Blackboard SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) | Login using Joomla into Blackboard SSO

Single Sign-On in Blackboard using Joomla IDP allows users to log in to Blackboard using Joomla by configuring Blackboard as a Service Provider (SP) and Joomla as a SAML Identity Provider (IDP). This guide will take you through a step-by-step process to configure SSO between the two platforms.

What is Blackboard?
Blackboard is a widely used learning management system (LMS) originally developed by Blackboard Inc., now owned by Anthology Inc. It serves educational institutions, corporations, and government agencies to deliver online courses and facilitate e-learning.

Pre-requisites: Download And Installation

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Install Joomla IDP Plugin

• Download the zip file for the miniOrange Joomla IDP plugin.
• Log into your Joomla site’s administrator console.
• From left toggle menu, click on System, then under Install section click on Extensions.

• Upload the downloaded zip file to install the Joomla IDP plugin.

• Installation of the plugin is successful. Now click on Start Using miniOrange SAML IDP Plugin to configure miniOrange Joomla IDP plugin.

Steps to configure Blackboard SSO with Joomla as IDP.

1. Configure Blackboard as Service Provider

• Go to the miniOrange Joomla IDP plugin, navigate to the Identity Provider tab.
• Here, you can find the Identity Provider Metadata XML URL/File or endpoints like IDP Entity ID, SAML Login URL, SAML Logout URL (Premium Feature), and Certificate for SP configuration. Download the XML Metadata by clicking on the button as shown below.

• Login to your Blackboard site as Admin.
• Navigate to System Admin and click on Authentication.
• Select Create Provider, click on SAML and then enter the following details.

Name	Joomla
Authentication Provider	Set as Active
User Lookup Method	Username
Restrict by Hostname	Select Use this provider for any host names
Link Text	Type the title for the link as you want it to appear on the Blackboard Learn login page

• Select Save and Configure.
• To configure Service Provider follow the steps given below.

• Click on Generate to download the SP metadata for configuring your Joomla site.
• Select the Compatible Data Sources from the list that this authentication provider should be compatible with. This is important when the authentication provider contains accounts that are shared with existing data sources. If the user exists and is associated with a data source that is not ticked the user will not be successfully authenticated.


• Select the checkbox to have the system automatically create a new account for the user if their information is not found.
• In the Error Message text box, you can provide a custom message for users in case SAML authentication doesn't work as expected.
• Select Point Identity Provider for the Identity Provider Type and enter the following details.

Metadata URL	You can get the Metadata URL from the IDP Metadata of the plugin
Metadata File	Upload the metadata file downloaded from Joomla
Remote User ID	Select NameID as the Remote User ID

• You have configured Blackboard successfully.

2. Configure Joomla as Identity Provider

• Now go to Components miniOrange Joomla IDP Service Provider

• Navigate to the Service Provider tab and complete the fields for Service Provider Name, SP Entity ID or Issuer, ACS URL, and NameID Format. Refer to this step to get Service Provider details. Fill in the other fields according to your requirements. Click on Save.

Enter the following values:

Service Provider Name	Choose appropriate name according to your choice.
SP Entity ID or Issuer	Service Provider Entity ID.
ACS URL	SP Assertion Consumer Service URL.
X.509 Certificate (optional) [For Signed Request]	Paste certificate value you copied from the Metadata file.
NameID Format	Select urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:emailAddress.
Assertion Signed	Checked.


• Now click on Advance Mapping tab. Select the NameID Attribute and then click on Save Button.


You have successfully completed your miniOrange SAML 2.0 IDP configurations.

3. Attribute Mapping (Premium Feature)

• In the miniOrange Joomla IDP plugin, navigate to the Attribute Mapping tab.
• Here, you can configure Custom attribute mapping and also add additional User Attributes.

You have successfully configured Single Sign-On with Blackboard as Service Provider and Joomla as Identity Provider. If you require any further support or, if you are facing any difficulty please mail us on joomlasupport@xecurify.com

Free Trial

If you would like to test out the plugin to ensure your business use case is fulfilled, we do provide a 7-day trial. Please drop us an email at joomlasupport@xecurify.com requesting a trial. You can create an account with us using this link.

Additional Resources.

• What is Single Sign-On (SSO)
• What is SAML?
• Additional SAML IDP guides
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)