Absorb LMS SAML Single Sign-On using DNN SAML as IDP

Overview

DotNetNuke (DNN) SAML IDP module acts as a SAML 2.0 Identity Provider which can be configured to establish the trust between the module and various SAML-compliant service providers to securely authenticate the user using the DotNetNuke (DNN) site credentials. Here we will go through a step-by-step guide to configure Single Sign-On (SSO) between DotNetNuke(DNN) and Absorb LMS considering DotNetNuke(DNN) as IDP.

Pre-requisites : Download And Installation

• Download DNN SAML Identity Provider (IDP) module.

• Upload the installation package xxx_dnn-saml-single-sign-on-sso-idp_xxx_Install by going in Settings > Extension > Install Extension.

• Open any of the page on your DNN site (Edit mode) and Click on Add Module.

• Search for moDNNSAMLIDP and click on the moDNNSAMLIDP. Drag and drop the module on the page where you want.

• After successfully installing the module on your DNN site, click the gear icon of the module, and select Settings from the dropdown menu.

• Navigate to the moDNNSAMLIDP Settings tab to configure the module.

• To activate the module, enter the license key received via email in the provided input field.
• If you haven’t received the license key, click on the Click Here link to download it, and then upload the license file using the Choose File button.

• Then, accept the terms and conditions by checking the box, and click on the Activate License button to activate the module.

Step 1: Configure Absorb LMS as SP

• Navigate to the IDP Configurations tab in the DNN SAML IDP module.

• You can share your IdP Metadata with the Service Provider in either of the following ways:
  • Metadata URL : Share the metadata URL with your Service Provider.

  OR

  • Download Metadata XML : Download the metadata XML file and upload it to your Service Provider.

• You can also manually share the DNN SAML IDP metadata by copying the IdP Entity ID, Single Sign-On URL, SAML SLO URL, NameID Format, and x.509 Certificate.

• Log into the Absorb Admin Portal as a System Admin and navigate to Portal Settings.
• From Portal Settings, there is a button in the right-side context menu labeled Manage SSO Settings.
• If you can't see this button, please contact your Absorb Client Success Manager to enable this feature.

• Once you have clicked the button, you will be brought to the Manage Single Sign-On Settings page. Any existing configurations will appear here, as well as the option to Add a new one.

Name	Name of your Identity Provider
Key	The key is the x.509 public certificate of the DNN SAML IDP Metadata. You can find this in the DNN Manual Configuration under x.509 Certificate.
Mode	Choose the principle request mode,either Service Provider Initiated orIdentity Provider Initiated.
Id Property	A unique identifier field chosen in the Absorb LMS to be used as the identifying NameID through the SAML assertion. Select Email Address from the drop-down.
Login URL	The URL where Absorb redirects users if they go to the portal without an active session. You can find this in DNN Metadata as Single Sign-On URL.
Logout URL (optional)	The URL where Absorb redirects users when they log out of the Absorb system. You can find this in DNN Metadata as SAML SLO URL.
Automatically Redirect (optional)	When turned on, redirects all users who navigate directly to the Portal URL to the Login URL. Note: For the SP Initiated Mode this setting is always enabled.
Assigned Routes	This field allows you to search for and select any existing routes to assign.Assign which routes in your portal you would like to associate with this SSO configuration.

• You have successfully configured Absorb LMS as Service Provider.

Step 2: Configure DNN as SAML IDP

• You would need following credentials from Absorb LMS.
• Entity ID : e.g. "https://company.myabsorb.com".
• ACS URL : Your Acs Url would be different based on the version of learner interface you are using Absorb : e.g. "https://company.myabsorb.com/account/saml". Absorb - Learner Experience : e.g. "https://company.myabsorb.com/api/rest/v2/authentication/saml".

• Navigate to the SP Configurations tab and click on the Add Application button.

• From the list of service providers given below, select Absorb LMS.

There are two options to add an application for your Service Provider in the DNN SAML IDP module

A] Upload Metadata using the “Upload Metadata” option

• You can upload the Service Provider metadata directly using the Upload Metadata button.

• The DNN SAML IDP module requires the SP Entity ID and ACS URL values from your Service Provider.
• You may receive these values either through a metadata file (.xml) or a metadata URL from your SP.
• Upload the metadata by selecting the appropriate option — via XML file or URL — as shown in the screenshot below.

B] Configure the Service Provider metadata manually

• If you prefer to configure the Service Provider manually, copy the SP Entity ID and ACS URL from your Service Provider’s metadata and paste them into the corresponding fields.

• Once you have entered all required details, click on Save Settings to save the configuration.

Step 3: Attribute Mapping

• In this steps you will map the DotNetNuke user attribute to be sent in the response to the Service Provider.
• NameID defines what SP is expecting in the subject element of SAML Assertion. Generally, NameID is Username of Email Address. You can select which user attribute you want to send in the NameID.
• You can add other attributes to be sent in SAML Assertion to SP. The attributes include user’s profile attributes such as first name, last name, fullname, username, email, custom profile attributes etc.

• After completing the attribute mapping, click on the Save Settings button to save your configurations.

Step 4: Testing SSO

• Go to your Absorb LMS login page and click on the Sign in with SSO option to get redirected to the DNN IdP Sign-On Page.
• Enter your DNN credentials and log in. If the configuration is correct, you will be automatically signed in to your Absorb LMS account.

Step 5: IdP Initiated SSO

• Once the SSO connection is successfully tested, you can proceed to copy the DNN IdP initiated SSO link.
• After adding your Service Provider, click on Select Actions → Copy SSO Link.
  For DNN (IdP) initiated SSO, use this link provided by the DNN SAML IDP module to initiate login directly from DNN.

Troubleshooting

• If you face any issues or get any errors duing the setup. Click on the Troubleshoot button and Enable logs.

• Reproduce the Issue and share the logs with us at dnnsupport@xecurify.com.

Related Articles

• DotNetNuke Two-Factor Authentication
• DNN SAML Single Sign-On (SSO)
• DNN OAuth Single Sign-On (SSO)
• DNN Power BI
• DNN SAML IDP Setup Guides

Get in Touch

Please reach out to us at dnnsupport@xecurify.com, and our team will assist you with setting up SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) for Absorb LMS using DNN as the Identity Provider (IDP). We will also help you choose the most suitable solution or plan based on your requirements.