is sometimes referred to as a Security Token Service (STS). The idea is that AD FS generates security tokens that users use to access apps and services. The authentication is handled by Active Directory Domain Services. Many administrators have never heard of some of the AD FS terms, and the terminology has changed over the years. AD FS is a claims‐based authentication solution. It relies on claims about users. Claims are made up of user data such as name, department, city, and group memberships.