In a federated system, which two components serve as its core?

In a federated system, the two core components are the Identity Provider (IdP) and the Relying Party (RP). The Identity Provider is responsible for maintaining user identities, authenticating users, and providing corresponding identity assertions. This is essential for facilitating secure access to services without requiring users to manage multiple credentials for different services.

The Relying Party, on the other hand, is the service or application that relies on the identity assertions provided by the Identity Provider to grant access to resources or perform actions on behalf of the user. By utilizing federation, the Relying Party can authenticate a user based on the assertion received from the Identity Provider, streamline user experiences, and enhance security by minimizing the number of places where sensitive credentials are stored.

Collectively, these two components enable users to access various services without needing to create separate accounts for each service, realizing the benefits of single sign-on (SSO) and improved interoperability among different systems.