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134 <h2>Shibboleth Target Deployment Guide</h2>
136 <p>Shibboleth Target Deployment Guide<br>
137 Shibboleth Version 1.2<br />
139 <h3>This version of the deploy guide is for Shibboleth v1.2. For documentation
140 related to prior versions of Shibboleth, please consult the appropriate branch
141 in the Shibboleth CVS.</h3>
142 <h3>The default configuration of Shibboleth is <b>not</b> secure and should not be
143 used for protection of production content. The example private key bundled with the
144 distribution is publically available, widely circulated, and well-known; also, the
145 default federation and trust metadata is for testing purposes only. For information
146 about securing a Shibboleth deployment, please refer to the production guide.
147 Shibboleth should only be used to protect sensitive content when deployed carefully
148 in conjunction with proper trust settings and policies.</h3>
150 <p>The Shibboleth target implementation has been substantially redesigned for this release. Most of the
151 configuration process has changed to accomodate more complex deployments but many of the defaults work
152 fine for testing and simpler applications. For a list of new features, please refer to the NEWS.txt
153 file in the doc/ folder of the distribution.</p>
155 <p>Before starting, please sign up for all applicable
156 <a href="http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/shib-misc.html#mailinglist">mailing
157 lists</a>. Announcements pertinent to Shibboleth deployments and developments
158 and resources for deployment assistance can be found here.</p>
159 <p>Please send any questions, concerns, or eventual confusion to
160 <a href="mailto:shibboleth-users@internet2.edu">shibboleth-users@internet2.edu</a>.
161 This should include, but not be limited to, questions about the documentation,
162 undocumented problems, installation or operational issues, and anything else
170 <h3><a name="TOC"></a>Shibboleth Target -- Table of Contents</h3>
173 <h4><a href="#1."><font color="black">Shibboleth Overview</font></a></h4>
175 <li><a href="#1.a."><font color="black">Origin</font></a></li>
176 <li><a href="#1.b."><font color="black">Target</font></a></li>
177 <li><a href="#1.c."><font color="black">WAYF</font></a></li>
178 <li><a href="#1.d."><font color="black">Federations</font></a></li>
179 <li><a href="#1.e."><font color="black">Relying Parties</font></a></li>
180 <li><a href="#1.f."><font color="black">Applications</font></a></li>
181 <li><a href="#1.g."><font color="black">Sessions</font></a></li>
185 <h4><a href="#2."><font color="black">Planning</font></a></h4>
187 <li><a href="#2.a."><font color="black">Requirements</font></a></li>
188 <li><a href="#2.b."><font color="black">Join a Federation</font></a></li>
189 <li><a href="#2.c."><font color="black">Security Considerations</font></a></li>
190 <li><a href="#2.d."><font color="black">Server Certificates</font></a></li>
191 <li><a href="#2.e."><font color="black">Attribute Release Policies</font></a></li>
192 <li><a href="#2.f."><font color="black">Attribute Acceptance Policies</font></a></li>
193 <li><a href="#2.g."><font color="black">Browser Requirements</font></a></li>
194 <li><a href="#2.h."><font color="black">Clocks</font></a></li>
195 <li><a href="#2.i."><font color="black">Other Considerations</font></a></li>
199 <h4><a href="#3."><font color="black">Installation</font></a></h4>
201 <li><a href="#3.a."><font color="black">Software Requirements</font></a></li>
202 <li><a href="#3.b."><font color="black">Deploy the Shibboleth Package</font></a></li>
203 <li><a href="#3.c."><font color="black">Configuring Apache 1.3.x</font></a></li>
204 <li><a href="#3.d."><font color="black">Configuring IIS</font></a></li>
205 <li><a href="#3.e."><font color="black">Running the SHAR on Windows</font></a></li>
209 <h4><a href="#4."><font color="black">Getting Running</font></a></h4>
211 <li><a href="#4.a."><font color="black">Configuring <span class="fixed">
212 shibboleth.xml</span></font></a></li>
213 <li><a href="#4.b."><font color="black">Dynamic Error Page Generation</font></a></li>
214 <li><a href="#4.c."><font color="black">Key Generation and Certificate
215 Installation</font></a></li>
216 <li><a href="#4.d."><font color="black">Protecting Web Pages</font></a></li>
217 <li><a href="#4.e."><font color="black">Defining Attributes and
218 Acceptance Policies</font></a></li>
219 <li><a href="#4.f."><font color="black">Using Attributes in Applications</font></a></li>
220 <li><a href="#4.g."><font color="black"><span class="fixed">siterefresh</span></font></a></li>
221 <li><a href="#4.h."><font color="black">MySQL Session Cache</font></a></li>
222 <li><a href="#4.i."><font color="black">Using Lazy Sessions</font></a></li>
226 <h4><a href="#5."><font color="black">Troubleshooting</font></a></h4>
