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  1. Stackups
  2. Utilities
  3. Authentication
  4. User Management And Authentication
  5. Azure Active Directory vs Passport

Azure Active Directory vs Passport

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Passport
Passport
Stacks471
Followers368
Votes0
GitHub Stars23.5K
Forks1.2K
Azure Active Directory
Azure Active Directory
Stacks697
Followers283
Votes6

Azure Active Directory vs Passport: What are the differences?

  1. Key Difference 1: Integration Capabilities: Azure Active Directory (AAD) is a cloud-based identity and access management service provided by Microsoft. It acts as a centralized directory for managing user identities and their access to resources across various cloud applications and services. On the other hand, Passport is a middleware for authenticating requests in Node.js applications. It provides an easy-to-use framework for authentication and supports integration with various authentication providers such as local, social, and third-party providers.

  2. Key Difference 2: Scalability and Availability: AAD is a highly scalable service that can handle millions of user identities and provide seamless authentication experiences across multiple applications and services. It is designed to be highly available with built-in redundancy and failover capabilities. Passport, on the other hand, is a library that can be included in Node.js applications. The scalability and availability of the authentication infrastructure depend on the underlying platform or service used for hosting the application.

  3. Key Difference 3: Access Controls and Security: AAD provides robust access controls and security features such as multi-factor authentication, conditional access policies, and enterprise-level security measures like threat intelligence and identity protection. It enables organizations to enforce security policies, manage user access privileges, and detect and mitigate security threats. Passport provides a lightweight authentication framework and does not offer the same level of advanced security features as AAD. The security measures for Passport applications need to be implemented separately, potentially using authentication middleware or strategies provided by Passport or other libraries.

  4. Key Difference 4: Scope and Use Cases: AAD is designed to cater to enterprise-level identity and access management needs. It is suitable for organizations that require centralized user management, single sign-on across multiple applications, and integration with other Microsoft services like Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365. Passport, on the other hand, is geared towards web application developers who need a flexible and customizable authentication solution for their Node.js applications. It can be used for a wide range of use cases, from simple authentication and authorization to more complex scenarios involving multiple authentication providers or custom authentication logic.

  5. Key Difference 5: Ease of Integration: AAD provides extensive integration capabilities with various platforms, frameworks, and services. It offers prebuilt integrations with popular Microsoft services and supports industry-standard protocols like OAuth and OpenID Connect. Passport also supports multiple authentication providers, but the integration may require additional configuration and customization depending on the specific provider or authentication mechanism being used.

  6. Key Difference 6: Licensing and Cost: AAD is available as a subscription service with different pricing tiers based on the organization's needs and requirements. It offers various features and capabilities depending on the chosen subscription level. Passport, on the other hand, is an open-source library and does not have any licensing costs. The cost associated with using Passport depends on the underlying infrastructure and services used for hosting the Node.js application.

In Summary, Azure Active Directory is a cloud-based identity and access management service that provides integration capabilities, scalability, advanced security features, tailored for enterprise-level use cases with extensive integration options and cost associated with subscription tiers. On the other hand, Passport is a middleware library for Node.js applications, providing a flexible and customizable authentication solution with ease of integration, open-source licensing, and potential cost depending on infrastructure choices.

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Advice on Passport, Azure Active Directory

Vaibhav
Vaibhav

Jul 17, 2020

Needs advice

Currently, Passport.js repo has 324 open issues, and Jared (the original author) seems to be the one doing most of the work. Also, given that the documentation is not proper. Is it worth using Passport.js?

As of now, StackShare shows it has 29 companies using it. How do you implement auth in your project or your company? Are there any good alternatives to Passport.js? Should I implement auth from scratch?

220k views220k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

Passport
Passport
Azure Active Directory
Azure Active Directory

It is authentication middleware for Node.js. Extremely flexible and modular, It can be unobtrusively dropped in to any Express-based web application. A comprehensive set of strategies support authentication using a username and password, Facebook, Twitter, and more.

It is a comprehensive identity and access management solution that gives you a robust set of capabilities to manage users and groups. You can get the reliability and scalability you need with identity services that work with your on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environment.

Single sign-on with OpenID and OAuth; Easily handle success and failure
-
Statistics
GitHub Stars
23.5K
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Forks
1.2K
GitHub Forks
-
Stacks
471
Stacks
697
Followers
368
Followers
283
Votes
0
Votes
6
Pros & Cons
No community feedback yet
Pros
  • 6
    Backed by Microsoft Azure
Cons
  • 3
    Closed source
Integrations
ExpressJS
ExpressJS
Vue.js
Vue.js
JSON Web Token
JSON Web Token
No integrations available

What are some alternatives to Passport, Azure Active Directory?

Auth0

Auth0

A set of unified APIs and tools that instantly enables Single Sign On and user management to all your applications.

Stormpath

Stormpath

Stormpath is an authentication and user management service that helps development teams quickly and securely build web and mobile applications and services.

bitwarden

bitwarden

bitwarden is the easiest and safest way to store and sync your passwords across all of your devices.

Keycloak

Keycloak

It is an Open Source Identity and Access Management For Modern Applications and Services. It adds authentication to applications and secure services with minimum fuss. No need to deal with storing users or authenticating users. It's all available out of the box.

LastPass

LastPass

LastPass Enterprise offers your employees and admins a single, unified experience that combines the power of SAML SSO coupled with enterprise-class password vaulting. LastPass is your first line of defense in the battle to protect your digital assets from the significant risks associated with employee password re-use and phishing.

Devise

Devise

Devise is a flexible authentication solution for Rails based on Warden

Firebase Authentication

Firebase Authentication

It provides backend services, easy-to-use SDKs, and ready-made UI libraries to authenticate users to your app. It supports authentication using passwords, phone numbers, popular federated identity providers like Google,

Passbolt

Passbolt

Passbolt is an open source password manager for teams. It allows to securely store and share credentials, and is based on OpenPGP.

Amazon Cognito

Amazon Cognito

You can create unique identities for your users through a number of public login providers (Amazon, Facebook, and Google) and also support unauthenticated guests. You can save app data locally on users’ devices allowing your applications to work even when the devices are offline.

KeePass

KeePass

It is an open source password manager. Passwords can be stored in highly-encrypted databases, which can be unlocked with one master password or key file.

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