Set up SSO authentication with Okta#

#Objective

Are you using Okta for your identity and user management and want to use it to login to your Data Platform apps? Just follow this guide to get started in no time.

Open the IAM and click on Auth. Provider.

If you haven't done so already, add a new Okta authentication provider on Data Platform. Else, just edit it.

The configuration is done in two parts. First you need to configure the rights on Okta and then configure the authentication provider in the Data Platform Identity Access Manager.

#Configuration on Okta

You need to register Data Platform as an application on your Okta environment. Open your Okta environment.

#Step 1. Register the Identity Access Manager on Okta

You need to register an application inside of Okta. This works with any app you would like to connect to Okta but in this case, you are going to register the Data Platform IAM directly.

In the sidebar, select Applications. Then click on Create App Integration.

Select OIDC (OpenID Connect) as the method and Web Application as the application type.

Press Next.

#Callback URL

Give the name of your choice to this new application and make sure that the Grant Type is Authorization Code.

Scroll down to the Sign-in Redirect URIs section.

In the URL field, copy and paste the Reply URL field in the new authentication provider you added on Data Platform (it is the same for the entire Data Platform IAM).

Save the new application integration.

#Step 2. Retrieve the Domain

The Domain is the equivalent of your tenant id on Okta. You can find it in the General Settings of the application: look for the Okta domain section.

#Step 3. Retrieve the Client ID

The Client ID is specific to your application. You can find it in the Client Credentials of the application: look for the Client ID section.

#Step 4. Retrieve the Client Secret

The Client Secret is specific to your application. You can find it in the Client Credentials of the application: look for the Client secret section.

#Summary

If you have properly followed all the previous steps, you should have this list of information.

Okta domain (Step 2): xxxxxxxxxx.okta.com
Client ID (Step 3): XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Client secret (Step 4): XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

#Configuration on the Data Platform Identity Access Manager

You now have to configure your new authentication provider in your Data Platform Identity Access Manager.

#Fill in the basic information

• Name / Description: This is the internal name and description for your new authentication method
• Directory: This is a unified tag for all accounts that will be created from this directory. For example, you can input Okta
• Tags: This offers more tagging options. They are completely optional
• Reply URL: This is the Data Platform URL where your authentication provider redirects to
• Active: This specifies whether this authentication provider can be used to login or not

#Fill in Okta configuration

Now locate the Okta Configuration panel.

Fill in the information collected on Okta in the previous section, as such:

• Domain: Okta domain (retrieved in step 2 of the configuration on Okta)
• Client ID: Client ID (retrieved in step 3 of the configuration on Okta)
• Client Secret: Client secret (retrieved in step 4 of the configuration on Okta)
• Scope: This represents how much information Data Platform will be able to access from your Okta. This field is optional: the default value is openid email profile

#Fill in the bindings rules

The Bindings panel allows you to customize the mapping of the fields between Okta and Data Platform.

Email, login, first and last name are mapped by default.

Bindings can be overriden if you need to save additional information from Okta into your Data Platform Identity Access Manager, like the job title.

The easiest way to configure bindings is to retrieve a response from a login of an user by following these steps:

1 - Do a sample login to any Data Platform application using your newly configured Okta authentication provider.
2 - Open the Log History page of the IAM authentication provider (here Okta).

3 - Open the latest log: the original response from Okta will look like this:

{
  "sub": "00u4au2tpeFfNw3uR696",
  "name": "John Smith",
  "email": "jsmith@example.com",
  "ver": 1,
  "iss": "https://example.okta.com",
  "aud": "4j63bjk34b6jk3b",
  "iat": 1634310728,
  "exp": 1634314328,
  "jti": "ID.TRhY73q_LejPMKVxrt936nLTLaayJJgPMni78ww0ouQ",
  "amr": [
    "mfa",
    "pwd",
    "otp"
  ],
  "idp": "00o4au2o4QD29JO5Q696",
  "preferred_username": "jsmith@example.com",
  "auth_time": 1634310281,
  "at_hash": "OExX1fo9d8vq-z2-vZtkIg",
  "user": {
    "sub": "00u4au2tpeEfNw3uR696",
    "name": "John Smith",
    "locale": "en-US",
    "email": "jsmith@example.com",
    "preferred_username": "jsmith@example.com",
    "given_name": "John",
    "family_name": "Smith",
    "zoneinfo": "America/Los_Angeles",
    "updated_at": 1634310506,
    "email_verified": true
  }
}

4 - On top of the default email, login, first and last name, any additional property from Okta can be saved as a custom configuration.XXX field on Data Platform by using the "JSON" mode.

For example, you can add a fullname property on Data Platform from the name field from Okta:

{
  "login": "email",
  "email": "email",
  "pronoun": "",
  "firstname": "user.given_name",
  "lastname": "user.family_name",
  "configuration.fullname": "name"
}

#Custom mappings

The Custom mappings panel allows you to automatically assign all users logged in through this authentication provider to a role or a group.

Learn how to set up custom mappings.

#Set live

You are all set configuring your Okta connector! If you haven't done it already, click on Create - else make sure to Save.

In the Authentication Providers list, you now see your new method. Make sure you set it as active.

Make sure this new authentication method is visible for the applications of your choice. You should now see an Okta option on your application's login page. By clicking on it, you will be redirected to the Okta login screen, or directly into the app if you are already logged into your account.

Make Okta visible on your apps' login page

#Go further

If you need training or technical assistance to implement our solutions, contact your sales representative or click on this link to get a quote and ask our Professional Services experts for a custom analysis of your project.

Ask questions, give your feedback and interact directly with the team building the Data Platform on the dedicated Discord channel.

If you need support with your OVHcloud services, create a request in our Help Centre.

Join our community of users.