228 <li><a href="#5.a."><font color="black">Basic Testing</font></a></li>
229 <li><a href="#5.b."><font color="black">Common Problems</font></a></li>
238 <h3><a name="1."></a>1. Shibboleth Overview</h3>
239 <p>Shibboleth is a system designed to exchange attributes across realms for the
240 primary purpose of authorization. It provides a secure framework for one
241 organization to transmit attributes about a web-browsing individual across
242 security domains to another institution. In the primary usage case, when a user
243 attempts to access a resource at a remote domain, the user's own home security
244 domain can send certain information about that user to the target site in a
245 trusted exchange. These attributes can then be used by the resource to help
246 determine whether to grant the user access to the resource. The user may have
247 the ability to decide whether to release specific attributes to certain sites by
248 specifying personal Attribute Release Policies (ARP's), effectively preserving
249 privacy while still granting access based on trusted information.</p>
250 <p>When a user first tries to access a resource protected by Shibboleth, they
251 are redirected to a service which asks the user to specify the organization from
252 which they want to authenticate. If the user has not yet locally authenticated
253 to a WebISO service, the user will then be redirected to their home
254 institution's authentication system. After the user authenticates, the
255 Shibboleth components at the local institution will generate a temporary
256 reference to the user, known as a handle, for the individual and send this to
257 the target site. The target site can then use the handle to ask for attributes
258 about this individual. Based on these attributes, the target can decide whether
259 or not to grant access to the resource. The user may then be allowed to access
260 the requested materials.</p>
261 <p>There are several controls on privacy in Shibboleth, and mechanisms are
262 provided to allow users to determine exactly which information about them is
263 released. A user's actual identity isn't necessary for many access control
264 decisions, so privacy often is needlessly compromised. Instead, the resource
265 often utilizes other attributes such as faculty member or member of a certain
266 class. While these are commonly determined using the identity of the user,
267 Shibboleth provides a way to mutually refer to the same principal without
268 revealing that principal's identity. Because the user is initially known to the
269 target site only by a randomly generated temporary handle, if sufficient, the
270 target site might know no more about the user than that the user is a member of
271 the origin organization. This handle should never be used to decide whether or
272 not to grant access, and is intended only as a temporary reference for
273 requesting attributes.</p>
274 <h4><a name="1.a."></a>1.a. Origin</h4>
276 <p>There are four primary components to the origin side in Shibboleth: the
277 Attribute Authority (AA), the Handle Service (HS), the directory service,
278 and the local sign-on system (SSO). The AA and HS are provided with
279 Shibboleth, and an open-source WebISO solution Pubcookie is also supplied;
280 the directory is provided by the origin site. Shibboleth is able to
281 interface with a directory exporting an LDAP interface or a SQL database
282 containing user attributes, and is designed such that programming interfaces
283 to other repositories should be readily implemented. Shibboleth relies on
284 standard web server mechanisms to trigger local authentication. A .htaccess
285 file can be easily used to trigger either the local WebISO system or the web
286 server's own Basic Auth mechanism, which will likely utilize an enterprise
287 authentication system, such as Kerberos.</p>
288 <p>From the origin site's point of view, the first contact will be the
289 redirection of a user to the handle service, which will then consult the SSO
290 system to determine whether the user has already been authenticated. If not,
291 then the browser user will be asked to authenticate, and then sent back to
292 the target URL with a handle bundled in an attribute assertion. Next, a
293 request from the Shibboleth Attribute Requester (SHAR) will arrive at the AA
294 which will include the previously mentioned handle. The AA then consults the
295 ARP's for the directory entry corresponding to the handle, queries the
296 directory for these attributes, and releases to the SHAR all attributes the
297 SHAR is entitled to know about that user.</p>
299 <h4><a name="1.b."></a>1.b. Target</h4>
301 <p>There are three primary components to the target side in Shibboleth: the
302 Shibboleth Indexical Reference Establisher (SHIRE), the Shibboleth Attribute
303 Requester (SHAR), and the resource manager (RM). An implementation of each
