Identity Provider
An Identity Provider is the system that authenticates users and issues identity assertions or tokens to relying systems.
- Acronym
- IdP
- Synonym
- IdP
Definition
An Identity Provider, or IdP, is the component responsible for verifying user identity and generating the identity statements, tokens, or assertions that downstream applications trust. It is a central element in federated identity architectures and often hosts authentication policies, session logic, and trust relationships.
Why it matters
The Identity Provider is the trust anchor of federated architectures and controls who is authenticated.
The Ariovis perspective
Federation is an architecture choice, not a product checkbox. Ariovis assesses protocols, trust relationships, application constraints and migration paths before defining the target.
Related services
Common pitfalls
- A common pitfall is treating the IdP as purely technical without governing its trust policies and session controls.
Standards and protocols
- SAML 2.0
- OpenID Connect
- OAuth 2.0
Related terms
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