How SSO Works

Download as doc, pdf, or txt
Download as doc, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 14
At a glance
Powered by AI
The document discusses how to configure OpenPages for single sign-on using Siteminder and GetAccess. It provides an overview of how Siteminder works and how to set it up for single sign-on.

Siteminder addresses managing logins to heterogeneous web services. It provides a central point of authentication instead of authenticating at each individual service. It uses an encrypted cookie to authenticate users to different services after the initial login.

The main components of Siteminder are the Policy Server, which provides authentication services, and the Web Agent, which is integrated with web servers and allows them to be managed by Siteminder.

Configuring OpenPages

SiteMinder Authentication Service

Objective
This document will provide an overview of the Single Sign On functionality using
Siteminder and Get Access and how its used in the OpenPages 5.5 application. For
detailed steps on how to implement the Single Sign on Solution, please refer to the
document SSO_Doc_op55. The scope of this document is to provide the framework on
how Single Sign On works and the ways to troubleshoot, in the event of a new
implementation.

Page 1

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service

Part 1: What is Siteminder and How Siteminder Works


The SiteMinder product was developed by Netegrity to address the problem of managing
logins to heterogeneous web-based services. For example, users that access a web service
hosted on a Microsoft IIS Web server are authenticated by a Windows NT domain
controller, which maintains user account information. If the same users want to access
web services on an iPlanet Web server running on a Sun server, they have to be
authenticated by another mechanism, usually through LDAP. Since there is no way to
pass authentication verification between these two systems, users must log in twice.
SiteMinder solves this multiple login problem by providing a central point for all
authentication. Instead of being authenticated by each web service, users are
authenticated by SiteMinder instead. After the user is authenticated, a special encrypted
cookie is created and used for subsequent logins to different web-based services and
applications. Even though users are automatically authenticated, you can curtail their
access rights to specific resources by establishing access control policies through
SiteMinder's security policy management features.
How SiteMinder/Get Access Work
The SiteMinder product provides more than single sign-on capability. A full description
of all these features can be found at the Netegrity Web site: http://www.netegrity.com.
Included here is a brief description of how SiteMinder works, to give you an idea of how
it would be deployed in a corporate environment.
The SiteMinder software consists of two main components:

SiteMinder Policy Server

SiteMinder Web Agent

The Policy Server provides authentication, among other services, to web-based


applications. The Web Agent is integrated with a standard web server and is the
component that allows the web server to be managed by SiteMinder. It intercepts all
requests for resources (URLs), then decides whether the specified resource is under
SiteMinder's control. If it is, the Policy Server is contacted.
The Policy Server acts as a front end to whatever authentication method is being
deployed within your organization. These include:

Basic authentication (user-name/password)


Basic authentication over SSL

Authentication schemes

Page 2

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service
o

ACE/Server (Security Dynamics)

CryptoCard

RADIUS Proxy

Forms-based authentication

X.509 certificates

Custom or third-party schemes

Use some of these schemes in combination to provide stronger authentication. You can
establish priority levels for finer control over resources. For example, if users are
authenticated by a method that has a lower priority than the resource they are accessing,
then an attempt to authenticate them at a higher level is made. Conversely, if users are
already authenticated at a high-priority level, then no further authentication is required.
FIGURE 11-1 illustrates how single sign-on is achieved with SiteMinder.
Figure 11-1. SiteMinder Single Sign-on

In FIGURE 11-1, the user accesses an URL that is located on Web server A, which has
the SiteMinder Web Agent running on it. The agent checks to see if the requested URL is
under SiteMinder control, and if it is, the agent contacts the Policy Server, which
authenticates the user according to established policy rules. Once the user is
authenticated, an encrypted cookie or user credential is created and passed to the other
web servers under SiteMinder control.
When the same user tries to access a URL on Web server B, the Web Agent can then grant
access according to the user credential it was passed, eliminating the need for a second
user login.

Page 3

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service
Limitation of SiteMinder
SiteMinder was designed to work in a web server environment, where authentication is
triggered upon a URL request. When a user logs into a computer, authentication is
handled by the underlying operating system, instead of being initiated by a web server.
Since there is no way to pass the authentication information to SiteMinder from the
operating system, the user would have to log in again to gain access to web service
applications.
Even though SiteMinder is a valuable tool for creating an SSO environment between
disparate web applications, the user is still required to log into the platform from which
the web applications will be launched. SiteMinder also requires that an agent be installed
on each web server that will participate in the SSO environment. The agents are written
with web server extension APIs such as ISAPI for Microsoft IIS and NSAPI for iPlanet
Web server, and so must be provided by Netegrity.

