Active Directory Federation Services

Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

Active Directory® Federation Services (AD FS) is based on the emerging, industry-supported Web Services Architecture, which is defined in WS-* specifications. AD FS helps you use single sign-on (SS0) to authenticate users to multiple, related Web applications over the life of a single online session. AD FS accomplishes this by securely sharing digital identity and entitlement rights, or "claims," across security and enterprise boundaries.