Azure Active Directory vs Django REST framework JWT: What are the differences?

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1. Authentication Mechanism: Azure Active Directory uses OAuth2 for authentication, while Django REST framework JWT utilizes JSON Web Tokens (JWT). OAuth2 relies on authorization grants to obtain an access token for resources, whereas JWT uses self-contained tokens with all the necessary information encoded within the token itself.

2. Token Expiration: Azure Active Directory issues short-lived access tokens with a default expiration time, typically one hour, and provides refresh tokens to acquire new access tokens without requiring user credentials again. In contrast, Django REST framework JWT generates tokens with a fixed expiration time that needs to be manually handled to refresh or expire the token.

3. Scope of Usage: Azure Active Directory is a cloud-based identity and access management service primarily designed for managing user identities and their access to resources in Azure, whereas Django REST framework JWT is a library for handling token-based authentication in Django web applications, providing a simple way to implement token authentication for APIs.

4. Token Validation: Azure Active Directory validates access tokens by communicating with the Azure AD token validation endpoint to verify the token's authenticity and permissions, ensuring secure access to resources. On the other hand, Django REST framework JWT verifies tokens internally based on the secret key used to generate the tokens, without the need for external validation endpoints.

5. Integration Flexibility: Azure Active Directory seamlessly integrates with various Azure services and applications, providing a centralized identity management solution with built-in support for role-based access control and single sign-on capabilities. Django REST framework JWT offers flexibility in integrating token authentication into Django projects, enabling customization of authentication behavior according to specific project requirements.

6. Ease of Implementation: Azure Active Directory may require additional configuration and setup within the Azure portal to connect applications and manage user identities, whereas Django REST framework JWT can be easily integrated into Django projects by adding the necessary authentication classes and configuring settings within the Django application, minimizing setup complexity for token-based authentication.

In Summary, Azure Active Directory and Django REST framework JWT differ in their authentication mechanisms, token expiration handling, scope of usage, token validation methods, integration flexibility, and ease of implementation.