Configure Active Directory Federation for vCloud Director Organization

vCloud Director tenants can federate their on-premises identity source with vCloud Director to simplify user management in their vCloud organization. I have already wrote blog post about this topic in the past; this time I will provide step by step instructions how to federate Active Directory with Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS).

Installation and configuration of AD FS is out of scope for this article as there are already very good and detailed guides on the internet.

1. Download AD FS SAML2 metadata from your AD FS server (https://adfs.acme.com/FederationMetadata/2007-06/FederationMetadata.xml)
2. As Org Administrator log into vCloud Director and in Administration > Settings > Federation check Use SAML Identity Provider checkbox and upload FederationMetadata file from #1.
3. Still on the same page fill in Entity ID (must be unique for given IdP) and regenerate certificate. It will be valid for 1 year after which it must be regenerated again.
   Note: Entity ID is available only in vCloud Director 8.10 and newer.
4. Click Apply.
5. Download SAML metadata file from https://<vcd_url>/cloud/org/<org-name>/saml/medatadata/alias/vcd.
   Note: vCloud Director 8.10 provides link to the file just above the Certificate Expiration button.
   
6. In Administration > Memebers > Users import SSO users from the SAML source. As user name use email address. Assign a vCloud role.
7. It is also possible to import SSO groups from the SAML source. However, Groups menu might be missing under Users until you refresh the page (Groups menu got enabled by the step #2). For group import simply use AD group name (without domain).
   Note: If you get log out before setting up AD FS you can always go back to native authentication dialog by entering the following URL: https://<vcd_url>/cloud/org/<org-name>/login.jsp
   
8. That’s all for vCloud Director configuration. The rest must be done in AD FS. Open AD FS Management Console and in Actions menu cling on Add Relying Party Trust. Go through the wizzard and import the SAML metadata file from step #5.
9. Next we need to Edit claim rules. Under Issuance Transform Rules, using Send LDAP Atributes as Claims template create LDAP claim rule that uses Active Directory as Attribute Store and maps E-Mail-Addresses to E-Mail Address and Token-Groups – Unqualified Names to Groups.
   
10. Add another transform rule from Transform an Incoming Claim template that transforms E-Mail Address to Name ID.
11. Last thing that needs to be done is changing Relying Party Trust hashing algorithm from SHA-256 to SHA-1 (can be found in Properties > Advanced).

That’s all, now depending how your browser is configured, when you enter vCloud Director Organization URL you will be redirected to authentication dialog (either native browser or at the AD FS website). Enter AD credentials and if the user had been properly imported into vCloud Director (as individual user or member of a group) you should be logged into vCloud Director UI.

Edit 11/24/2016: My faithful readers (thank you Julius) have provided additional links for federations with other IdP solutions:

SafeNet Authentication Service: Integration Guide

RSA SecureID: blog post