Basic Terminologies

This section revolves around the following components and terms.

Term	Description
Credential	The username and password used to login to an account
Authentication	The process of verifying the user entered credentials
SSO	A service that allows a user to use one set of login credentials to access multiple applications
SAML	A protocol used to implement SSO in your organization
Identity Provider	A system entity that creates, maintains, and manages identity information for users and also provides authentication services. Example: Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) and Okta
Service provider	An application that offers a single sign on (SSO) mechanism for it’s users to login and access its resources. Example: Github and Google Apps
Metadata file	An XML file that contains the information regarding the communication (that is, SAML certificate, login URL, logout URL and so on) that happens between identity provider and service provider in SAML-based SSO.