Keycloak
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Keycloak is an open-source Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution developed by Red Hat, built to help secure modern applications and services. It provides robust features for user authentication, authorization, and Single Sign-On (SSO), making it suitable for applications requiring identity and access management. Keycloak supports a variety of protocols and standards, allowing for flexible integration with applications in diverse environments, such as cloud, on-premises, and hybrid setups.
Single Sign-On (SSO): Keycloak allows users to log in once and access multiple applications without needing to re-authenticate. This is useful in enterprise environments with multiple services and applications.
Identity Federation: Keycloak can integrate with external identity providers, such as LDAP servers, Active Directory (AD), and social login providers (e.g., Google, Facebook), enabling seamless user management across diverse identity systems.
Standard Protocols Support: Keycloak supports open standards such as OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), and SAML 2.0, which enables secure authentication and authorization across applications, especially in multi-platform environments.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Keycloak supports MFA options like OTP (One-Time Password), SMS, and email, adding an additional security layer to user authentication.
User Self-Service: End users can register, reset passwords, and update their profiles without needing administrative intervention, reducing IT support loads and improving user experience.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Keycloak provides RBAC, allowing administrators to manage access control through user roles, groups, and policies, making permission management more flexible and scalable.
Admin Console and REST API: Keycloak includes an intuitive admin console for configuration and management. It also exposes a REST API for integration with external applications or for automated management tasks.
Keycloak’s architecture is designed to be modular, supporting both standalone and clustered deployments. Key components include:
Keycloak Server: The central server managing user identities, authentication, and authorization. It’s responsible for processing login requests, token generation, and user management.
Realms: A realm in Keycloak is an isolated group of applications and users. Each realm manages its own set of users, credentials, roles, and groups, allowing for isolation and security across different clients (e.g., development, production, mobile-client, web-client).
Clients: A client is an entity that requests Keycloak to authenticate a user. Clients can be applications, services, or APIs that use Keycloak for authentication and authorization. Clients define settings for protocol support, role mappings, and authorization services.
Identity Providers (IdPs): Keycloak can connect to external IdPs to allow users to authenticate using third-party services (like social logins) or integrate with enterprise identity solutions (LDAP, AD).
User Federation: This feature allows Keycloak to connect with external user storage systems (LDAP, AD), enabling organizations to sync and authenticate users from existing identity systems.
Authentication Flows: Keycloak allows you to define custom authentication flows, using an array of authentication mechanisms (e.g., username/password, OTP, and social login). Authentication flows can be customized and chained to build complex workflows.
Authorization Services: Keycloak offers fine-grained access control via its Authorization Services module, allowing policies based on user roles, client scopes, or specific resources within an application.
Keycloak supports several identity protocols that enable integration with different applications and platforms:
OAuth 2.0: A widely used authorization protocol for granting limited access to resources without revealing user credentials. Keycloak supports OAuth 2.0 for various flows, such as Authorization Code, Implicit, and Client Credentials.
OpenID Connect (OIDC): Built on top of OAuth 2.0, OIDC adds an authentication layer, making it suitable for SSO. Keycloak can issue ID tokens and access tokens to manage authentication and authorization.
SAML 2.0: A protocol often used for federated identity management in enterprises. Keycloak acts as a SAML IdP (Identity Provider), allowing it to issue SAML assertions for application access.
