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wcfws-federation

WS-Federation vs System.DirectoryServices

I got a bit confused. If there is WS-Federation which allows my webservice's users to authenticate via LDAP what is the difference then if I use WS-Federation or System.DirectoryServices namespace in my service code?

Thank you

Solution

  • There is no comparision between them.

    WS-Federation is a protocol for supporting single sign on scenarios. It basically supports two profiles, one for authenticating clients that consumes web services called Active Profile and another profile called passive for authenticating clients in web applications (It uses http).

    Active Directory for federated services is an extension built on top of Active Directory to authenticate users with WS-Federation.

    DirectoryServices is the api you use to communicate with the Active Directory directly from a .NET application. Nothing to do with authentication.

    Regards, Pablo.