304 of these is included in the standard Shibboleth distribution. These
305 components are intended to run on the same web server.</p>
306 <p>From the target's point of view, a browser will hit the RM with a request
307 for a Shibboleth-protected resource. The RM then allows the SHIRE to step
308 in, which will use the WAYF to acquire the name of a handle service to ask
309 about the user. The handle service (HS) will then reply with a SAML
310 authentication assertion containing a handle, which the SHIRE then hands off
311 to the SHAR. The SHAR uses the handle and the supplied address of the
312 corresponding attribute authority (AA) to request all attributes it is
313 allowed to know about the handle. The SHAR performs some basic validation
314 and analysis based on attribute acceptance policies (AAP's). These
315 attributes are then handed off to the RM, which is responsible for using
316 these attributes to decide whether to grant access.</p>
318 <h4><a name="1.c."></a>1.c. Where are you from? (WAYF)</h4>
320 <p>The WAYF service can be either outsourced and operated by a federation or
321 deployed as part of the SHIRE. It is responsible for allowing a user to
322 associate themself with an institution of their specification, then
323 redirecting the user to the known address for the handle service of that
326 <h4><a name="1.d."></a>1.d. Federations</h4>
328 <p>A federation is one way to provide part of the underlying trust required
329 for function of the Shibboleth architecture. A federation in the context of
330 Shibboleth is a group of organizations(universities, corporations, content
331 providers, etc.) who agree to exchange attributes using the SAML/Shibboleth
332 protocols and abide by a common set of policies and practices. In so doing,
333 they must implicitly or explicitly agree to a common set of guidelines.
334 Joining a federation is not explicitly necessary for operation of
335 Shibboleth, but it dramatically expands the number of targets and origins
336 that can interact without defining bilateral agreements between all these
338 <p>A federation can be created in a variety of formats and trust models, but
339 to support Shibboleth, it must provide a certain set of services to
340 federation members. It needs to supply a registry to process applications to
341 the federation and distribute membership information to the origin and
342 target sites. This must include distribution of the PKI components necessary
343 for trust between origins and targets. There also needs to be a set of
344 agreements and best practices defined by the federation governing the
345 exchange, use, and population of attributes before and after transit, and
346 there should be a way to find information on local authentication and
347 authorization practices for federation members.</p>
349 <h4><a name="1.e."></a>1.e. Relying Parties</h4>
351 <p>Some aspects of both origin and target configuration can vary and be
352 expressed in terms of the "relying party". To an origin, a target
353 is a relying party, while targets consider origins to be relying
354 parties (it's a matter of perspective). Certificates, policies, and
355 other aspects of an interaction are specified on the basis of the relying
356 party, and may or may not vary between relying parties depending on the
357 deployment's needs.</p>
358 <p>Each origin and target is assigned a URI, a unique identifier to enable
359 control over configuration down to the level of an individual partner (a single
360 relying party). By convention, this is termed a "providerId". More
361 frequently, an entire federation will be viewed by an origin or target as a
362 single relying party to simplify management. An individual origin or target
363 with which this deployment exchanges information may sometimes be part of
364 multiple relying parties if there are multiple trust agreements
365 under which these transactions are performed. Care should be taken to avoid
366 conflicting or inconsistent configuration in such cases.</p>
368 <h4><a name="1.f."></a>1.f. Applications</h4>
370 <p>Shibboleth "applications" are the primary unit of target
371 configuration. Applications as viewed by the target implementation
372 are not necessarily defined by the same metrics as in other contexts. An
373 individual application represents a set of web resources that operates
374 using the same attribute handling and trust configuration and shares a common
375 <a href="#1.g.">session</a> with the browser user. As a user navigates between
376 resources on a server that cross an application boundary, a new session is
377 established, though user interaction may not be required. As a consequence of
378 the relationship between applications and sessions (which are tracked with
379 a cookie), an application usually does not span more than one virtual host.
