Configuring SimpleSAMLphp as a Service Provider

This section explains how to configure the WSO2 Identity Server with SimpleSAMLphp as a service provider. Initially, it is necessary to setup SimpleSAMLphp as a service provider. The steps below are tested with Ubuntu.

Scenario

Open

1. A user tries to access a protected resource

2. SimpleSAMLphp checks the authorization for the resource

3. If the user is not authenticated, sends a SAML2 authentication request to the Identity server via the user agent

4. Identity server authenticates the user and sends the authentication response back via the user agent

5. SimpleSAMLphp validate the authenticate response and authorize the access to the protected resource

6. User receives the protected resource

To setup SimpleSAMLphp as a service provider

1. Install Apache.

   # apt-get install apache2

2. Install PHP and related extensions.

   # apt-get install php5 # apt-get install php5-cli # apt-get install php5-common # apt-get install php5-curl # apt-get install php-pear # apt-get install php5-mcrypt

3. Install SimpleSAMLphp using the following commands.

   # sudo mkdir /var/simplesamlphp/ # cd /var/simplesamlphp/ # wget https://github.com/simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp/releases/download/simplesamlphp-1.11.0/simplesamlphp-1.11.0.tar.gz # tar xvf simplesamlphp-1.11.0.tar.gz # mv simplesamlphp-1.11.0 simplesamlphp # cd simplesamlphp # cp -r metadata-templates/*.php metadata/ # cp -r config-templates/*.php config

4. Configure SimpleSAMLphp web in Apache.

   # cd /var/www/html # ln -s /var/simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp/www simplesaml

5. Start Apache.

   # apachectl start

6. Access the SimpleSAMLphp web app from the following location: http://localhost/simplesaml.

7. Set the SimpleSAMLphp administrator login configuration as follows:

   # cd /var/simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp # vi config/config.php

   1. Now look for 'auth.adminpassword' and change its value from the default and save the file.

   2. Click on 'Login as administrator' from the web page http://localhost/simplesaml to test the configured value.

8. Add a Service Provider to SimpleSAMLphp.

   # cd /var/simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp # vi config/authsources.php

   1. Add the following section to the file and save.

      'wso2-sp' => array( 'saml:SP', // The entity ID of this SP. // Can be NULL/unset, in which case an entity ID is generated based on the metadata URL. 'entityID' => 'simplesaml', // The entity ID of the IdP this should SP should contact. // Can be NULL/unset, in which case the user will be shown a list of available IdPs. 'idp' => 'https://localhost:9443/samlsso', // The URL to the discovery service. // Can be NULL/unset, in which case a builtin discovery service will be used. 'discoURL' => NULL, ),

      Here we assume WSO2 IS is running in localhost on 9443.

9. Add the Identity Provider metadata.

   # cd /var/simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp # vi metadata/saml20-idp-remote.php

   1. Add the following section to the file and save.

      $metadata['https://localhost:9443/samlsso'] = array( 'name' => array( 'en' => 'WSO2 IS', 'no' => 'WSO2 IS', ), 'description' => 'Login with WSO2 IS SAML2 IdP.', 'SingleSignOnService' => 'https://localhost:9443/samlsso', 'SingleLogoutService' => 'https://localhost:9443/samlsso', 'certFingerprint' => '6bf8e136eb36d4a56ea05c7ae4b9a45b63bf975d' );

   2. Note that metadata ['https://localhost:9443/samlsso'] should match the value of 'idp' in step 8.

   3. Note that "6bf8e136eb36d4a56ea05c7ae4b9a45b63bf975d" is the thumbprint of the default certificate ships with WSO2 IS. SAML2 Response is signed with this certificate.

10. Install WSO2 Identity Server. The WSO2 Identity Server is available for download here.

11. Start WSO2 Identity Server and add a Service Provider under SAML SSO.

12. In the Main menu of the management console, click Resident under Identity Providers. 

13. On the page that appears, open the SAML2 Web SSO Configuration section under Inbound Authentication Configuration.

14. The ID value of the identity provider should be the SAML endpoint of the Identity Server: https://{yourhost}:{port}/samlsso

Test SimpleSAMLphp

1. Go to http://localhost/simplesaml and then to "Authentication" and click on "Test configured authentication sources"

2. Pick "wso2-sp". You are redirected to WSO2 IS SAML2 IdP for login.