Question

Difficulty: MediumIdentity and Access Management Architecture

An enterprise security architecture team is categorizing identity standards and protocols for a multi-cloud infrastructure deployment. Match each Identity and Access Management (IAM) protocol or standard on the left to its corresponding architectural use case on the right.

  • SAML 2.0XML-based web single sign-on (SSO) federation between enterprise Identity Providers and cloud Service Providers.
  • OpenID Connect (OIDC)Identity layer built on top of authorization frameworks that uses JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) to authenticate end users to client applications.
  • OAuth 2.0Delegated authorization framework issuing scoped access tokens allowing third-party applications access to API resources.
  • RADIUSCentralized authentication and accounting protocol operating over UDP for managing remote access and network device connections.

Answer

SAML 2.0 matches XML-based web SSO federation; OpenID Connect matches the JWT identity layer for user authentication; OAuth 2.0 matches the delegated authorization API token framework; RADIUS matches the centralized network access control protocol.
Each IAM protocol is paired with its exact architectural design pattern: SAML 2.0 uses XML for web SSO federation, OpenID Connect uses JWT ID tokens for user identity verification, OAuth 2.0 delivers token-based authorization delegated access for APIs, and RADIUS supplies UDP-based AAA network connection management.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary architectural transport and payload structure for web federation
Matched SAML 2.0 with XML-based web single sign-on federation.
SAML 2.0 relies on XML security assertions transferred via browser HTTP bindings for enterprise web SSO.
2
Differentiate delegated access from user authentication in modern API-driven architectures
Matched OAuth 2.0 with delegated API authorization access tokens, and OpenID Connect with JWT-based user identity authentication.
OAuth 2.0 strictly governs API resource authorization using tokens, whereas OpenID Connect adds an identity authentication layer on top using ID tokens.
3
Categorize network-level AAA protocols
Matched RADIUS to centralized network device and remote access authentication over UDP.
RADIUS is a legacy AAA protocol operating over UDP, dedicated to network perimeter access controls like 802.1X and VPNs.

Key Concept

Identity and Access Management Architecture and Protocol Selection
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