This blog post provides a comprehensive guide on configuring Elasticsearch SAML authentication using Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) as an identity provider. It outlines the necessary prerequisites, including an Elasticsearch cluster, Kibana, and Active Directory services, and details specific configuration steps for Elasticsearch and Kibana to establish a SAML realm. The post explains how to configure the SAML realm in the elasticsearch.yml and kibana.yml files, emphasizing the importance of various parameters such as idp.metadata.path, idp.entity_id, sp.entity_id, and sp.acs. It also provides instructions on generating a metadata file for ADFS, configuring ADFS as an identity provider by setting up Relying Party Trust and claims, and creating SAML role mappings in Elasticsearch to align Active Directory groups with specific roles. The guide concludes with troubleshooting tips, suggesting reviewing Elasticsearch and ADFS logs and adjusting logging settings if authentication issues arise.