Metadata providers are a key component; Shibboleth is a 100% metadata-driven SAML implementation and has no other means of provisioning relationships with IdPs. If you don't have metadata for an IdP you have to create it.
Like most plugins, the type attribute determines which type of plugin to use. Each type may support its own attributes and child elements, in addition to the Common Attributes and Common Elements listed below.
| type | Function |
|---|---|
Loads metadata from a file or HTTP resource, including batches or "aggregates" of metadata for multiple IdPs | |
| Loads metadata "on demand" (dynamically) from a remote HTTP server, one IdP at a time | |
| A special type of dynamic metadata source that adheres to an IETF draft standard convention for constructing a query URL | |
| A special type of dynamic metadata source that loads metadata on-demand from a local directory of files | |
Largely replaced by the LocalDynamic type, this batch-loads metadata from all the files contained in a specified directory |