380 Apart from cookie-based constraints, web resources can be aggregated into
381 applications in arbitrary ways.</p>
382 <p>A single target deployment may support a large number of applications,
383 but it need not register or publish information about each one with the
384 origins it accepts information from. Instead it can communicate using a
385 more limited set of distinct "providerId" values (often just a
386 single one). This allows targets with a complex internal configuration
387 to be treated as a single entity by origins for the purposes of attribute
390 <h4><a name="1.g."></a>1.g. Sessions</h4>
392 <p>Much of the target implementation is concerned with establishing, and
393 subsequently maintaining, sessions with the browser user on behalf of the
394 <a href="#1.f.">applications</a> at the target. A session consists of a
395 cookie passed between the browser and web server, associated with a
396 security context. The context contains the user's authentication information,
397 and generally a set of attributes that make up the user's identity. Each
398 application maintains distinct sessions with the browser by means of separate
399 cookies. It is important to note that all such sessions are independent and
400 distinct: any session can exist with or without any other session, and the
401 expiration of any one session does not imply the expiration of any other
402 session. Shibboleth also does not support any logout functionality beyond the
403 termination of individual application sessions by deletion of respective
404 cookies; also, there is no way for the target to cause origin-side sessions,
405 such as a user's SSO login, to expire.</p>
406 <p>A browser user accessing a Shibboleth-protected resource may have two
407 outcomes: standard session establishment, and lazy session
408 establishment. The standard session establishment mechanism in which
409 Shibboleth protects the resource in all circumstances results in the
410 establishment of a cookie-based browser session and a set of attributes
411 cached for that application. Shibboleth 1.2 also supports so-called lazy
412 session establishment, in which the resource may be accessed without prior
413 authentication. This means the application must be intelligent enough to
414 determine whether authentication is necessary, and then construct the proper URL
415 to initiate a browser redirect to request authentication; if the
416 application determines none is necessary or uses other authorization
417 mechanisms, then the request for authentication may not need to be triggered.
418 This complex functionality is mostly useful to protect a single URL with
419 different access mechanisms, or to require authenticated access only in
420 instances where the application deems it necessary.</p>
421 <p>Independently of this, a web-based application protected by Shibboleth
422 may have a need to establish its own session with the user. This session
423 may persist well beyond the Shibboleth session, and logouts from this
424 session, if supported, will not terminate a Shibboleth session initiated to
425 access the resource. Application administrators should carefully evaluate
426 the expiration of all sessions to limit vulnerability to attacks or user
427 negligence. Logging out of the entire desktop session is usually the
428 only (relatively) foolproof logout mechanism on the web.</p>
431 <h3><a name="2."></a>2. Planning</h3>
432 <p>There are several essential elements that must be present in the environment
433 to ensure Shibboleth functions well, both political and technical. Shibboleth
434 currently runs on a specific range of platforms and web server environments. The
435 SHAR and SHIRE are implemented entirely in C/C++. These are the recommendations
436 and requirements for a successful implementation of a Shibboleth target.</p>
437 <h4><a name="2.a."></a>2.a. Requirements</h4>
439 <p>Shibboleth currently supports Windows NT/2000/XP/2003, Linux, and
440 Solaris. At present, Shibboleth consists of Apache (or IIS) plugins and a
441 separate SHAR process. The plugins use the Sun/ONC RPC mechanism to communicate
442 with the SHAR over Unix domain or TCP sockets. The target's web servers must
443 be running <a href="http://http://www.apache.org/dist/httpd/">Apache</a>
444 1.3+, 2.0+, or Microsoft IIS 4.0+ More precise technical
445 details are discussed in <a href="#3.a.">3.a</a>.</p>
447 <h4><a name="2.b."></a>2.b. Join a Federation</h4>
449 <p>While it is not necessary for a target or origin to join a federation,
450 doing so greatly facilitates the implementation of multilateral trust