Page 4

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service

Part 2: Configuring the SiteMinder Policy Server


1) On the SSO policy server machine, open and log into the SiteMinder
Administration Console.
2) Under the System tab on the left side of console click on the Host Conf
Objects menu.
3) In Host Conf Object List right click on DefaultHostSettings and select
Duplicate Configuration Object.
4) Specify the Name of the host configuration object as host-<name of Openpages
Application sever>
5) In the list of configuration values edit the PolicyServer property so that the
Parameter Name is PolicyServer (without the starting # symbol). Also edit the
Parameter Value by replacing <IPAddress> with the host name or IP Address of
the policy server.
6) Click Apply and then OK to finish creating the host configuration object.
7) Under the System tab on the left side of console right click on the Agents menu
and select Create Agent.
8) For Agent Name specify agent-< name of Openpages Application sever>
9) Check the Support 4.x check box.
10) For IP Address or Host Name specify the IP address of the Openpages
Application sever machine.
11) For Secret and Confirm Secret enter the value openpages.
12) Click Apply and then OK to finish creating the agent.
13) Under the System tab on the left side of console click on the Agent Conf
Objects menu.
14) In Agent Conf Object List right click on the IISDefaultSettings and select
Duplicate Configuration Object.
15) Specify the Name of the agent configuration object as agent-<name of
Openpages Application sever>
16) Edit all configuration parameters that are commented out (begin with # symbol)
such that they are no longer commented out. (Just remove the beginning #
symbol)
17) Edit the DefaultAgentName parameter such the value equals agent-< name of
Openpages Application sever>
18) Edit the LogAppend parameter such that value equals yes.
19) Edit the LogConsole parameter such that value equals yes.
20) Edit the LogFileName parameter such that value equals sox_sm.log.
21) Edit the LogLevel parameter such that value equals 2.
22) Edit the Logfile parameter such that value equals yes.
23) Edit the ServerErrorFile parameter such that value equals yes.

Page 5

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service
24) Click Apply and then OK to finish creating the agent configuration object.
25) Select the Domains tab on the left side of the administration console.
26) Under the Domains tab right click on the Domains menu and select Create
Domain.
27) For Domain name enter <name of Openpages Application sever>
28) Add the appropriate user directories to this domain. The user directories
specified should contain all of the users that should be able to access Openpages
Application sever.
29) Click Apply and then OK to finish creating the domain.
30) Expand the tree under the newly created domain to see all of its sub-components.
31) Right click on the Realms sub-component and select Create Realm.
32) For Realm Name enter <name of Openpages Application sever>-sox
33) For Agent click the Lookup button, select the Agent you created earlier (Step 8)
and then click OK.
34) For Resource Filter enter /sox/
35) Click Apply and then OK to finish creating the realm.
36) Right click on the newly created realm and select Create Rule Under Realm.
37) For Rule Name enter soxrule.
38) For Resource enter *.
39) Under the Action section make sure both Get and Post are selected.
40) Click Apply and then OK to finish creating the rule.
41) Right click on the Policies sub-component of the domain and select Create
Policy.
42) For Policy Name enter soxpolicy.
43) Under the Users tab add all users that should have access to Openpages
Application sever from the user directory.
44) Under the Rules tab add the soxrule you created in step 37.
45) Click Apply and then OK to finish creating the policy.
46) Exit the SiteMinder Administration console.
47) Restart all SiteMinder services.

