Re:OAuth vs. SAML vs. OpenID Connect
by user5994461 on Thursday December 08, 2016 @07:20AM
(#13129869)
You can get the SAML spec, it's a standard distributed by oasis, last I checked.
It will help you a bit. Then you will only have two majors issues.
1) The protocol is a really complex beast of giant XML messages, with many variants of workflows.
2) It's very modular to allow to interface with lots of stuff with custom authentication, custom attributes, custom systems. So there is only 50% of a protocol which is clearly "standardized", the other 50% are left as a specific use case details with limited practical example.
I'm a believer that one doesn't do or understand SAML. It's more like, you get two specific products that needs to authenticate together for the business. You read the integration documentation for both and try to find whatever micro-subset of protocol they both talk and make it interface.
It will help you a bit. Then you will only have two majors issues.
1) The protocol is a really complex beast of giant XML messages, with many variants of workflows.
2) It's very modular to allow to interface with lots of stuff with custom authentication, custom attributes, custom systems. So there is only 50% of a protocol which is clearly "standardized", the other 50% are left as a specific use case details with limited practical example.
I'm a believer that one doesn't do or understand SAML. It's more like, you get two specific products that needs to authenticate together for the business. You read the integration documentation for both and try to find whatever micro-subset of protocol they both talk and make it interface.