Smart cards are the foundation of an authentication archetype known as certificate-based authentication (CBA). The form factor of smart cards has evolved over the years however, and nowadays can even be found in objects such as passports, mobile devices, “smart” devices classified within the Internet of Things (IoT) and notably, many versions of the YubiKey. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized object with an embedded chip containing a digital certificate that itself contains sensitive cryptographic information used to attest the identity of the bearer.

Finally, for deployments that focus on hybrid deployments with only on-premises AD see the transitional state hybrid architecture with on-premises Active Directory and Azure AD.Ī smart card is a physical electronic authentication device used to control access to resources. This guide assumes that enterprises already have an existing on-prem AD FS solution, but also that an AAD tenant is available. It is important to note that an on-prem or cloud only architecture is considered out of scope for the purposes of this article, and the focus will instead be on hybrid (a combination of both). A brief description of key components will be followed by details relating to the applicable use cases, and finally detailed instructions on how to ultimately implement a cohesive solution.

The following guide contains information to help navigate the transition from a legacy on-premises (on-prem) Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) architecture to a hybrid architecture leveraging Azure Active Directory (AAD).

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