451 relationships. Each federation will have a different application process.</p>
452 <p>For more information on federations, refer to <a href="#1.d.">1.d</a> or
453 the Shibboleth v1.0 architectural document.</p>
454 <p>For testing in a private environment, Shibboleth comes with a default
455 configuration that demonstrates how to implement a local peered agreement
456 and supports testing both origin and target on the same box using localhost
457 URLs. The sample key and certificate is for ease of testing only, and should
458 always be replaced for real world use.</p>
460 <h4><a name="2.c."></a>2.c. Security Considerations</h4>
462 <p>Shibboleth's protocols and software have been extensively engineered to
463 provide protection against many attacks. However, the most secure protocol
464 can be compromised if it is placed in an insecure environment. To ensure
465 Shibboleth is as secure as possible, there are several recommended security
466 precautions which should be in place at local sites.</p>
468 <li>SSL use is optional for target sites, but should be used if at all
469 possible, at least in the processing of incoming sessions (called the
470 SHIRE URL or assertion consumer service). Federation guidelines should
471 be considered when determining whether to implement SSL, and, in
472 general, SSL should be used for interactions with client machines to
473 provide the necessary authentication and encryption to ensure protection
474 from man-in-the-middle attacks. It is strongly suggested that all
475 password traffic or similarly sensitive data should be SSL-protected.
476 Assessment of the risk tradeoff against possible performance degradation
477 should be performed for all applications.</li>
478 <li>Many other attacks can be made on the several redirection steps that
479 Shibboleth takes to complete attribute transfer. The best protection
480 against this is safeguarding the WAYF service and ensuring that rogue
481 targets and origins are not used, generally by development of the trust
482 model underneath Shibboleth. Shibboleth also leverages DNS for security,
483 which is not uncommon, but attacks concerning domain name lookups
484 should be considered.</li>
485 <li>Information regarding origin users is generally provided by the
486 authoritative enterprise directory, and the acceptance of requests from
487 target applications can be carefully restricted to ensure that all
488 requests the SHAR performs are authorized and all information the origin
489 provides is accurate. Proper security measures should also be in place
490 on directory access and population(see
491 <a href="http://www.georgetown.edu/giia/internet2/ldap-recipe/#AccessControl">
492 Access Control</a> in the
493 <a href="http://www.georgetown.edu/giia/internet2/ldap-recipe/">LDAP
494 recipe</a> for more information). Use of plaintext passwords is strongly
495 advised against.</li>
496 <li>Server platforms should be properly secured, commensurate with the
497 level that would be expected for an organization's other security
498 services, and cookie stores on client machines should be well protected.</li>
501 <h4><a name="2.d."></a>2.d. Server Certs</h4>
503 <p>In the Shibboleth architecture, the origin and target software must all have
504 various client and/or server certificates for use in signing assertions and
505 creating SSL connections These should be issued by a commonly accepted CA,
506 which may be stipulated by your federation. After understanding the CA's
507 acceptible to your federations, consult chapter <a href="#4.c.">4.c</a> for
508 information on certificate and key generation.</p>
510 <h4><a name="2.e."></a>2.e. Attribute Release Policies</h4>
512 <p>The Attribute Authority maintains a set of policies called Attribute
513 Release Policies (or ARP's) that govern the sharing of user attributes with
514 Shibboleth target sites. When a user attempts to access a
515 Shibboleth-protected resource, that resource's SHAR queries the user's AA
516 for all attributes to which it is entitled. The SHAR provides its own name
517 and the URI of the requesting application. The
518 AA finds the attributes associated with the browser user, determines an
519 "Effective ARP" for this user, and then sends to the SHAR only the
520 attribute-value pairs allowed in this policy.</p>
521 <p>An ARP may be thought of as a sort of filter for outbound attributes; it
522 cannot create attributes or data that aren't originally present, but it can
523 limit the attributes released and the values those attributes may have when
