ASP.Net identity framework as a form of authentication?

Question

I am a little confused as to how the identity framework works. For example in VS 2013 we can create an MVC application that the authentication is individual user accounts. Once we create it we can register with a username and password. But what if we wanted to have also a DOB in the registration or some other fields such as email or phone etc? Can we do this with the identity framework? What about the way the data base is structured, can we have a custom structure? Or if I want this should I be using forms authentication? Also what is the difference between the Identity framework and Forms authentication in terms of authentication?

Answer 1

Even though Microsoft sells ASP Identity as a single solution, Forms Authentication and Identity (Membership) are two distinct frameworks that work together, but serve different purposes:

• Forms Authentication manages authentication session/cookies.
• Membership/Identity is the store for user information (credentials, user demographics, etc.)

Look here for some additional information and links.

Answer 2

Although your post has already been marked as answered, I’d like to add a little more info for future readers.

The first thing we need to understand with VS and Microsoft is that they’ve always tried to provide us with Templates to help us get started. There are many Pros and Cons to using Templates but the idea is that it gets you started quickly without having to manually include stuff yourself.

The idea of Templates is great but to the untrained eye, it provides Microsoft an opportunity to include stuff that THEY think you’ll need or better yet, what your application will need.

This opportunity includes promoting products such as Identity, Knockout.js etc...

In short, Microsoft is not wrong in doing that since the majority of the people do not second guess what is included in their project and because they…well…trust Microsoft.

A great analogy is when you purchase a new computer from a major retailer. When you arrive home and start your computer, you quickly notice that you have a bunch of pre-installed software running in the background (that you never asked for).

To the untrained eye, they will never realize that these are running in the background and their computer will work regardless. But for someone that is aware, he will most likely uninstall all of them and have a cleaner plate.

So Templates are similar to this...

As for the rest of your questioning, I’m sure by now you’ve found the answers.