Tutorial: Microsoft Entra single sign-on (SSO) integration with Equinix Federation App

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to integrate Equinix Federation App with Microsoft Entra ID. When you integrate Equinix Federation App with Microsoft Entra ID, you can do the following:

  • Control in Microsoft Entra ID who has access to Equinix Federation App.
  • Enable your users to be automatically signed-in to Equinix Federation App with their Microsoft Entra accounts.
  • Manage your accounts in one central location.

Prerequisites

To get started, you need the following items:

  • A Microsoft Entra subscription. If you don't have a subscription, you can get a free account.
  • Equinix Federation App single sign-on (SSO) enabled subscription.

Scenario description

In this tutorial, you configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO in a test environment.

  • Equinix Federation App supports SP initiated SSO.

Note

Identifier of this application is a fixed string value so only one instance can be configured in one tenant.

To configure the integration of Equinix Federation App into Microsoft Entra ID, you need to add Equinix Federation App from the gallery to your list of managed SaaS apps.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.
  2. Browse to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications > New application.
  3. In the Add from the gallery section, type Equinix Federation App in the search box.
  4. Select Equinix Federation App from results panel and then add the app. Wait a few seconds while the app is added to your tenant.

Alternatively, you can also use the Enterprise App Configuration Wizard. In this wizard, you can add an application to your tenant, add users/groups to the app, assign roles, as well as walk through the SSO configuration as well. Learn more about Microsoft 365 wizards.

Configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO for Equinix Federation App

Configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO with Equinix Federation App using a test user called B.Simon. For SSO to work, you need to establish a link relationship between a Microsoft Entra user and the related user in Equinix Federation App.

To configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO with Equinix Federation App, perform the following steps:

  1. Configure Microsoft Entra SSO - to enable your users to use this feature.
    1. Create a Microsoft Entra test user - to test Microsoft Entra single sign-on with B.Simon.
    2. Assign the Microsoft Entra test user - to enable B.Simon to use Microsoft Entra single sign-on.
  2. Configure Equinix Federation App SSO - to configure the single sign-on settings on application side.
    1. Create Equinix Federation App test user - to have a counterpart of B.Simon in Equinix Federation App that is linked to the Microsoft Entra representation of user.
  3. Test SSO - to verify whether the configuration works.

Configure Microsoft Entra SSO

Follow these steps to enable Microsoft Entra SSO.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.

  2. Browse to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications > Equinix Federation App > Single sign-on.

  3. On the Select a single sign-on method page, select SAML.

  4. On the Set up single sign-on with SAML page, click the pencil icon for Basic SAML Configuration to edit the settings.

    Edit Basic SAML Configuration

  5. On the Basic SAML Configuration section, enter the values for the following fields:

    In the Sign on URL text box, type a URL using the following pattern: https://<customerprefix>customerportal.equinix.com

    Note

    The Sign on URL value is not real. Update the value with the actual Sign on URL. Contact Equinix Federation App Client support team to get the value. You can also refer to the patterns shown in the Basic SAML Configuration section.

  6. On the Set up single sign-on with SAML page, in the SAML Signing Certificate section, find Federation Metadata XML and select Download to download the certificate and save it on your computer.

    The Certificate download link

  7. On the Set up Equinix Federation App section, copy the appropriate URL(s) based on your requirement.

    Copy configuration URLs

Create a Microsoft Entra test user

In this section, you'll create a test user called B.Simon.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a User Administrator.
  2. Browse to Identity > Users > All users.
  3. Select New user > Create new user, at the top of the screen.
  4. In the User properties, follow these steps:
    1. In the Display name field, enter B.Simon.
    2. In the User principal name field, enter the username@companydomain.extension. For example, B.Simon@contoso.com.
    3. Select the Show password check box, and then write down the value that's displayed in the Password box.
    4. Select Review + create.
  5. Select Create.

Assign the Microsoft Entra test user

In this section, you'll enable B.Simon to use single sign-on by granting access to Equinix Federation App.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.
  2. Browse to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications > Equinix Federation App.
  3. In the app's overview page, select Users and groups.
  4. Select Add user/group, then select Users and groups in the Add Assignment dialog.
    1. In the Users and groups dialog, select B.Simon from the Users list, then click the Select button at the bottom of the screen.
    2. If you are expecting a role to be assigned to the users, you can select it from the Select a role dropdown. If no role has been set up for this app, you see "Default Access" role selected.
    3. In the Add Assignment dialog, click the Assign button.

Configure Equinix Federation App SSO

To configure Single Sign-On on Equinix Federation App side, please the follow the link.

Create Equinix Federation App test user

In this section, you create a user called Britta Simon in Equinix Federation App. Work with Equinix Federation App support team to add the users in the Equinix Federation App platform. Users must be created and activated before you use single sign-on.

Test SSO

In this section, you test your Microsoft Entra single sign-on configuration with following options.

Go to Equinix Federation App Sign-on URL directly, and initiate the login flow from there.

Note

If you attempt to test your Azure application by using the Test this application link or by clicking the Equinix Federation App tile, it will not work, as that is IdP-initiated SSO, which Equinix does not support by default. For more information about the My Apps, see Introduction to the My Apps.

Next steps

Once you configure Equinix Federation App you can enforce session control, which protects exfiltration and infiltration of your organization’s sensitive data in real time. Session control extends from Conditional Access. Learn how to enforce session control with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps.