Understanding the Purpose of Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)

B.

Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) is a feature of Windows Server operating system that enables secure sharing of identity and access rights across multiple security domains, organizations, and applications. Its primary purpose is to provide a single sign-on (SSO) experience for users who need to access multiple resources that are protected by different security mechanisms or belong to different organizations.

The correct answer to the question is B. AD FS complements the authentication and access management features of Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and other identity providers, such as social media accounts, cloud services, or third-party identity providers. AD FS acts as a trusted intermediary that allows users to authenticate once and access multiple resources without having to provide their credentials again. AD FS also enables administrators to enforce access policies, monitor user activity, and audit compliance across multiple domains and applications.

AD FS uses industry-standard protocols such as Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), OAuth, and OpenID Connect to exchange authentication and authorization information between the identity provider and the service provider. AD FS also supports multi-factor authentication (MFA) and conditional access policies to enhance security and control over access.

AD FS can be used in various scenarios, such as:

• Federating on-premises AD DS with cloud services such as Microsoft 365 or Azure
• Federating multiple AD DS domains within an organization
• Federating AD DS with partner organizations or suppliers
• Federating AD DS with applications that support SAML or OAuth
• Providing SSO for web applications or APIs that use AD FS as the identity provider.

In summary, AD FS is a key component of modern identity and access management (IAM) that enables seamless and secure collaboration across organizational boundaries and technology platforms.