Authentication (Password / SSO)

There are two methods of logging in to Connections Online: the standard username/password combination and single sign-on via SAML. At least one of the two options (Passwords & SAML single sign-on) must be enabled. Both can be enabled at the same time if desired.

Note: At the moment only organization administrators can edit the organization page to get to the settings for changing the login methods and configuring SSO.

Password: The standard username (usually email address) and password combo to log in.

When a user does not remember their password or needs to log in for the first time they can use the Forgot Password link on the login page to receive an email to access Connections to set their new password.

This email should arrive within a minute and if it does not please check your spam folder or contact support.

SAML Single Sign-on: 

Connections Online uses SAML 2.0 to provide single sign-on (SSO). SAML 2.0 (Security Assertion Markup Language 2.0) is an open standard used to exchange authentication and authorization data between parties, such as an identity provider (Microsoft Entra ID / Okta / Google) and a service provider (Connections Online). Its main purpose is to enable SSO, allowing users to log in once and access multiple services without needing to log in again.

SSO login process:

1. A user goes to the Connections sign-in page and enters their username/email address.

2. The orange SSO button shows up for the user to log in.

3. The service redirects the user to your identity provider to verify their identity. This request includes the username/email address entered which should correspond to both their Connections account and their account in your identity provider.

4. Once verified, the identity provider sends a SAML assertion (a secure XML document) back to Connections, confirming the user’s identity and permissions.

5. The user is granted access to Connections.

Some popular identity providers include:

Microsoft Entra ID

Okta

Google Cloud

SSO Configuration In Connections

After you have your identity provider setup completed, go edit the organization connection to configure SAML single sign-on.

1. Go to your organization connection page and open the edit window (administrator access only)
2. Scroll down to the Authentication Options area and enable Allow SAML single sign-on
3. Enter the required fields
   
   1. Entity ID
      
   2. SSO URL
   3. Certificate
4. Save!

The clip below illustrates the process.

Required Settings

Entity ID:  Your SAML identity provider's Entity ID

SSO URL: Your SAML identity provider's SSO URL (aka Login URL or Service URL)

Certificate: Your SAML identity provider's public certificate in text format. Copy and paste in the contents of a .pem or .cer file. This may or may not include the BEGIN CERTIFICATE and END CERTIFICATE markers. If you leave this blank, we will request an embedded certificate from your provider.

Don't forget to save after changing this information!