You can choose the type of Password Credential Validator (PCV) that you want to use in PingFederate. You must also specify the PCV's name, ID, and whether it uses a parent instance.
Available PCV types are determined by plug-in .jar files loaded in the <pf_install>/pingfederate/server/default/deploy directory. Several validator plugins are bundled with PingFederate. You can add other plugins from the Ping Identity Downloads website.