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What's the difference between the Microsoft identity platform and ASP.NET Core Identity?

The former is mentioned in the latter's documentation, but it's not clear to me the difference between the two.

Rikai no hōhō
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2 Answers2

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ASP.NET Core Identity is a traditional individual authentication platform. You create and manage users, and allow those users to authenticate, specific to one app.

Microsoft Identity Platform is a centralized authentication and authorization platform, independent of any one particular application. The closest comparison is actually Identity Server, and it functions in much the same way as Identity Server, just much more expansively.

In truth, there's all kinds of cross-over here, though. ASP.NET Core Identity, for example, also enables third-party/external authentication, such as Google, Facebook, etc., including Microsoft accounts. So, you can actually integrate Microsoft Identity Platform via ASP.NET Core Identity.

Additionally, Identity Server can use ASP.NET Core Identity for user management, allowing the same OAuth/OpenID Connect functionality Microsoft Identity Platform provides, backed by ASP.NET Core Identity.

Long and short, they serve different purposes, even though there's a fair bit of cross-over as well. It all just depends on your application's needs as well as things like budget.

Chris Pratt
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  • so it would be true to say that Microsoft Identity Platform is analogous to Identity Server/Openiddict, but ASP.NET Core Identity is completely different, although both can interconnect with each other, right? If you were to build a simple Web application where you want to manage users, have a sign-in and a sign-up page, and perhaps federated login with a Google or Microsoft account, would ASP.NET Core be sufficient, or Microsoft Identity Platform/Identity Server/Opeiniddict would be necessary too? – Rikai no hōhō Apr 29 '20 at 23:08
  • It seems that support for legacy personal username/password accounts stored in the server side on premises is absent. – Shimmy Weitzhandler Jul 08 '20 at 00:25
  • @ChrisPratt what about the differences between ASP.NET Identity and ASP.NET Identity Core? Is the ASP.NET Identity Core has many differences over the previous one? – Jack Jan 19 '21 at 14:18
  • @ChrisPratt Any idea about my previous question Amigo? – Jack Jan 19 '21 at 14:19
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The "Microsoft identity platform" is for use Microsoft Azure, but the "ASP.NET Core Identity" is traditional individual authentication.

Milad Hatami
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