Guide to ForgeRock Identity Platform™ modules.

About the ForgeRock Identity Platform

The ForgeRock Identity Platform is the only offering for access management, identity management, user-managed access, directory services, and an identity gateway, designed and built as a single, unified platform.

This guide describes in general terms the ForgeRock modules that compose the ForgeRock Identity Platform, and indicates where to find the documentation corresponding to each module:



ForgeRock® Directory Services (DS)


In addition to the modules listed in this guide, you can use the following ForgeRock software to enhance platform deployments:

Running the Platform in Containers on Kubernetes

The ForgeRock Identity Platform (AM, IDM, DS, IG, and the platform UI) is supported when running in containers on Kubernetes platforms, including Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS), Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), and IBM RedHat OpenShift. It is recommended that you have a support contract in place with your Kubernetes platform vendor or partner to resolve any infrastructure or Kubernetes platform-related issues, as ForgeRock supports the identity platform while the Kubernetes vendor or partner provides support for their platform.

Customers are responsible for building images and running containers of the ForgeRock software components using a supported operating system and all required software dependencies

ForgeRock provides a reference toolset in the forgeops Git repository for automating the deployment of the platform in Kubernetes. These reference tools are provided for use with Google Kubernetes Engine, Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service, and Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service. (ForgeRock supports running the identity platform on IBM RedHat OpenShift but does not provide the reference tools for IBM RedHat OpenShift.)

ForgeRock also publishes reference Docker images for testing and development, but these images should not be used in production. For production deployments, it is recommended that customers build and run containers using a supported operating system and all required software dependencies. Additionally, to help ensure interoperability across container images and the DevOps tools, Docker images must be built using the Dockerfile templates as described in the DevOps documentation.

ForgeRock's partner, Midships Limited, offers a Kubernetes deployment accelerator (supported by Midships) for Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS), Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), and IBM RedHat OpenShift.

ForgeRock IoT

Things are physical objects that can connect with each other, and with other systems through the Internet, without human intervention. Examples include smart home devices, such as window sensors and door locks, smart TVs, health and fitness monitors, vehicles, and manufacturing equipment.

To participate in a connected system, a Thing needs an identity that it uses to authenticate, authorize, create relationships, and more. ForgeRock IoT enables dynamic registration, authentication, and authorization of Things with identities, without the need for human intervention.

As soon as Things connect to a network, they become a security concern. You need to be able to trust and monitor the Things that are connected to your network, and accessing your services or APIs. The ForgeRock Identity Platform, including ForgeRock IoT, provides standards-based authorization using the OAuth 2.0 authorization framework. It gives you a single view of all the identities in your system—customers, employees, Things, and the relationships between them. ForgeRock IoT also lets you manage offline and constrained devices, and delivers identities to Things at the edge of your network, where the data is being generated.

See the ForgeRock IoT documentation.

ForgeRock Authenticator Application

This app allows end users to perform multi-factor authentication and transactional authorization from a registered Android or iOS device. It is designed for use in both multi-factor and passwordless authentication scenarios. It is associated with a Push Authentication Simple Notification Service module that depends on the module described in "Intelligent Access Module".

See MFA: Push Authentication and Transactional Authorization.

For further details and help gaining access to additional software, contact ForgeRock at info@forgerock.com.

This guide includes general statements of functionality for the following software:

  • ForgeRock Access Management 7.1, with Web Agent 5 and Java Agent 5

  • ForgeRock Identity Management 7.1

  • ForgeRock Directory Services 7.1

  • ForgeRock Edge Security Modules

This document is not meant to serve as a statement of functional specifications. Software functionality may evolve in incompatible ways in major and minor releases, and occasionally in maintenance (patch) releases. Release notes cover many incompatible changes. If you see an incompatible change for a stable interface that is not mentioned in the release notes, please report an issue with the product documentation for that release.

Chapter 1. Access Management

Access Management modules:

1.1. Overview of Capabilities

  • Intelligent access

  • Mobile authentication

  • Push authentication

  • Adaptive risk authentication

  • Authorization policies and enforcement

  • Federation

  • Single sign-on (SSO)

  • User self-services and social sign-on

  • High-availability and scalability

  • Adaptable monitoring and auditing services

  • Developer-friendly, rich standards support

1.2. Dependencies

Several Access Management modules require other modules. For example, the Federation module requires the Intelligent Access module. The following diagram summarizes Access Management module dependencies:

Illustrates dependencies among AM modules.

