SimpleSAMLphp, with its support for several authentication mechanisms and federation protocols, can be used for local authentication, as a service provider or identity provider. It currently supports the following protocols:

* SAML 2.0 as a Service or Identity Provider. * Shibboleth 1.3 as a Service or Identity Provider. * A-Select as a Service or Identity Provider * CAS for remote authentication * OpenID as a Provider or Consumer * WS-Federation as a Service Provider

Further authentication providers can be added in form of modules. Other features are protocol bridging, eduGAIN compatibility, attribute mapping and attribute release consent.