PingFederate stores client records in XML files by default. On-disk storage allows you to manage clients using the administrative console and the administrative API. Client records are part of the configuration archive.

You can configure PingFederate to store client records externally, which provides the flexibility to manage client records through the OAuth Client Management Service, or enable dynamic client registration for your partner-developers. In this scenario, client records are not part of the configuration archive. They are stored on a database server, a directory server, or some other storage medium through the use of the PingFederate SDK.