1.3. Intelligent Access Module

This module will help you build secure, robust, centrally managed single sign-on services. The user, application, or device signs on once and then is granted appropriate access everywhere. Authentication management integrates delegated authentication chains with many authentication methods supported by default. Authentication trees store authentication sessions in the client as a cookie, or in the CTS store. If the AM server goes down or the user is redirected to another AM while authenticating, the new AM server can grab the authentication session and continue the flow. All authentication-related events are logged for auditing and reporting purposes.

Required modules: none.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
Authentication Trees and Nodes

Authentication trees provide fine-grained authentication, social authentication, and multi-factor authentication. Trees are made up of authentication nodes. Authentication nodes allow multiple paths and decision points throughout the authentication flow, enabling AM to handle different modes of authenticating users.

Authentication Nodes and Trees
Session High Availability

Persistent access management sessions, authenticating the user until the session expires.

Session high availability is enabled by default with no setup required.

Multi-Factor and Strong Authentication

Capability to challenge for additional credentials when authentication takes place under centrally-defined risky or suspicious conditions.

About Multi-Factor Authentication
External Configuration Store

Configuration storage in ForgeRock Directory Services for high-availability.

Preparing Configuration Stores
Security Token Service

Bridges identities across web and enterprise identity access management (IAM) systems through a token transformation process, securely providing cross-system access to service resources by authenticated requesting applications.

Introducing the Security Token Service
Web and Java Agents for SSO

Intercept requests to access protected resources and redirect for appropriate authentication.

Web Agents User Guide and Java Agents User Guide
User Login Analytics

Measure authentication flows using counters and start/stop timers to monitor performance.

Timer Start Node, Timer Stop Node, Meter Node, and Monitoring Metric Types

1.4. Authorization Module

This module will help you create powerful, context-based policies with a GUI-based policy editor and with REST APIs to control access to online resources. Resources can be URLs, external services, or devices and things. Authorization management lets you manage policies centrally and enforce them locally through installable agents, or through REST, C, and Java applications. Authorization management is extensible, making it possible to define external subjects, complex conditions, and custom access decisions.

Required module: Intelligent Access.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
Entitlement Policies

Modern web-based policy editor for building policies, making it possible to add and update policies as needed without touching the underlying applications.

About Authorization and Policy Decisions
Web and Java Agents for Enforcement

Access enforcement for online resources with the capability to require higher levels of authentication and session upgrade when accessing sensitive resources.

Web Agents User Guide and Java Agents User Guide
Transactional Authorization

Requires a user to perform additional actions such as reauthenticating to a module or node, or responding to a push notification, to gain access to a protected resource.

Transactional Authorization
OAuth 2.0 Dynamic Scopes

A single OAuth 2.0 client configured for a comprehensive list of scopes can serve different scope subsets to resource owners based on policy conditions.

Dynamic OAuth 2.0 Authorization

1.5. Federation Module

This module will help you extend SSO capabilities across organization boundaries based on standards-based interoperability.

Required module: Intelligent Access.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
SAML 2.0 IDP and SP

Identity federation with SaaS applications, such as Salesforce.com, Google Apps, WebEx, and many more.

Configuring IdPs, SPs, and COTs
SAML 2.0 SSO and SLOWeb Single Sign-On and Single Logout profile support. Implementing SSO and SLO
ADFSFederation with Active Directory Federation Services. Introducing SAML v2.0
SAML 2.0 Attribute and Advanced Profiles

Support for transmitting only attributes used by targeted applications.

SAML v2.0 Guide
OpenID Connect

OpenID Connect 1.0 compliance for running an OpenID Provider, including advanced profiles, such as Mobile Connect.

OpenID Connect 1.0 Guide
OAuth 2.0

OAuth 2.0 compliance for running an authorization server.

OAuth 2.0 Guide
Social Login

For acting as an OAuth 2.0 client of social identity providers, such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.

Social Authentication
OAuth 2.0 Dynamic Scopes

A single OAuth 2.0 client configured for a comprehensive list of scopes can serve different scope subsets to resource owners based on policy conditions.

Dynamic OAuth 2.0 Authorization

1.6. User-Managed Access Module

This module consists of a consumer-facing implementation of the User-Managed Access (UMA) 2.0 standard. The standard defines an OAuth 2.0-based protocol designed to give individuals a unified control point for authorizing who and what can access their digital data, content, and services. For example, you can use this module to build a solution where end users can delegate access through a share button, and then monitor and change sharing preferences through a central dashboard.