524 released. It does not change the information in the data sources in any way.</p>
525 <p>Each ARP is comprised of one or more rules that specify which attributes
526 and values may be released to a given application and that SHAR. The
527 assignment of rules to various targets is quite flexible and includes
528 mechanisms for specifying: that a rule should affect all targets (default
529 rule), exact SHAR names for which a rule is applicable, regular expressions
530 against which SHAR names should be matched to determine if a rule is
531 applicable, and individual applications that may span hosts and URL's as
533 <p>For each request, an Effective ARP is determined by locating all ARP's
534 applicable to the designated user and extracting each rule that matches the
535 querying SHAR and resource. Attributes and values that are specified for
536 release are included in the effective ARP, while those specified for denial
537 are blocked from release. See section <a href="#5.b.i.">5.b.i</a> for
538 details on how ARP's are processed.</p>
539 <p>Various ARP's may be combined in forming the Effective ARP. For instance,
540 the Site ARP is administratively maintained and applies to all users for
541 which the AA is answerable. User ARP's apply to a specific user only, and
542 can be maintained either administratively or by the users themselves. All
543 ARP's are specified using the same syntax and semantics.</p>
545 <h4><a name="2.f."></a>2.f. Attribute Acceptance Policies</h4>
547 <p>When a target receives a set of attributes, it must evaluate them in the
548 context of the Attribute Authority that is providing them, to assess their
549 "reasonableness". For example, if the value of an attribute is expected to
550 be from a small set of enumerated choices, the value should be compared
551 against that list. If a particular attribute or value is only trusted when
552 asserted by specific origins, that too should be checked.</p>
553 <p>Targets are configured to accept specific attributes that they understand
554 and care about, and are also configured with the rules to apply before
555 accepting the attributes for use by the RM or an application. Attributes and
556 values that don't meet the target's requirements are filtered out. The set
557 of configuration rules to make these decisions is called an Attribute
558 Acceptance Policy (AAP).</p>
560 <h4><a name="2.g."></a>2.g. Browser Requirements</h4>
562 <p>A primary Shibboleth design consideration was to require very little or
563 no modification to client machines. The only requirement is that a browser
564 is used which supports cookies, redirection and SSL. Browser users will have
565 to perform an additional click to submit the authentication assertion if
566 JavaScript is not functional.</p>
568 <h4><a name="2.h."></a>2.h. Clocks</h4>
570 <p><a href="http://www.ntp.org/">NTP</a> should be run on all
571 web servers. Shibboleth employs a short assertion acceptance window to protect
572 against replay attacks. Because of this, any significant degree of clock
573 skew can hinder the ability of users to access sites successfully.</p>
575 <h4><a name="2.h."></a>2.i. Other Considerations</h4>
577 <p>Especially for higher education, there are a handful of laws enacted
578 which may have important ramifications on the disclosure of personal
579 information and attributes. Since Shibboleth does not necessarily need to
580 transmit identity, it is an ideal solution for many higher education
581 situations. Nevertheless, all parties within the United States of America
582 are strongly advised to consult the
583 <a href="http://www.ed.gov/offices/OM/fpco/ferpa/">Family Educational Rights
584 and Privacy Act of 1974(FERPA)</a>, and all other relevant state and federal
585 legislation before deploying Shibboleth.</p>
588 <h3><a name="3."></a>3. Installation</h3>
589 <h4><a name="3.a."></a>3.a. Software Requirements</h4>
590 <p>The Shibboleth project makes binary packages available only for Windows,
591 that are precompiled against recent releases of various required libraries such
592 as OpenSSL. Binaries for other platforms may be available on a limited or ad hoc
593 basis. It is highly advisable to build from source when using Shibboleth in
594 a production environment in order to permit patching or updating of packages as
595 security holes and bugs are fixed. Building from source is necessary to give you
596 complete control over your deployment platform. The binary packages represent a
597 snapshot in time only. To build from source, see the <span class="fixed">
598 INSTALL.txt</span> files in the doc folder of the OpenSAML and Shibboleth source
