Single Sign-On: Shibboleth / SAML Settings

Shibboleth provides a true "Single Sign-On" (SSO) experience for end-users (subscribers). The primary benefit of any single sign-on solution is that users need only log into your systems once and that login information is passed to other resources, such as Omnilert. 

Shibboleth is a form of SSO that is based on SAML.

Omnilert can act as a Service Provider (SP) for Shibboleth/SAML login to the Subscriber portal.*

Your institution (or a third party) must perform the role of the Identity Provider (IdP), who verifies login credentials for subscribers who are logging in.

Note: To configure Shibboleth Single Sign-on with Omnilert, you will need to be a member of the InCommon Federation. Otherwise, you will need to contact Omnilert support to make separate arrangements to exchange metadata with Omnilert.

Shibboleth Settings

The key setting for Shibboleth will be your Identity Provider Entity ID. This is the URN/URL for your IdP. There are two supported formats:

• Identity Providers Entity ID examples:
  • urn:mace:incommon:myschool.edu
  • https://www.myschool.edu/idp/shibboleth

Once saved, Omnilert will display a Shibboleth page link. Simply share that link anywhere you'd like subscribers to log in. When a subscriber clicks that link, they'll be taken into Omnilert's subscriber portal via your Shibboleth/SAML login pages (if they aren't already logged in, of course!)

The Logout redirect URL determines where subscribers are sent if/when they click "logout" to exit the Subscriber portal. This is typically set to your own Single Sign-On portal's logout page to end their SAML session with your site and truly log out the user.

Note: The Check attributes link is a handy utility used to troubleshoot SAML setups. Use that link to test logins and see which SAML attributes are being released to Omnilert.

The two final settings for Shibboleth/SAML are:

Shibboleth/SAML access only: This setting restricts all subscriber logins to your Shibboleth Login Link. Only engage this setting if you wish to block all other access for subscribers.

Set default user tab to Service: Forces all users to view their service options upon login via Shibboleth. (Used for older versions of the Subscriber portal and typically not required or used by new configurations.)

Note: Omnilert's Shibboleth/SAML connector can be used to allow login through most identity management systems, including Onelogin or Okta.

*Admin access via Shibboleth is not supported. Admins must log into the admin portal using an Omnilert username/password. This restriction is in place to ensure that your admins can still access the service in the vent of a power/network outage at your location.