Required modules: Authorization, Intelligent Access.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
UMA Standard Conformance

Conformance to the UMA 2.0 standard for interoperability with organizational and partner systems, including federated authorization and customer-centric use cases.

UMA 2.0 Guide
UMA Authorization Server

Authorization server with dynamic resource set registration, end user control of resource sharing, responses to access requests, and full audit history.

AM as the UMA Authorization Server
UMA Protector

ForgeRock Identity Gateway protection for resources and services with the UMA 2.0 standard.

Supporting UMA Resource Servers

Chapter 2. Identity Management

ForgeRock Identity Management 7.1 brings together multiple sources of identity for policy and workflow-based management that puts you in control of the data. Build a solution to consume, transform, and feed data to external sources to help you maintain control over identities of users, devices, and things. Identity governance features in ForgeRock Identity Management let you gain visibility into employee provisioning, and help you proactively take action in managing employee access to external systems.

Identity Management modules:

2.1. Overview of Capabilities

  • Provisioning

  • Synchronization and reconciliation

  • Adaptable monitoring and auditing services

  • Connections to cloud services with simple social registration

  • Flexible developer access

  • Password synchronization

  • Identity data visualization

  • Delegated administration

  • User self-service

  • Privacy and consent

  • Progressive profile completion

  • Workflow engine

  • OpenICF connector framework to external systems

  • Access request (Identity Governance)

  • Access review and reporting (Identity Governance)

2.2. Dependencies

Several Identity Management modules require other modules. For example, the Synchronization module requires the Identity Lifecycle and Relationship module. The following diagram summarizes Identity Management module dependencies:

Illustrates dependencies among IDM modules.

2.3. Identity Synchronization Module

This module can serve as the foundation for provisioning and identity data reconciliation. Synchronization capabilities are available as a service and through REST APIs to be used directly by external applications. Activities occurring in the system can be configured to log and audit events for reporting purposes.

Required module: Identity Lifecycle and Relationship.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
Discovery and Synchronization

Synchronization of identity data across managed data stores.

LiveSync
ReconciliationAlignment between accounts across managed data stores. Reconciliation
Password Synchronization

Near real-time password synchronization across managed data stores.

Password Synchronization Plugin Guide
Directory Services and Active Directory Plugins

Native password synchronization plugins for ForgeRock Directory Services and Microsoft Active Directory.

Synchronize Passwords With ForgeRock Directory Services (DS), Synchronize Passwords With Active Directory
Delegated Administration

Grant role-based, limited access to perform fine-grained administrative tasks on managed objects.

Delegated Administration
All Connectors

Extensible interoperability for identity, compliance, and risk management across a variety of specific applications and services.

Supported Connectors

2.4. Self-Service Module

This module can be used to allow end users to manage their own passwords and profiles securely according to predefined policies.

Required modules:

  • Full capabilities: Identity Lifecycle and Relationship.

  • Basic capabilities: Intelligent Access. See the User Self-Service Guide for information about self-service capabilities in AM.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
User Self-Registration

End-user self-service UI that lets users create their own accounts with customizable criteria.

Self Registration
Password Reset

End-user self-service UI for changing and resetting passwords based on predefined policies and security questions.

Password Reset
Knowledge-Based Authentication

Verification for user identities based on predefined and end user-created security questions.

Configure Security Questions
Forgotten Username

Mechanisms to allow users to recover their usernames with predefined policies.

Username Retrieval
Progressive Profile Completion

Short forms used to simplify registration and incrementally collect profile data over time.

Progressive Profile
Profile and Privacy Management Dashboard

Dashboard for managing personal user information.

Privacy: My Account Information in the End User UI
Consent and Preference ManagementConfigurable user preferences. Configure Privacy and Consent
Terms and Conditions (or Terms of Service) VersioningManage multiple terms and conditions. Terms & Conditions

2.5. Workflow Module

This module can be used to visually organize identity synchronization, reconciliation, and provisioning into repeatable processes with logging and auditing for reporting purposes.

Required modules: Self-Service, Identity Lifecycle and Relationship.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
BPMN 2.0 Support

Standards-based Business Process Model and Notation 2.0 support.

BPMN 2.0 and Workflow Tools
Flowable Process Engine

Lightweight workflow and business process management platform.

Enable Workflows
Workflow-Driven Provisioning

Define provisioning workflows for self-service, sunrise and sunset processes, approvals, escalations, and maintenance.

