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Difficulty: EasyIdentity and Access Management Architecture

Match each Identity and Access Management (IAM) protocol to its primary architectural function in enterprise security environments.

  • OAuth 2.0Delegated authorization framework enabling third-party applications to access resources via API tokens without sharing credentials.
  • OpenID Connect (OIDC)Identity layer built on top of OAuth 2.0 using JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) to authenticate end users across modern applications.
  • SAML 2.0XML-based federation standard widely used for web browser Single Sign-On (SSO) across enterprise domains.
  • RADIUSCentralized AAA protocol designed primarily for securing dial-up, VPN, and 802.1X wireless network access.

Answer

OAuth 2.0 pairs with delegated API authorization; OIDC pairs with identity authentication using JWTs over OAuth 2.0; SAML 2.0 pairs with XML-based web browser federation and SSO; RADIUS pairs with centralized AAA network access management.
Each IAM protocol serves a distinct architectural purpose: OAuth 2.0 provides delegated API authorization, OIDC adds RESTful authentication using JWTs on top of OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0 facilitates XML-based enterprise web SSO federation, and RADIUS delivers centralized AAA for network infrastructure connection request management.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary role of OAuth 2.0.
Recognize that OAuth 2.0 handles authorization and token delegation for APIs rather than user authentication.
OAuth 2.0 is an authorization framework, not an authentication protocol.
2
Identify the primary role of OpenID Connect (OIDC).
Associate OIDC with RESTful/JSON-based user authentication overlaying OAuth 2.0.
OIDC adds an identity layer (ID token in JWT format) to OAuth 2.0.
3
Identify the primary role of SAML 2.0.
Match SAML 2.0 to XML-based web SSO federation between identity providers and service providers.
SAML uses XML assertions for cross-domain browser single sign-on.
4
Identify the primary role of RADIUS.
Link RADIUS to legacy network access authentication (AAA) for VPNs and wireless networks.
RADIUS is a dedicated network access AAA protocol.

Key Concept

IAM Protocol Selection and Architectural Scoping
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Topics

Identity and Access Management Architecture

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