SAML setup guide (G Suite)

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Ian Ratcliffe

Step 1 - Get Service Provider (SP) information from Workstars

  1. Login to your Workstars Administrator account (must be the primary account or technical user)
  2. Click on System Settings at the top
  3. Click Sign On from the left-nav menu
  4. Click the Setup button next to the Single Sign On (SAML) option
  5. Select G Suite
  6. From the Service Provider section, save a copy of the ACS URL and Entity ID as you will need these in Step 2

 

Step 2 - Add Workstars app to G Suite

  1. Login to G Suite as an administrator
  2. On the dashboard click Apps or open the menu in the top left and click Apps
  3. Click SAML apps
  4. Click Add a service/App to your domain or click the + icon in the bottom right
  5. Click SETUP MY OWN CUSTOM APP at the bottom
  6. Save a copy of the SSO URL and Entity ID, as you will need them in Step 3
  7. Click the DOWNLOAD button and save the x509 certificate
  8. Click NEXT
  9. In the Application Name box, enter the name you want to show your users
  10. In the Description box you can optionally enter a description
  11. Upload an appropriate logo
  12. Click NEXT
  13. In the ACS URL box, enter our ACS URL from Step 1
  14. In the Entity ID box, enter our Entity ID from Step 1
  15. Leave the other fields with their defaults
  16. Click NEXT
  17. Click FINISH
  18. Click OK
  19. Assign the appropriate users by clicking the 3-dot ellipsis in the top right of the app settings
    • Options are ON for everyone, OFF for everyone, or ON for some organizations
  20. Confirm your selection

Step 3 - Configure sign on to use G Suite

  1. Log back into your Workstars Administrator account
  2. In the top bar, select System Settings
  3. In the left-nav menu, select Sign On
  4. Click Setup next to the Single Sign On (SAML) option
  5. Select G Suite
  6. In the SAML SSO URL box, enter the SSO URL you copied in Step 2
  7. In the Identity Provider Entity ID box, enter the Entity ID you copied in Step 2
  8. Open the x509 Certificate you downloaded in Step 2 with a text editor (e.g. Notepad); It should be in PEM format, which looks like the following:
    • -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
  MIIDjDCCAvWgAwIBAgIBATANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQQFADCBgjELMAkGA1UEBhMCREUx
  DDAKBgNVBAgTA05SVzESMBAGA1UEBxMJU3RlaW5mdXJ0MRcwFQYDVQQKEw5TcGVu
  bmViZXJnLmNvbTEUMBIGA1UEAxMLUm9vdENBIDIwMDMxIjAgBgkqhkiG9w0BCQEW
  E3JhbGZAc3Blbm5lYmVyZy5uZXQwHhcNMDMwNDMwMDYwODU2WhcNMDQwNDI5MDYw
  ODU2WjCBgjELMAkGA1UEBhMCREUxDDAKBgNVBAgTA05SVzESMBAGA1UEBxMJU3Rl
  aW5mdXJ0MRcwFQYDVQQKEw5TcGVubmViZXJnLmNvbTEUMBIGA1UEAxMLVlBOLUdh
  dGV3YXkxIjAgBgkqhkiG9w0BCQEWE3JhbGZAc3Blbm5lYmVyZy5uZXQwgZ8wDQYJ
  KoZIhvcNAQEBBQADgY0AMIGJAoGBAMU7nDY6GWyp8rrp0u2EMzZIB7KjLVmSsIZM
  gSzqXO3zuusXTrM6zLdbXcqzBO37WTzFJT7z/7AiEPvecgruQkua0yfTtvvpiBDI
  R7cmT3FA5HXEwO5rh7hvyV5mz7vnrXJouG39j0wfOqINQyUGuZLnIGyGFaDrf/cL
  mpldFIibAgMBAAGjggEOMIIBCjAJBgNVHRMEAjAAMCwGCWCGSAGG+EIBDQQfFh1P
  cGVuU1NMIEdlbmVyYXRlZCBDZXJ0aWZpY2F0ZTAdBgNVHQ4EFgQUy1wZm+aKiv4O
  xP1e3/e/PagYfAgwga8GA1UdIwSBpzCBpIAUAbvGM771ml6wDF29Qel4bFStZo6h
  gYikgYUwgYIxCzAJBgNVBAYTAkRFMQwwCgYDVQQIEwNOUlcxEjAQBgNVBAcTCVN0
  ZWluZnVydDEXMBUGA1UEChMOU3Blbm5lYmVyZy5jb20xFDASBgNVBAMTC1Jvb3RD
  QSAyMDAzMSIwIAYJKoZIhvcNAQkBFhNyYWxmQHNwZW5uZWJlcmcubmV0ggEAMA0G
  CSqGSIb3DQEBBAUAA4GBAG+JK5Wv8Y1Nt9/obfeS+0iMxBpDaGWXAYemhLWhOL1i
  dHDbnngZ2QyvGK0Td1Z9Pxlh2rp0MI7FUA7j6/+VzY3WfsMOq1s0lLwWD+/c3kC7
  fbqiuF35dOcoWHWgZtKNhbo4gggQM+++KckxnWOp9+CZ6qfttrUzGxxKpAVAbkB7
  -----END CERTIFICATE-----
  9. Copy and paste the file contents into the x509 Certificate box
  10. In the Remote Logout URL box, enter an appropriate URL where you would like the user to be redirected when they logout
    • We suggest you use your G Suite URL, e.g. https://myaccount.google.com
    • It should NEVER be the same as our SAML SSO URL or the user will just be logged back in and can never logout
  11. Leave the NameID as the default Email (We also support EmployeeID, but configuring G Suite is outside the scope of this document, please contact G Suite support)
  12. Click Confirm to save the settings