Create Workflows, Invoke Workflows

2.6. Social Identity Module

With this module, you can allow users to register and authenticate with specified standards-compliant social identity providers. These users can also link multiple social identity providers to the same account, thus establishing a single consumer identity.

With the attributes collected from each user profile, you can configure the module to authorize access to applications and resources, including lead generation tools.

Required modules: Self-Service, Identity Lifecycle and Relationship.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
RegistrationUser registration with social identity accounts. Social Registration
AuthenticationSocial login for identity management. OpenID Connect Authorization Code Flow
Account LinkingUsers can select specific social identity providers for logins. Account Claiming: Links Between Accounts and Social Identity Providers
Attribute Scope Management

Administrators can include any or all scopes available, by social identity provider.

Social Registration

2.7. Identity Lifecycle and Relationship Module

This module can help you to provision user identities into IDM, and includes the capability to manage roles, relationships between identities, and entitlements.

Required modules: none.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
Inbound Provisioning Engine

Provisioning engine to import data from an external resource into IDM.

Synchronization Guide
Data Modeling

Ability to map IDM objects to tables in a JDBC database or to organizational units in a DS repository.

Generic and Explicit Object Mappings
Identity Lifecycle Management

An extensible object model that enables you to manage the complete lifecycle of identity objects.

Managed Objects
Identity Relationship Lifecycle Management

Ability to create and track relationship references between objects.

Relationships Between Objects
Role Lifecycle Management

Provisioning roles to control how objects are exported to external systems and authorization roles to control authorization within IDM.

Roles
Entitlement Lifecycle Management

Entitlements to provision attributes or sets of attributes, based on role membership.

Use Assignments to Provision Users

2.8. Access Request Module

This module helps users search for and request entitlements for themselves, as well as on behalf of other members of the organization. Users can also view the status of existing requests, and take action on pending work items. Requests can be automatically approved or can require one or more approvals.

Required modules: Workflow, Self-Service, Identity Lifecycle and Relationship.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
Entitlement Bundles

Administrators can create and manage entitlement bundles. Bundles are groups of entitlements to which users can request access.

Access Request Documentation
User Notifications

Access Request can send customizable user notifications for specific events that occur within the request process.

Access Request Documentation
Identity Glossary

The glossary provides consolidated management of entitlement metadata, bulk export and import, and extended relationship mapping.

Access Request Documentation

2.9. Access Review Module

This module provides user certification, role management, policy enforcement, and reporting.

Required modules: Workflow, Self-Service, Identity Lifecycle and Relationship.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
User Certification

Multi-stage certifications let any number of certifiers participate in access decision processes, and provide an escalation process to ensure timely responses.

Access Review Documentation
Role Management

An extensible glossary allows for consolidated management of role and entitlement metadata, bulk export and import, and extended relationship mapping.

Access Review Documentation
Policy EnforcementSupports proper segregation of duties. Access Review Documentation
Reporting

Helps you meet compliance regulations and enables you to obtain a comprehensive understanding of your identity governance system. The reporting module includes a variety of reporting options such as systems access, certification, policy violations, and so on.

Identity Reporting Documentation

Chapter 3. Directory Services

ForgeRock Directory Services 7.1 serves as a foundation for LDAPv3 and RESTful directories.

Directory Services modules:

3.1. Overview of Capabilities

  • Large-scale, distributed read and write performance

  • Flexible key-value data model for storing users, devices, and things

  • Data storage with confidentiality, integrity, and security

  • High-availability through data replication and proxy services

  • Single logical entry point for use in protecting LDAPv3 directory services

  • Load balancing and failover for LDAPv3 directory services

  • Maximum interoperability and pass-through delegated authentication

  • Adaptable monitoring and auditing services

  • Easy installation, configuration, and management

  • Developer-friendly, rich standards support

3.2. Dependencies

Neither of the Directory Services modules are dependent upon other modules.

3.3. Directory Server Module

The ForgeRock Directory Server module helps you store store identities for users, devices, and things in a highly available and secure way. This module provides data replication to help you build highly available directory services. It also offers fine-grained access control, password digests, encryption schemes, and customizable password policies to allow you to build very secure directory services. Data may be accessed using LDAP or REST with the same level of security constraints and access control.

Required modules: none.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
LDAPv3Compliance with the latest LDAP protocol standards. About Directories
REST APIs and REST to LDAP Gateway

HTTP-based RESTful access to user data and server configuration.

