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How does federated access work?
Last updated on April 09, 2021Federated access is a type of access that is based on trust. A federation manages infrastructure that facilitates this trust. Both the Identity Provider (IdP) and Service Provider (SP) are members of the federation and comply with its rules.
- The IdP is managed by an institution and the institution knows its users.
- The SP is managed by a resource owner, for instance Elsevier, and it streamlines access to its resources.
The principle of federated access
When an institutional user wants to access a subscribed resource with their institutional credentials, the IdPs and SP exchange data based on a predefined set of rules and determine whether or not to let the user access the resource.
- A user visits a resource.
- The resource finds the user's institution in SP.
- The SP sends a SAML authentication request to the IdP.
- The IdP asks the user to confirms their identity.
- The user confirms their identity to the IdP.
- The IdP sends a SAML authentication response back to SP.
- The SP provides the resource with relevant information about the institution and the user.
If all the above checks are positive, the user gets access to the resource.
If you're setting up federated access for your institution, view this page: How do I set up federated access as a librarian or administrator?.
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