600 <p>The software requirements listed correspond to the binary distribution. In
601 general, source builds should work against all recent versions of the operating
602 systems and software dependencies listed below. For specific questions, inquire
603 to the support mailing list, or give it a try. Note that OpenSSL releases
604 frequent security updates; the version listed may not be the most current, but
605 most minor "letter" updates should be usable.</p>
607 <p><b>General Requirements and Notes:</b></p>
609 <li><a href="http://www.apache.org/dist/httpd/">Apache 1.3.x</a>
611 <p>Apache 1.3.x must be compiled with mod_so for DSO module support, and
612 should include SSL support (preferably using <span class="fixed">mod_ssl</span>),
613 and EAPI support (which <span class="fixed">mod_ssl</span> requires and provides).</p>
614 <p><b>Portions of the <span class="fixed">libphp4</span> Apache
615 module are written in C++, as is Shibboleth. There is a known conflict on Unix
616 platforms between the PHP extensions <span class="fixed">libpspell.so</span>
617 and <span class="fixed">libsablot.so</span> which will manifest
618 itself as segmentation faults when starting Apache. If a site wants
619 to use <span class="fixed">libphp4.so</span> and Shibboleth at the same time,
620 then one of the following may be done:</b></p>
622 <li>Remove the options <span class="fixed">--with-pspell</span>
623 and <span class="fixed">--with-xslt-sablot</span> from PHP's
625 <li>Rebuild these two modules using the same version of GCC that
626 was used to compile Shibboleth.</li>
630 <li><a href="http://www.apache.org/dist/httpd/">Apache 2.0.x</a>
632 <p>Apache 2.0.x must be compiled with mod_so for DSO module support, and
633 should include SSL support which is available but not included by default.
634 See also the note about PHP above.</p>
639 <p>When installing under Windows 2003, if the server is not in a
640 domain before installing IIS 6, there may be issues surrounding
641 permissions on directories because of new restrictions on IIS
642 extensions accessing files.</p>
645 <li><a href="http://www.openssl.org">OpenSSL</a>
647 <p>Verions 0.9.6 and 0.9.7 are both supported, but 0.9.7 should be used
648 if possible, as support for 0.9.6 may be dropped in a future release.
649 Support for threads and shared libraries <b>must</b> be included during
650 configuration using the <i>threads</i> and <i>shared</i> options.</p>
654 <p>Most other required libraries are either easy to update or not found on
655 typical systems. See the <span class="fixed">INSTALL.txt</span> files in the
656 OpenSAML and Shibboleth source distributions for specific requirements of a
657 given release. The important requirements are for pthreads support and
658 shared libraries on Unix platforms. Without both, building will be hard and
659 stability unlikely.</p>
660 <p><b>Operating System Specific Notes:</b></p>
662 <li>Windows NT/2000/XP/2003
665 <p>Any Apache modules used, and Apache itself, must be compiled
666 with the Microsoft DLL-based runtime, selected by compiling with
667 the /MD switch. The binary distribution was built against Apache
668 versions 1.3.29 (with EAPI patches from mod_ssl 2.8.16) and 2.0.48.
669 Forward compatibility is likely, but errors will result if an
670 Apache implementation such as IBM's IHS product or any other
671 non-EAPI version of 1.3 is used. In such cases, you must build
672 the Shibboleth Apache modules from source.</p>
675 <p>The installer will prompt for an install path, change default
676 configuration files as appropriate for Windows, and set various
677 environment variables for you. A default SHAR service can also
678 be installed, or you can install it manually using the
679 instructions in this guide.</p>
680 <p>Note that debug/symbol versions of the libraries and software
681 are included, and may be used by appending "debug" to the
682 Shibboleth library path and using the corresponding modules and
683 binaries. If you do so, be aware that Apache and other modules
684 must also be compiled with Microsoft's debug runtime (via the /MDd
685 compiler option). In most cases, you can safely ignore or even
686 delete the debug versions.</p>
690 <li>RedHat Linux 7.2,7.3:
693 <p>The most recent Red Hat RPM for Apache (1.3.27-2 as of this writing) is sufficient for
694 use with Shibboleth. You can use the older version of OpenSSL included with the OS, for this
695 release, but be advised this may change in the future.</p>
698 <p>The version of GCC that comes with this system is too old to build Shibboleth.
