Configure SSO for SAML

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The Designer Cloud Powered by Trifacta® platform can be configured to provide single sign-on (SSO) logins with Active Directory/Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (AD/LDAP). These steps allow you to enable auto-provisioning of new users to the platform if they can authenticate through LDAP.

If auto-provisioning is not desired, after completing the basic configuration, you can disable auto-provisioning using the steps listed in the Advanced Configuration section.
Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication enables users to authenticate one time to access multiple systems. The SSO platform must translate its authentication into authentication methods executed against each system under SSO control. For more information, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_sign-on.
When enabled, SSO also applies to the Wrangler Enterprise desktop application, if it is installed.

Do not use this configuration for the following:

Enterprise LDAP-AD: See Configure SSO for AD-LDAP.

Azure deployments: See Configure SSO for Azure AD.

Limitations

SAML 2.0 only. SAML 1.1 is not supported.
By default, our SP uses transient NameID format. Not all SAML providers will accept transient. You may have to change the metadata file to use something like the following:
```
<NameIDFormat>urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:unspecified</NameIDFormat>
```

NOTE: Spaces are not supported in values for hadoopPrincipal and ssoPrincipal. Suggested format: lastName.firstName.

Prep

Before you begin, you should create a backup of your trifacta-conf.json file.

(Optional) Enable HTTPS

If you prefer to have users connect to the platform over HTTPS, you should enable it before completing the SAML setup. For more information, see Install SSL Certificate.

Encryption key requirements

To enable secure auth using SAML, you must deploy the following keys to the Alteryx node.

NOTE: When the SAML setup script is executed, the following keys and certs are created for your use and stored in the default locations listed below. If you prefer, you can copy in your own keys and certificates for the platform to use. If the paths or filenames differ from the defaults listed below, you must modify the configuration, which is described later.

SAML key	Default path on Alteryx node
Public signing certificate	/opt/trifacta/conf/.key/saml-signing-public-key.cert
Private signing key	/opt/trifacta/conf/.key/saml-signing-private-key.key
Public decryption certificate	/opt/trifacta/conf/.key/saml-decryption-public-key.cert
Private decryption key	/opt/trifacta/conf/.key/saml-decryption-private-key.key

Acquire IDP metadata file

From your identity provider, please acquire the public metadata file and transfer it to the Alteryx node.

Notes:

This file must be hosted on the node.
If there are changes to the source of this file, a new version of the file must be transferred to the Alteryx node.

Please store the file in the following location:

/opt/trifacta/conf/idp-metadata.xml

After the file is transferred to the Alteryx node, the platform must be made aware of it. These steps are covered below.

Acquire SAML claims from your identity provider

Check the following SAML claims in your identify provider. Verify that it is sending the following pieces of information. Below are the default attributes that are expected by the platform:

NOTE: Please note any differences between the expected default attribute names below and the values in your identity provider. These values must be updated in the platform, as described later.

Information	Default SAML Attribute Name
Email address	`mail`
Last name	`name`
User ID	`userPrincipalName`

Tip: If you do not have access to the IDP configuration, you can search the response back from your IDP for the following:

<saml: Attribute Name="

The full value inside the double quotes must be set as the second value in the MellonSetEnv properties file. To see the decoded SAML response, you can use a Chrome plugin like 'rcFederation SAML, WS-Federation and OAuth tracer'.

Configure SAML for the platform

Please complete the following steps to configure the platform to use your enterprise SAML authentication:

Steps:

Administrators can apply this configuration change through the Admin Settings Page in the application. If the application is not available, the settings are available in trifacta-conf.json. For more information, see Platform Configuration Methods.

Configure the following settings:

Setting	Description	Value
"webapp.sso.enable"	Enables use of SSO by the Designer Cloud application.	Set this value to `false`.
"webapp.sso.disableAuthGateway"	When SSO is enabled, this value should be set to `true` to disable the use of the reverse proxy server, which is not used in SAML authentication.	Set this value to `true`.
"webapp.sso.enableAutoRegistration"	Enables users to auto-register an account with the platform when they connect to the login page.	To enable automatic access with SSO-authenticated users, set this value to `true`. To require administrator provisioning of user accounts, set this value to `false`. For more information, see Manage Users under SSO.

