Authentication

Owned by Kevin Pham (Deactivated)
Last updated: Feb 26, 2020
4 min read

Zephyr provides multiple options in which users can be authenticated when they log into the system. This is referred to as Primary Authentication.
Primary Authentication are:

Secondary Authentication: If LDAP/Crowd/Webservice/SSO is being used for primary authentication and certain temporary/migrant/external users that are not in those systems need access to Zephyr, the secondary authentication option can be turned on to allow that.

Please note that this process is only for authentication and not for synchronizing user information with these systems. After completing authentication, you may import Groups by following the instructions in Group Setup.

Primary Authentication

1. Internal

Administrators can leave the selection at 'Internal' to use the native Zephyr authentication system. The user ID and passwords that are stored in the User Setup section are used to authenticate users.

  • This is the default option.
  • Users can reset their own passwords by clicking on the 'Profile' link in the top right corner of their interface.


 
2. LDAP
 
If your organization is using an LDAP server for authentication, the Zephyr Server can be setup to authenticate users using LDAP.


 

Below the 'Connection Info' section there will be a place to test the connections and LDAP credentials used. This is useful for a quick check to see if everything is working. The username and password here can be a user in your directory that you wish to log on the Zephyr system with. Once the information is correct you can click the 'Test' button and if everything goes correctly, you should see a 'Validation Successful!' popup. Otherwise, start troubleshooting the setup.

LDAP Required Fields

1. What are the required fields for connecting to LDAP?

  • Open DS: LDAP Host, Base DN, and Search Attribute are required.
    • The username and password for users who can authenticate are required.
  • Active Directory: LDAP Host, Base DN, and Search Attribute.
    • The username and password for users who can authenticate are required.

2. Is a unique Organizational Unit needed for Zephyr? (Organization Unit can be - Zephyr)

  • The organizational unit can be any name. It does not necessarily have to be specific to Zephyr.

3. Is Bind DN required?

  • Bind DN is required for Active Directory.
  • Bind DN is not required for Open DS.

LDAP Setup Details and Example

The LDAP authentication system in Zephyr allows an Administrator user the advantage of using a LDAP system to authenticate Zephyr users outside of Zephyr itself. Below are detailed descriptions of the fields in the LDAP authentication setup.

LDAP Host [REQUIRED]: The IP address of your LDAP instance (default port 389). Currently does not support HTTPS.

BASE DN [REQUIRED]: Folder and Domain where the users will be that need authenticating.

  • Example 1: CN=users, DC=ad, DC=mainsystem, DC=com
  • Example 2: OU=users, DC=ad, DC=mainsystem, DC=com

BIND DN: Admin user, Folder, and Domain that will be used to search the other folders. This user/Directory Manager MUST have the ability to look through the domain for the users that need authenticating.

  • Example : CN=Admin, CN=users, DC=mainsystem, DC=com
  • PASSWORD: Password for the BIND DN Admin/Directory Manager user. The show password option will just allow the user to see the password input.
  • SEARCH ATTRIBUTE [REQUIRED]: The attribute that the BIND DN user will use to find the users it is searching for. This will likely be "samaccountname" on AD systems.
    • Example: samAccountName

Note: Once the LDAP Authentication successful, if you want to import LDAP Groups(which contains external LDAP users) please go through Group Setup.

  • Previously, when users set up their authentication for LDAP, the option to import groups would be available right away in a pop-up. This is now moved to the Import Groups tab within the Group Setup page under Administration.
  • The newly added Import Groups tab now displays which authentication system is connected (LDAP).


3. Crowd
 
If your organization is using a Crowd server for authentication, the Zephyr Server can be setup to authenticate with Crowd before allowing users to log into the system.


 
After entering the relevant 'Connection Info', the authentication can be tested by entering the username and password of a user and clicking on the 'Test' button. This provides feedback on whether the authentication system was reachable and if the authentication was successful or a failure.

Note: Once the Crowd Authentication successful, if you want to import Crowd Groups(which contains external Crowd users) please go through Group Setup.

  • Previously, when users set up their authentication for Crowd, the option to import groups would be available right away in a pop-up. This is now moved to the Import Groups tab within the Group Setup page under Administration.
  • The newly added Import Groups tab now displays which authentication system is connected (Crowd).

 
4. WebService
 
If your organization is using a different authentication system, then you could write a WebService that the Zephyr Server can call to authenticate against before allowing users to log into the system.


 
After entering the relevant 'Connection Info', the authentication can be tested by entering the username and password of a user and clicking on the 'Test' button. This provides feedback on whether the authentication system was reachable and if the authentication was successful or a failure.

5. Single Sign-On (SSO)

If your organization is using Single Sign-On (SSO) for authentication, the Zephyr Server can be setup to authenticate with it before allowing users to log into the system.

With SSO setup and enabled, the login flow will redirect you straight to the SSO login page and after entering in the correct credentials, it will directly redirect and log you into Zephyr. This minimizes the amount of steps and redirects to get logged into Zephyr.

See below for the configuration fields required for setting up SSO:


 

An example with setting up Okta in Zephyr, please refer to SSO Setup with Okta in Zephyr.

An example with setting up Azure AD in Zephyr, please refer to SSO Setup with Azure AD in Zephyr.

Secondary Authentication

If LDAP/Crowd/Webservice/SSO is being used for primary authentication and certain temporary/migrant/external users are not in those systems and need access to Zephyr, the secondary authentication option can be turned on to allow that.
Those users are then authenticated based on the user ID/password that is set up for them in the User Setup section. Turn on this secondary authentication option as follows:

  1. As a Zephyr Administrator, open the Administration section
  2. Click on the 'Customizations' tab.
  3. Click on the 'Miscellaneous' button in the Advanced section.
  4. Check off the 'Enable Secondary Authentication' option a then click the 'Save' button.