What is Identity Manager Service Provider?

Identity Manager Service Provider is a highly scalable, extranet-focused identity management feature that is capable of provisioning and maintaining millions of end user accounts that are stored on an LDAP directory server. The Service Provider feature can also manage thousands of administrator accounts and synchronize LDAP account data with other resources.

The Service Provider feature uses a subset of the features and functionality available in Identity Manager. For example, auditing functionality is not available because it is less useful in an extranet environment.

For a detailed accounting of the differences between standard Identity Manager and the Service Provider feature, see Service Provider Features in Sun Identity Manager Service Provider 8.1 Deployment.

Once available as a separate add-on product, Service Provider is now part of Identity Manager. Taking advantage of Service Provider functionality, however, requires special planning.

• For information on how the Identity Manager Service Provider system architecture, see Understanding Identity Manager Service Provider System Architecture.

• For information on planning a highly-available Identity Manager Service Provider architecture, see Understanding the Recommended Service Provider HA Architecture.

• For information on deploying Identity Manager to take advantage of the Service Provider feature, see Sun Identity Manager Service Provider 8.1 Deployment.