Enable use of SAML by the Designer Cloud application:

trifacta-conf.json setting
Description
"webapp.saml.enabled"
Set this value to true.
"webapp.saml.server.entityId" Set this value to the URI of the enterprise SAML server.

If your identity provider is sending attribute values that differ from the values expected by the platform, please configure those values in the following properties:

`trifacta-conf.json` setting	Description	SAML attribute
"webapp.saml.mapping.ssoPrincipal"	SAML profile attribute that defines a user's SSO principal. Spaces are not supported.	userPrincipalName
"webapp.saml.mapping.name"	SAML profile attribute that defines a user's name.	name
"webapp.saml.mapping.hadoopPrincipal"	SAML profile attribute that defines a user's Hadoop principal. Spaces are not supported.	userPrincipalName
"webapp.saml.mapping.email"	SAML profile attribute that defines a user's email.	mail

Configure the path to IDP metadata file. This file was generated by the SAML setup script.

Tip: Unless you wish to move the file to a different directory, this value does not need to be changed.

trifacta-conf.json setting
Description
"webapp.saml.idpMetaDataPath"
Path to the IDP metadata file that you downloaded to the Alteryx node.

NOTE: This value is required and should already be specified.

Configure SAML call back URLs, if needed. These values do not require modifying in most cases.

`trifacta-conf.json` setting	Description
"webapp.saml.server.logoutCallbackUrl"	URL to which user is redirected after logout. This value must end with `/saml/logout/callback`.
"webapp.saml.server.callbackUrl"	URL to which user is redirected after authentication. This value must end with `/saml/login/callback?redirect_to=/`.

Configure paths to security certificates. Modify only if you have stored your keys in non-default locations or filenames:

`trifacta-conf.json` setting	Description	Default path
"webapp.saml.security.signingCertPath"	This signing certificate must be a public certificate that matches the private key.	/opt/trifacta/conf/.key/saml-signing-public-key.cert
"webapp.saml.security.privateCertPath"	This private key must match the public signing certificate. Authentication requests can be signed using RSA-SHA1. The private key must be in PEM format. Authentication requests can be signed using RSA-SHA1. To sign them you need to provide a private key in the PEM format.	/opt/trifacta/conf/.key/saml-signing-private-key.key
"webapp.saml.security.decryptionPvkPath"	This private key is used for decrypting any encrypted assertions received by the platform.	/opt/trifacta/conf/.key/saml-decryption-private-key.key
"webapp.saml.security.decryptionCertPath"	This public certificate must match the private key for decryption.	/opt/trifacta/conf/.key/saml-decryption-public-key.cert

Save the file.
The following script must be run as the root user.
On the Alteryx node, navigate to the following directory:
```
cd /opt/trifacta/webapp/bin
```
Execute the following script:
```
$ ./saml-sp-metadata-generator.js <hostname>
```
where <hostname> is the host value for your Alteryx node. Do not include the protocol identifier (e.g. http://) or the port number as part of this value.

The above script outputs the following:

Tip: The objects, paths, and filenames generated by this script are automatically in place for use by the platform. To use other objects, you must configure the paths in the platform, as described later in this section.

Item	Description	How to Use
Signing Private key	Path to generated private key for signing	Path was configured earlier. If the path is the default one and no asset exists there, then the setup script generates the asset for you.
Signing Certificate	Path to generated certificate for signing	See previous.
Encryption Private key	Path to generated private key for encryption	See previous.
Encryption Certificate	Path to generated certificate for encryption	See previous.
Metadata	Metadata file `saml-sp-metadata.xml` for your identity provider	See next step.

The saml-sp-metadata.xml file in the same directory where you executed the script can be uploaded to your identity provider.

Managing Principal Case

As needed, you can configure the Designer Cloud Powered by Trifacta platform to force captured principal values to lowercase. This standardization is applied throughout the platform, which may prevent connectivity or impersonation issues due to case mismatches.