Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager (FIM) is a state-based
identity management software product, designed to manage users' digital identities, credentials and groupings throughout the lifecycle of their membership of an enterprise computer system. FIM integrates with
Active Directory
Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is included in most Windows Server operating systems as a set of processes and services. Initially, Active Directory was used only for centralize ...
and
Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is a mail server and calendaring server developed by Microsoft. It runs exclusively on Windows Server operating systems.
The first version was called Exchange Server 4.0, to position it as the successor to the related ...
to provide identity synchronization, certificate management, user password resets and user provisioning from a single interface.
Overview
Part of the Microsoft Identity and Access Management platform product line, FIM superseded Microsoft Identity Lifecycle Manager (ILM), and was known as ILM 2 during development. ILM 2007 was created by merging
Microsoft Identity Integration Server
Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS) is an identity management (IdM) product offered by Microsoft. It is a service that aggregates identity-related information from multiple data-sources. The goal of MIIS is to provide organizations with a ...
2003 (MIIS) and
Certificate Lifecycle Manager
Certificate may refer to:
* Birth certificate
* Marriage certificate
* Death certificate
* Gift certificate
* Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something
* Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial p ...
(CLM).
FIM 2010 utilizes
Windows Workflow Foundation
Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) is a Microsoft technology that provides an API, an in-process workflow engine, and a rehostable designer to implement long-running processes as workflows within .NET applications. The latest version of WF was re ...
concepts, using transactional workflows to manage and propagate changes to a user's state-based identity. This is in contrast to most of the transaction-based competing products that do not have a state-based element. Administrators not only can create workflows with the web-based
GUI
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
of ILM 2 portal but also include more complex workflows designed outside of the portal by importing
XAML
Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML ) is a declarative XML-based language that Microsoft developed for initializing structured values and objects. It is available under Microsoft's Open Specification Promise.
XAML is used extensively ...
files
FIM 2010 R2 (Release 2) was released in June 2012 and has extra capabilities:
* Improved Self-service Password Reset which supports all current web browsers
*
Role Based Access Control (RBAC) via the acquisition of
BHOLD Software
* Improvement to the Reporting engine via the System Center Service Manager and MS SQL Server reporting Services (SSRS)
* A WebServices Connector to connect to SAP ECC 5/6, Oracle
PeopleSoft
PeopleSoft, Inc. is a company that provides human resource management systems (HRMS), Financial Management Solutions (FMS), supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise performance management (EPM) softwar ...
, and Oracle eBusiness
* Improvements in the areas of performance, simplified deployment and troubleshooting, better documentation, and more language support.
Codeless Provisioning
Forefront Identity Manager introduces the concept of "
codeless provisioning"
which allows administrators to create objects in any connected data source without writing any code in one of the
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...
languages.
The codeless provisioning provided in FIM should be able to sustain most of the simple to medium complexity scenarios for account lifecycle management. FIM fully honors existing MIIS implementations and supports "traditional" coded provisioning side-by-side with code-less provisioning methods.
See also
*
Microsoft Identity Integration Server
Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS) is an identity management (IdM) product offered by Microsoft. It is a service that aggregates identity-related information from multiple data-sources. The goal of MIIS is to provide organizations with a ...
*
Password Change Notification Service
A password, sometimes called a passcode (for example in Apple devices), is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of ...
*
NetIQ Identity Manager
NetIQ is a product line within the CyberRes line of business at Micro Focus, which includes solutions focused on cybersecurity, including ArcSight, Fortify, Voltage, and NetIQ.
NetIQ was previously based in Houston, Texas, with products that pr ...
References
External links
*
Certificate Lifecycle Manager OverviewFIM Resources on the Microsoft TechNet Wiki
{{Microsoft Security Products
Identity management systems
Internet Protocol based network software
Workflow applications
Identity Integration Server
2010 software