 

Step 4 - Test & enable

The setup is now complete, but it is NOT yet visible for employees on the login page.

Note

Please ensure you have an account in G Suite which has the new App assigned to it and you have an account in our system with the same email address

When you are ready, you must enable it:

  1. On the System Settings Sign On page, click the Enable button next to Single Sign On (SAML)
  2. Copy the test link
  3. Open an Incognito/InPrivate browser tab and paste in the link
  4. You should be redirected to the G Suite login page
  5. If you login, you should be redirected back to our system and automatically logged in

    Note

    If you haven’t already done so, we recommend that you log back into G Suite and assign all your users and groups at this time

  6. If the test worked, go back to the other browser window and click the Enable button
  7. If you experience any errors please check the settings are correct; If you need further assistance, please capture any error message screens and contact support

You have now enabled Single Sign On (SAML) for all employees; Check the login is working:

  • Visit your Workstars login URL (not the test one), it should be something like: https://<your-sub-domain>.workstars.com
    • You should be redirected to the G Suite login page and asked to login
    • If you are already logged in, you should be redirected back and logged into our system
  • Employees can also login directly from the G Suite portal
    • To test this, login to the G Suite portal and click the app
    • You should be redirected to our site and logged in

 

Troubleshooting

On our login page it says “Sorry we could not find your account, please contact your HR Team”

Strictly speaking this isn't an error. The reason is that you have tried to login via SAML but the account you have used does not have a matching account in our system. To resolve it simply create an account in our system with the same details. If you are not using email as the nameID please check that the alternative is the same in both systems (e.g. employeeID, extnernaID, etc.) and that it is being correctly sent in the SAML request.

On our login page it says “There is a problem with Single Sign On, please contact your IT department”

This is a general error and means that there is something wrong with the setup. Please check it is setup as described above, if you have followed a different guide (some providers also have their own guides) please start again using this document as a guide. If you have checked everything and cannot find any issues please contact support and we will help you resolve the problem.

I can login from the Identity Providers portal but when I try and login from the Workstars login page it redirects me to a message that says “page not found” or another error

This is usually because you have entered an incorrect SAML SSO URL, please check it is correct. If you have checked and cannot find any issues please contact support and we will help you resolve the problem.

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