Hyrax - Hyrax + Shibboleth

Overview

This document is intended to help those that have been asked to deploy Hyrax into an environment where authentication services are provided by an instance of Shibboleth.

Terms

Identity Provider (IdP)

Also known as an Identity Assertion Provider an Identity Provider (IdP) is a service that provides authentication and identity information services. An IdP is a kind of provider that creates, maintains, and manages identity information for principals and provides principal authentication to other service providers within a federation, such as with web browser profiles.

Service Provider (SP)

A Service Provider (SP) is a Web Service that utilizes an IdP service to determine the identity of it's users. Or more broadly, a role donned by a system entity where the system entity provides services to principals or other system entities.

With respect to this document Hyrax, Tomcat, and Apache all become part of an SP through the installation and configuration of the Apache httpd Shibboleth module (mod_shib).

See Service Providers, Identity Providers & Security Token Services explained for more.

Install and Configure Shibboleth

The Shibboleth wiki provides excellent documentation on how to get Shibboleth authentication services working with Tomcat. This is primarily an Apache httpd activity.

Basically you need to follow the instructions for a Native Java Install and remember - Hyrax does not use either Spring or Grails.

Installation

The logical starting point for this is with the Native Java SP Installation:

• https://wiki.shibboleth.net/confluence/display/SHIB2/NativeSPJavaInstall

But as far as the organization of the work is concerned it is really the last page you need to process, as it will send you off to do a platform dependent Shibboleth Native Service Provider for Apache installation which needs to be completed, working, and configured before you'll return to the Native Java SP Installation to enable the part where Tomcat and mod_shib pass authenticated user information into Tomcat.

The document path on the Natvie Java Install wiki page will send you off to do Shibboleth Native Service Provider installation which is platform dependent:

• https://wiki.shibboleth.net/confluence/display/SHIB2/Installation
  • Install a Native Service Provider on your target system.
  • In the initial testing section for Linux they suggest accessing the Status page https://localhost/Shibboleth.sso/Status, but you may have to use the loopback address to be able to do so: https://127.0.0.1/Shibboleth.sso/Status

Return to the Native Java SP Installation and complete the instructions there.

Configuration

Once the SP installation is completed go to the Native SP Configuration page:

• https://wiki.shibboleth.net/confluence/display/SHIB2/NativeSPConfiguration

Read that page and then follow the link to the instructions for Apache:

• https://wiki.shibboleth.net/confluence/display/SHIB2/NativeSPApacheConfig

Follow those instructions.

• Do not be confused by the section Making URLs Used by mod_shib Get Properly Routed. While you must add this Location directive to "reveal" the shibboleth module to the world don't think the URL https://yourhost/Shibboleth.sso is a valid access point to the module. That URL may always return a Shibboleth error page even if mod_shib and shibd are configured and working correctly.
• Read and understand the section Enabling the Module for Authentication

The Shibboleth instructions should have had you add something like this:

<Location /opendap>
  AuthType shibboleth
  ShibRequestSetting requireSession 1
  require valid-user
</Location>

to httpd.conf. This will require users to authenticate to access any part of Hyrax which may be exactly what you want. If you want more fine grained control you may want use multiple Location elements with different require attributes. For example:

<Location /opendap>
  AuthType shibboleth
  ShibCompatWith24 On
  require shibboleth
</Location>
<Location /opendap/AVHRR>
  AuthType shibboleth
  ShibCompatWith24 On
  ShibRequestSetting requireSession 1
  require valid-user
</Location>
</apache>

In this example the first Location establishes Shibboleth as the authentication tool for the entire /opendap application path, and enables the Shibboleth module over the entire Hyrax Server.

• Since there is no ShibRequestSetting requireSession 1 line it does not require a user to be logged in order to access the path.
• The require shibboleth command activates mod_shib for all of Hyrax.

The second Location states that only valid-users may have access "/opendap/AVHRR" URL path.

• The require valid-user command requires user authentication.
• The AuthType command is set to shibboleth so mod_shib will be called upon to perform the authentication.

For more examples and better understanding see the Apache Configuration section of the Shibboleth wiki.