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Configure Okta for SSO in your Code42 cloud environment

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This article applies to Cloud.

Other available versions:

Version 6 | Version 5 | Version 4icon.qnmark.png

Available in:

StandardPremiumEnterprise
Small Business

Overview

This tutorial explains how to configure your Code42 cloud environment to use single sign-on (SSO) with Okta. This article applies to environments in the Code42 cloud only. If you have an on-premises authority server, see Configure Okta for SSO in your Code42 environment.

For instructions about how to use Okta with Code42's provisioning provider feature, see How to provision users to Code42 from Okta.

This article assumes you are already familiar with SSO and the SAML standard. For more information about how Code42 implements SSO, see our Introduction to single sign-on.

Compatible Code42 components

Compatible with SSO
  • Code42 app for Windows, Mac, and Linux
  • Administration console
Incompatible with SSO
  • Code42 apps for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone

Considerations

Code42 supports service provider-initiated SSO but does not support identity provider-initiated SSO. This means that users cannot log in to your Code42 environment from an identity provider website or application.

Contact support
Contact Code42 support for help with authentication issues caused by interaction with Code42 products. However, troubleshooting authentication issues outside your Code42 environment is beyond the scope of our Customer Champions.

Before you begin

Configure your private network, Internet, and VPN settings to allow client devices to communicate with your identity provider on ports 80 and 443. Test client connectivity to the identity provider before you proceed.

Step 1: Determine the server URL for your Code42 environment

  1. Sign in to the administration console.
  2. Navigate to Settings > Identity Management. 

Code42 Service Provider URL

  1. Copy and paste the Code42 Service Provider Metadata URL in a new browser window. 
    Your Code42 environment's metadata details appear. 
  2. Record the URL for the entityID. You will use this for the Server URL when configuring Okta in Step 3. 
    entity ID

Step 2: Add the Okta application for Code42

  1. Sign in to your Okta dashboard.
  2. Add the Code42 application.
    Note: There are two Code42 apps on Okta's website. Add the Code42 app, which is used for cloud Code42 environments. The Code42 Single Tenant app is used in Code42 environments with on-premises authority server and in single-tenant cloud environments.
    Code42 app in Okta
  3. Configure the general settings, and click Next. 

Step 3: Configure Okta's sign on tab

  1. In the Okta Dashboard, go to Applications and select the Code42 app.
  2. On the Sign On tab of the Code42 app, click Edit.
  3. Copy the Identity Provider metadata link. You will need it in the next step. 
  4. Next to Server URL, enter the entityID you recorded from Step 1.
  5. Click Save.
    Okta configuration
     

Step 4: Add Okta as an authentication provider

  1. Sign in to the Code42 administration console.

  2. Navigate to Settings > Identity Management.
  3. Click Add Authentication Provider.
    Add Authentication Provider dialog
  4. In Display name, enter an identity provider name to display to users that sign in with SSO.
    If your Code42 environment provides more than one SSO identity provider, users see a list of providers to choose from. They must select the provider configured for their Code42 organization.
  5. In Provider's Metadata, ensure that Enter URL is selected and paste the URL for the identity provider metadata XML file.
  6. Click Create Provider.
    Authentication provider settings appear.
    Authentication provider details
Provider information message

Note the following message on the dialog:
This provider will not be applied to an organization until you update the organization security settings.

Do not apply this authentication provider to organizations yet. You will apply this provider to a test organization and to production organizations in later steps.
  1. (Optional) Code42 recommends using the default settings, but you can use Attribute Mapping to customize mappings between Code42 platform user attributes and authentication provider SSO assertion attributes.
    1. Click the Edit icon. Edit_icon.png
    2. Deselect Use default mapping.
    3. Configure mapping settings for each Code42 platform user attribute:
      • Username: Specify the SSO identifier or attribute that maps to the Code42 platform username.
        • Select Use nameId to use the SSO name identifier.
        • Select Use attribute tag to enter a custom SSO attribute.
      • Email: Enter the SSO attribute that contains user email addresses.
      • First Name: Enter the SSO attribute that contains user first names.
      • Last Name: Enter the SSO attribute that contains user last names.
    4. Click Save.
  2. (Optional) Local Users displays the current user. If there are any other users you want to exempt from using this authentication provider to log in, enter them here. 

Step 5: Test SSO authentication

To avoid impacting your production environment, use a test organization to verify that SSO is working properly. 

  1. Create a test user in your identity provider. 
  2. Sign in to the administration console.
  3. Create a test organization.
  4. Configure the test organization to use SSO.
    1. Navigate to Organizations, then select the organization.
    2. From the action menu in the upper-right, select Edit.
    3. Click Security.
      Security tab
    4. Deselect Inherit security settings from parent.
    5. From Select an authentication method, choose SSO.
      The configured SSO identity providers appear.
    6. Select the identity providers that you want to offer for the organization.
    7. From Select a directory service, select Local.
    8. Click Save.
  5. Create a user in the test organization who matches the identity provider test user.
  6. In the upper-right of the administration console, select Account > Sign Out.
  7. Sign back in to the administration console as the test user to verify that SSO is working.

Okta sign-in

Step 6: Apply this provider to production organizations

Enable SSO for one or more organizations in your Code42 environment. If two or more authentication providers are offered in your Code42 environment, tell the users in each organization which authentication provider they should choose when they sign in.

Option A: Enable SSO for a specific organization

  1. Sign in to the administration console.
  2. Navigate to Organizations, then select the organization.
  3. From the action menu, select Edit.
  4. Click Security.
    Security tab
  5. Deselect Inherit security settings from parent.
    Disabled inheritance
    If you disable inheritance for an organization, that organization is not affected by changes to its parent organization.
  6. From Select an authentication method, choose SSO.
    The configured authentication providers appear.
  7. Select the identity providers that you want to offer for the organization.
  8. From Select a directory service, select Local.
  9. Click Save.

Option B: Enable SSO for all organizations

Modify the system-wide organization settings to enable SSO for all organizations.

  1. Sign in to the administration console.
  2. Go to Organizations > Active.
    Parent organization hierarchy
  3. Click on the top-level organization.
    The organization details appear.
  4. From the action menu, select Edit.
  5. Click Security.
    Apply provider to parent organization
  6. From Select an authentication method, choose SSO.
    The configured authentication providers appear.
  7. Select the identity providers that you want to offer to your organizations.
  8. From Select a directory service, select Local.
  9. Click Save.
  10. Under each child organization, make sure that Inherit security settings from parent is enabled.
    1. Click the child organization.
    2. From the action menu, select Edit.
    3. Click Security.
    4. Enable Inherit security settings from parent.

Step 7: Add new users who sign in with SSO

  1. Assign the Code42 app to users or groups in the Okta dashboard. See Okta's documentation for more information.
  2. Ensure users are set up in Code42. You can add users manually with the administration console to an organization that uses SSO, or deploy Code42 apps to users in an organization that uses SSO.
Add users through provisioning
You can also add new users to your Code42 environment using Okta's provisioning. See How to provision users to Code42 from Okta.

What to expect

Reduced authentication prompts

When a user signs in with SSO, the user does not need to re-enter credentials for subsequent authentication attempts until the SAML authentication token expires. A SAML token applies to an application rather than a device, which means that a user might need to enter credentials again when signing into a different app. Signing in to the Code42 app does not authenticate the administration console because one is an app on the device and the other is accessed via a web browser.

Lost access to an identity provider

If a user loses access to the identity provider, the Code42 app continues to back up, uninterrupted.

External resources