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Learn SSO Terminology

The information presented in this topic refers to the self service Learn SSO feature. If you have a custom SSO built by the Oracle Learn Cloud Services team, and you are looking for assistance, please refer to any documentation they have provided.

This topic provides an overview of terminology you will need to understand for the Learn SSO feature.This terminology not new in general. You can find much more information about all of these terms on the Internet. We have provided some URLs pointing to sites that provide deeper documentation on these subjects. This additional reading is purely optional. Your IT (Information Technology) Department will have a good understanding of the concepts presented here.

SSO - Single Sign-On. Allows Users to sign on in one website or system and automatically be signed on in another website or system. For example, a User could sign on to your internal intranet site and then click a link to access the LearnCenter without having to sign in to LearnCenter as well. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_sign-on for a detailed description of Single Sign-On.
SAML - Security Assertion Markup Language. In order for an SSO to be secure, the system that receives login requests has to be able to verify the source of those requests to ensure they are valid. For example, the LearnCenter server has to verify that the request really is coming from your intranet server. SAML is a standard data format used for exchanging the data between the two parties in an SSO. If you are unfamiliar with the term SAML, you can find information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAML.
SAML Metadata - The metadata used to make SAML work. Additional reading can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAML_2.0#SAML_2.0_Metadata
IDP - Identity Provider. An IDP is the mechanism that validates Users trying to access a website using SSO. For example, when Users access LearnCenter from their company's Intranet site, an IDP verifies whether those Users have valid LearnCenter User accounts before allowing them access to LearnCenter. Additional reading can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_provider
SP - Service Provider. A company or entity that provides web services. In the case of Learn, your service provider supplies your LearnCenter URL. Additional information can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Provider
IdM - Identity Management. The information system or set of technologies that manages individual identities, their authentication, authorization, roles, and privileges within or across a system or enterprise.
Additional reading can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_management
Deep Linking - Use of a URL to access a searchable or indexed piece of content on a website without having to first access that information from the home page. For example, an email message could contain a URL to a particular page within LearnCenter. Clicking it can take you directly to the page if you have already signed in using SSO. Additional reading can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_linking

Deep linking is supported with end User and Supervisor information, as well as links within Communication Messages, Notices and Notifications. Deep linking to the Control Panel can be done if you are not using the Management password to control User access to the Control Panel.

Oracle Learn Cloud does not officially support Deep Linking into the Control Panel at this time because the Management Password which controls user access into the Control Panel is not supported in the SAML standards. Deep Linking to the Control Panel will currently work if you are not using a Management password for Control Panel access, but be aware that if issues are encountered with an unsupported Control Panel Deep Link, Support will not be able to assist you.

RelayState - A parameter used to support Deep Linking. When a User attempts to access a LearnCenter page by a deep link to a location other than the default home page, the Learn SSO passes to the identity provider the URL that the User is linking to through the Relay State parameter. The SAML relay state parameter is an optional configuration with most identity management systems, and is required to be implemented on the IDP for deep linking to be supported. In the relay state the URL passed from the LearnCenter (Service Provider) to the IDP must be returned to the LearnCenter in the Relay State parameter in the exact same format as it has been provided. See Deep Linking in the bullet point above for additional information.