Page 6

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service

Part 3: Installing the SiteMinder IIS Web Agent


Make sure to read the SiteMinder Web Agent Installation Guide prior to installing to
ensure that all required pre-requisites have been met.
On the OpenPages application server, do the following:
1) Start the SiteMinder Web Agent installer.
2) In the Welcome dialog box, read the information then click Next.
3) Read the Software License Agreement and click Yes to accept it.
4) Read the Release Notes, then click Next.
5) In the Choose Destination Location dialog box, accept the default installation
location or use the Browse button to select a different location. Click Next.
6) In the Start Copying Files dialog box, check the configuration settings then click
Next.
7) In the Setup Complete dialog box, make sure the Launch the Web Agent
Configuration Wizard now check box is selected, then click Finish. If you have
not registered your system as a trusted host, the Wizard begins the registration
process. Proceed to Step 9. If your system is already registered as a trusted host,
the Wizard prompts you to configure the Web Agent. Proceed to Step 14.
8) Deselect the Enable PKCS11 Cryptographic Hardware box and click Next.
10) Complete the following fields to identify an administrator with the rights to
register a trusted host, then click Next:
a) Administrator enter the name of the administrator allowed to register the
host with the Policy Server. This administrator should already be defined at
the Policy Server and have the permission Register Trusted Hosts set. The
default administrator is SiteMinder.
b) Password Enter the administrators password.
c) Confirm Password Re-enter the password.
9) In the Trusted Host Name field, enter the name of the system serving as the
trusted host (local computer name), for example, myserver, then click Next.
10) In the Policy Server IP Address field, enter the IP address of the Policy Server
where you are registering the host, then click Next.
11) In the Host Configuration Object field, enter the name of the Host
Configuration Object specified in the Policy Server (Part 2, Step 4), then click
Next.
12) Accept the default location of the host configuration file, SmHost.conf or click
Browse to select a different location. Click Next. The host is now registered and a
host configuration file, SmHost.conf, is created in
<agent_install_location>/config.
13) In the Select Web Server(s) dialog only check the box next to Microsoft IIS and
click Next.

Page 7

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service
14) In the Web Agent Configuration for Microsoft IIS dialog click the Configure
button.
15) In the Agent Configuration Object field, enter the name of the Agent
Configuration Object for this Web server instance (Part 2, Step 15) and click
Next.
16) In the Servlet Engine for Registration on Microsoft IIS dialog select No
Registration Services and click Next.
17) In the Web Agent Configuration dialog box, check the location of the host
configuration file and the name of the Agent Configuration Object. If the settings
are correct, click Next.
18) Confirm that the configuration settings are correct, then click Next.
19) Click Finish to exit the wizard.
20) Open the WebAgent.conf file located in <agent_install_location>\Bin\IIS. For
example: C:\Program Files\Netegrity\SiteMinder Web Agent\Bin\IIS
21) Set the EnableWebAgent parameter equal to YES.
22) Save the file and restart the Web server (all IIS services).

Page 8

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service

Step 4: Enabling SiteMinder for OpenPages


To modify the single sign-on settings, you will need to be logged into OpenPages as an
administrator that can edit the OpenPages Settings menu item.
To enable the integration of a single sign-on system with OpenPages:
1) Click on the Settings link under the Configuration heading in the Action Menu.
2) Navigate to the following location: OpenPages|Applications|Common|
Configuration.
3) Click on Show Hidden Settings and change the value to true.
4) Click Save to save your changes.
5) Navigate to the following location: OpenPages|Platform|Security|Single Sign
On|Implementations|Header-based.
6) Click on the Session Attribute link.
7) Modify the value (if necessary) to match the session attribute for your single signon system.
a. Using SiteMinder 6.0 as an example, the value of the Session Attribute
parameter would be SMSERVERSESSIONID.
8) Save your changes (if necessary) by clicking the Save button, or cancel the edit.
9) Click on the Username Attribute link.
10) Modify the value (if necessary) to match the user name attribute for your single
sign-on system.
a. Using SiteMinder 6.0 as an example, the value of the Username
Attribute would be SMUSER.
11) Save your changes (if necessary) by clicking the Save button, or cancel the edit.
12) Modify the setting Single Sign On | OP and change the value to true.
13) Save your changes.
14) Modify the setting Single Sign On | SOX and change the value to true.
15) Save your changes.
16) Navigate to the following location: OpenPages|Applications|Common|
Configuration.
17) Click on Show Hidden Settings and change the value to false.
18) Click Save to save your changes.
19) Start all OpenPages services.

Page 9

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service

Configuring CommandCenter With a Single Sign-on System


If you are using the CommandCenter application as part of your OpenPages system, you
must load an updated redirect JSP so that reports will function properly.
This can be done by loading the redirect JSP through the ObjectManager tool using the
CommandCenter-intefration-op-config.xml file. This file is part of the
OpenPages installation media and can be found in the
OP_5.5_Configuration_Disk_1_of_2 CD (of folder) in the
\reporting\CommandCenter\loader-data directory.
To load the file:
1) Locate the CommandCenter-intefration-op-config.xml loader file.
2) Open a command prompt window
3) Navigate to the \OpenPages directory on the OpenPages application server.
a. This is where you will find the ObjectManager.cmd file.
4) Run the following command:
a. ObjectManager l c OpenPagesAdministrator <password> <pathto-loader-file> CommandCenter-integration

Page 10

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service

Accessing OpenPages With SiteMinder Enabled


To access OpenPages with SiteMinder enabled you should access the URL
http://<machine_name>/openpages/home.do. This will bring up the SiteMinder login
window. Login with a valid username and password and you should see the home page
for that user. Click on a CommandCenter report and verify it runs correctly.
NOTE: All users in the SiteMinder user directory MUST have user accounts in the
OpenPages application. The passwords for the user accounts in OpenPages application
are irrelevant as the password authentication is done by SiteMinder however the user
must exist in both the SiteMinder user directory and in the OpenPages application.

Objective: Integrate OpenPages 5.1 Application with Single Sign On


Infrastructure, customer is using GetAccess from Entrust as SSO solution..
Configuration on the Application servers with GetAccess
The application servers require the installation and configuration of the
Microsoft IIS Plug-in, by this mechanism GetAccess will intercept any
request to access the Openpages application. The plug-in acts as a proxy,
forwarding requests to weblogic(Application server), any request that comes
from http://<OPENPAGESOPTESTURL/openpages>, during this
forwarding GetAcess intercepts and authenticates users.

Page 11

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service

Configuration on the Application:


OpenPages can integrate with a number of single-sign-on solutions, such as
GetAccess. The following instructions explain how to configure OpenPages
for use with one of these systems.
To modify the single-sign-on settings, you will need to be logged into
OpenPages as a user who can edit the OpenPages Settings menu item.
To enable the integration of a single-sign-on system with OpenPages:
1. Click on the Settings link under the Configuration heading in the Action
Menu.
2. Navigate to the following location: OpenPages|Applications|Common
|Configuration.

Page 12

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service

3. Click on the Show Hidden Settings setting and change the value to true
(without the quotes).
4. Click Save to save your changes.
5. Navigate to the following location: OpenPages|Platform|Security|Single
SignOn|Implementations|Header-based.
6. Click on the Session Attribute link.
7. Modify the value (if necessary) to match the session attribute for your
single-sign-on system. Using GetAcess as an example, the value of the
Session Attribute parameter would be SESSIONID (without the quotes).
8. Save your changes (if necessary) by clicking the Save button, or cancel
the edit.
9. Click on the Username Attribute link.
10. Modify the value (if necessary) to match the user name attribute for your
single-signon system. Again using GetAccess as a example, the value of the
Username Attribute would be USER.
11. Save your changes (if necessary) by clicking the Save button, or cancel
the edit.
12. Modify the setting Single Sign On | OP and change the value to true
(without thequotes). Save your changes.
13. Modify the setting Single Sign On | SOX and change the value to true
(without the quotes). Save your changes.
14. Navigate to the following location: OpenPages|Applications|Common
|Configuration.
15. Click on the Show Hidden Settings setting and change the value to
false (withoutthe quotes).
16. Click Save to save your changes.

Page 13

Configuring OpenPages
SiteMinder Authentication Service

Configuring the Single Sign On Logout Destination


Logging out of OpenPages does not log the user out of the single-sign-on
system automatically.
If the user uses the Back button of the browser to re-enter OpenPages, the
users session will
be recreated for them based on the still-valid third-party credentials.
In order to securely sign out from OpenPages and the single-sign-on system,
the logout URL
should be pointed at a URL that invalidates the single-sign-on session.
To redirect the logout URL:
1. Click on the Settings link under the Configuration heading in the Action
Menu.
2. Navigate to the following location: OpenPages|Platform|Security.
3. Click on the Logout URL link.
4. Enter a fully-qualified URL. This URL will be displayed when the user
clicks the Logout
link in the OpenPages header.
5. Save your changes by clicking the Save button.

Page 14

You might also like