Announcing the AD FS 2.0 Release Candidate and More

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We are happy to announce several updated federated identity product releases that are available NOW!

· Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) 2.0 (previously known as Geneva Server) release candidate (RC)

· Microsoft Federation Extensions for SharePoint 3.0 RC

· Windows CardSpace 2.0 Beta 2 Refresh

AD FS 2.0 RC

There is a lot that is new and updated in the RC for AD FS 2.0. We listened to your feedback from Beta 2 and have invested heavily in making the AD FS 2.0 RC even more interoperable and easy to deploy and manage.

What’s new in the AD FS 2.0 RC:

  • SAML 2.0 protocol support for Identity Provider Lite, Service Provider Lite and the eGov 1.5 Profile verified by Liberty Interoperable™ SAML 2.0 interoperability testing
  • Simplified user experience for configuring high availability federation server farm and proxy deployments
  • Automatic encryption and signing certificate distribution and rollover across a farm of multiple federation servers, enabling zero touch management of trust relationships
  • Choice of deploying without SQL Server for storing AD FS 2.0 configuration data
  • Claims based authorization rules for restricting security token issuance
  • Improved events, audits, and tracing for diagnostics
  • Complete PowerShell support for end to end AD FS 2.0 management
  • Lots of other fixes and UI improvements!

The release and pre-built VMs can be downloaded here. To get started, check out our available documentation:

· AD FS 2.0 Getting Started Guide

· Step by Step Guide for Federated Document Collaboration Using MOSS 2007 and AD FS 2.0

· Step by Step Guide for Single Sign-On to Microsoft Online

· Step by Step Guide for Identity Delegation with AD FS 2.0 and WIF

· AD FS 2.0 RC Design and Deployment Guides

 

Also check out our Channel 9 video discussing the new features and capabilities of the RC.

Microsoft Federation Extensions for SharePoint 3.0 RC

The Microsoft Federation Extensions for SharePoint 3.0 RC enables federation for existing SharePoint deployments, both Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Services (MOSS) 2007. Using this package, enterprise SharePoint administrators can configure their deployments to trust any WS-Federation STS, such as AD FS 2.0, so that an enterprise can take advantage of claims and offer their services to federation partners. The release can be downloaded here.

Windows CardSpace 2.0 Beta 2 Refresh

The Beta 2 release of Windows CardSpace 2.0 has been refreshed with a variety of fixes and improvements for working seamlessly with AD FS 2.0. We’ve improved interoperability and added a feature for automatic logon to the STS. The release can be downloaded here, and for more information about streamlining authentication with CardSpace, you can explore the topic Automatically Distribute Information Cards by Using Group Policy.

The product team is anxious to hear about your experiences and feedback for these releases. Please send any questions or comments about AD FS 2.0, Microsoft Federation Extensions for SharePoint 3.0, and Windows CardSpace 2.0 to the product team via our forum or support email address. We will continue to announce updates on our website and here on our team blog.

Use these releases to take advantage of claims-based identity across your infrastructure and applications today!