SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) into Zoho Desk using Joomla as IDP

Single Sign-On in Zoho Desk using Joomla IDP allows users to log in to Zoho Desk using Joomla by configuring Zoho Desk 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 Zoho Desk?
Zoho Desk is a help desk software used by businesses to address customer queries and feedbacks over a variety of channels.

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 Zoho Desk SSO with Joomla as IDP.

1. Configure Zoho Desk 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.

• Log in to Zoho Accounts as an administrative user at Zoho.

• Navigate to Zoho Desk dashboard.
• Now click on Setting icon () in the top bar.

• Under the Channels menu, select Help Center.
• Choose the Help Center where you want to use SAML to authenticate users .

• Under the Help Center sub-menu, select User Authentication .

• Provide the following information on the SAML page:
  • Remote Login URL: Enter the remote login URL of Joomla IDP where Zoho Desk will redirect your end users when they login to the Help Center. (i.e SAML Login URL from Identity provider tab in Joomla IDP plugin)
  • Remote Logout URL: Enter the remote logout URL of Joomla IDP that Zoho Desk will redirect your end users when they attempt to log out of the Help Center. (i.e SAML Login URL from Identity provider tab in Joomla IDP plugin)
  • Reset Password URL: Enter the reset password URL of Joomla IDP where Zoho Desk will redirect your end users when they try to change their password for the Help Center.(i.e IDP-EntityID / Issuer from Identity provider tab in Joomla IDP plugin)
  • Public Key: Upload the Public X.509 certificate in the .txt or .pem format. We will use the public key contained in the certificate to verify that Joomla Identity Provider has issued all received SAML authentication requests. (X.509 Certificate from Identity provider tab in Joomla IDP plugin)
  • Algorithm: Select an algorithm between RSA and DSA using which your Joomla IDP generated the public keys and certificates.
• Click on Save button.

• Before clicking Save, you'll see new fields (like Help Center SAML Request URL, etc.) and values listed. Copy those values over to Joomla as identity provider to ensure that Joomla IDP is capable of communication with your SAML-enabled Zoho Desk.
  The value obtained that will be necessary for Joomla IDP configuration:-

  Joomla IDP plugin configuration fields	Value obtained from Zoho desk
  ACS URL	Help Center SAML Response URL
  Relay state	Default Relay State
  SP Entity ID or Issuer	Entity ID (Issuer)

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 Advance Mapping tab.
• Here, you can configure Custom attribute mapping and also add additional User Attributes.

You have successfully configured Single Sign-On with Zoho Desk 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)