What is Active Directory Federation Services 2.0 (ADFS 2.0)?
Active Directory Federation Services 2.0 is an extension to Active Directory that enables Active Directory to become an infrastructure service for claims-aware applications. Called a Security Token Service (STS), AD FS 2.0 enables users in Active Directory to authenticate to claims-aware applications, and acts as the authoritative source of claims (attributes) about those users – whether the information about the users is stored in Active Directory, a SQL database, or other store. Used as a federation service, AD FS 2.0 provides a single point of management for federation relationships, and using industry standard protocols like SAML 2.0 can enable single sign on for Active Directory users to applications at partner organizations or in the cloud.