Configure HTTP User APIs
DSMLv2 GatewayHTTP-based SOAP access to LDAP operations for web services. Install a DSML Gateway
High-Availability Multi-Master Replication

Data replication for always-on services, enabling failover and disaster recovery.

Replication
User/Object Store

Flexible key-value data model for storing users, devices, and things.

Use LDAP
Passwords and Data Security

Password digests, encryption schemes, and customizable rules for password policy compliance to help protect data on disk and shared infrastructure.

Data Encryption, Passwords

3.4. Directory Proxy Server Module

The ForgeRock Directory Proxy Server module helps you increase the availability of a Directory Service deployment, providing a single point of access to a large-scale distributed data store. The module offers a choice of strategies for request load balancing and failover. Data may be accessed using LDAP or REST with the same level of security constraints and access control.

Required modules: none.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
Single Point of Access

Uniform view of underlying LDAPv3 directory services for client applications.

Single Point of Access
High Service AvailabilityLDAP services with reliable crossover and DN-based routing. High Availability
Load Balancing and Failover

Configurable load balancing across directory servers with redundancy, and capabilities to handle referrals, connection failures, and network partitions.

Load Balancing
Protection For Directory Services

Secure incoming and outgoing connections, and provide coarse-grained access control.

Secure Connections, Proxy Global Policies
Scaling Out Using Data DistributionDistribute data across multiple shards. Data Distribution
LDAPv3Compliance with the latest LDAP protocol standards. Supported Standards
REST APIs

HTTP-based RESTful access to user data and server configuration.

Configure HTTP User APIs

Chapter 4. Edge Security

Use the ForgeRock Edge Security software to integrate web applications, APIs, microservices, Internet of Things devices, and cloud-based services with the ForgeRock Identity Platform.

Edge Security modules:

4.1. Dependencies

Neither of the Edge Security modules are dependent upon other modules.

4.2. Identity Gateway Module

ForgeRock Identity Gateway helps you integrate web applications, APIs, and microservices with the ForgeRock Identity Platform, without modifying the application or the container where it runs. Based on reverse proxy architecture, it enforces security and access control in conjunction with the Access Management modules.

ForgeRock Identity Gateway software provides the following capabilities:

  • Protection for IoT services, microservices, and APIs

  • Policy enforcement

  • Adaptable throttling, monitoring, and auditing

  • Secure token transformation

  • Support for identity standards such as OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML 2.0, and UMA 2.0

  • Password capture and replay

  • Rapid prototyping

Required modules: none.

FeatureDescriptionDocumentation
StudioUser interface for rapid development and prototyping. Studio Guide
Single Sign-OnSingle sign-on in a single domain and across domains. Single Sign-On and Cross-Domain Single Sign-On
Password ReplaySecure replay of credentials to legacy applications or APIs. Getting Login Credentials From Data Sources and Get Login Credentials From AM
Policy Enforcement

Enforcement of centralized authorization policies for applications requiring Access Management.

Enforce Policy Decisions From AM and Harden Authorization With Advice From AM
FederationOpenID Connect 1.0. Act As an OpenID Connect Relying Party
OAuth 2.0. Act As an OAuth 2.0 Resource Server
SAML 2.0. Act As a SAML 2.0 Service Provider
SAML resources for mobile applications. Transform OpenID Connect ID Tokens Into SAML Assertions
Finance APIsSupport for OAuth 2.0 Mutual TLS and Financial-Grade APIs. Validate Certificate-Bound Access Tokens and FapiInteractionIdFilter
WebSocket Protocol

Detection of requests to upgrade from HTTPS to the WebSocket protocol, and creation of a secure, dedicated tunnel to send and receive WebSocket traffic.

Proxy WebSocket Traffic
ThrottlingThrottling to limit access to protected applications. Throttle the Rate of Requests to Protected Applications
UMA Resource Server

Protection for resources and services according to the UMA 2.0 standard.

Support UMA Resource Servers
DevOps Tooling

Deployment of basic and customized configurations through Docker.

Deployment Guide
Integration with ForgeRock Identity Cloud

Protection and integration of APIs and applications with ForgeRock Identity Cloud for authentication and authorization.

Identity Cloud Guide

4.3. Microservices Security Module

Required modules: none.

MicroserviceDescriptionDocumentation
Microgateway

Sidecar-type, container-optimized gateway for securing microservices.

Microgateway Release Notes
Token Validation Microservice

Platform satellite for introspection of stateful and stateless OAuth 2.0 access tokens.

About the ForgeRock Token Validation Microservice

Read a different version of :