A binding is the method of transporting SAML requests and responses. The most widely used binding or transport for SAML is SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) over HTTP, but OASIS is working on a pure HTTP transport for SAML.
Profiles, meanwhile, describe things like where a SAML assertion can be found within a message. In SOAP, for example, the SAML assertion sits in the WSSE (Web Services Security Extension) header, which, in turn, is located within the SOAP header. To date, SAML comes with profiles for using it with Web browsers and SOAP.
There are two profiles for Web browsers: push and pull. In the push profile, HTML forms, including SAML assertions, are "pushed" to the destination via an HTTP post. In the pull profile, SAML artifacts are passed between sites as part of the URL query string. The big technical challenge with passing SAML assertions via the pull approach: The assertion is added to the query portion of the URL. Most browsers impose a limit on the size of a URL--Internet Explorer allows up to 2 KB--and some SAML assertions would be too large to fit within that window. SAML artifacts are a way to get around that problem.
The good news with SAML, meanwhile, is that the identity management server encapsulates and hides the actual authentication and authorization processes. That way, you can seamlessly mix and match security packages and apps from different vendors. So if you replace your LDAP server with an Active Directory server, the application server continues to process requests uninterrupted. And when two companies merge, for instance, they can keep running their own security systems with a SAML-based identity-management package exchanging security data between them.
So instead of getting locked into a specific authentication or authorization scheme, you can add a SAML-based identity-management system. It could save you from incompatibility headaches and having to recruit outside security integration experts.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