699 Special update RPMs are available for GCC 3.04 that will work provided you
700 configure packages with CC and CXX set to gcc3 and g++3 respectively. Newer
701 GCC versions also work but may require a glibc upgrade and necessitate a lot
702 of unrelated package updates.</p>
706 <li>RedHat Linux 9 / Fedora
709 <p>Apache 2.0 is included as the default Apache version in this release.</p>
713 <li>RedHat Enterprise Linux
716 <p>Apache 2.0 is included as the default Apache version in this release.</p>
723 <p>Shibboleth requires that Apache and Apache-SSL be built with
724 <span class="fixed">libpthread</span>, or loading the
725 <span class="fixed">mod_shib_13</span> or <span class="fixed">mod_shib_20</span>
726 modules will cause Apache to fail. While RedHat's Apache is compatible,
727 Debian's Apache must be rebuilt with <span class="fixed">libpthread</span>:</p>
729 <p><span class="fixed">$ export LDFLAGS=-lpthread<br>
730 $ apt-build --rebuild --reinstall install \<br>
731 apache-common apache apache-ssl</span></p>
739 <p>The shared library version of OpenSSL is required by
740 Shibboleth. The static libraries may be installed as well if
741 necessary for other applications, but cannot be linked into
742 mod_ssl or any other Apache modules. If mod_ssl's libssl.so
743 module is linked against the static version, bus errors will
745 <p>To check how mod_ssl was built, run the <span class="fixed">
746 ldd</span> command against <span class="fixed">libssl.so</span>
747 in the Apache <span class="fixed">libexec/</span> folder and
748 check the output for references to <span class="fixed">
749 libssl.so.0.9.7</span>. If you see an earlier version
750 mentioned, or no mention of it at all, then OpenSSL 0.9.7 must be
751 built with shared libraries from source, and the Apache module rebuilt with it.</p>
752 <p>openssl-0.9.7d, the latest security fix release, has been tested,
753 but any 0.9.7 version should work.</p>
756 <p>Solaris does not come with GCC 3, but various versions can be obtained
757 from <a href="http://www.sunfreeware.com">http://www.sunfreeware.com</a>.
758 If building your own, GCC must be configured to use Sun's linker. Note that
759 you should use a consistent version of GCC across any other C++ libraries
760 in use within Apache, but other C++ code on your server can freely use a
761 different version as long as the necessary <span class="fixed">libstdc++.so</span>
762 for a given version is available</p>
765 <p>Use of GCC is recommended, but new releases of Sun's Forte compiler have
766 been used successfully with some tinkering with configuration scripts.</p>
772 <h4><a name="3.b."></a>3.b. Deploy the Shibboleth Package</h4>
774 <p>For the sake of clarity, this deployment guide assumes that standard
775 directories are used for all installations. These directories may be changed
776 for local implementations, but must be done so consistently.</p>
777 <p>On Unix, the build documentation suggests building into
778 <span class="fixed">/opt/shibboleth</span>. If you use a different layout or
779 location, most of the essential configuration files will be tweaked for you,
780 but watch for any exceptions.</p>
781 <p>On Windows, use of the installer is recommended. Visual Studio 6.0
782 project files are included with the OpenSAML and Shibboleth source
783 distributions for source builds if maximum flexibility to deal with
784 security issues or Apache variants is desired.</p>
786 <h4><a name="3.c."></a>3.c. Configure Apache</h4>
789 <li>Shibboleth includes configuration directives in the files
790 <span class="fixed">/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/apache.config</span>
791 and <span class="fixed">/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/apache2.config</span>
792 which must be added to the <span class="fixed">httpd.conf</span> file used
793 locally. It is recommended that these directives simply be added to the end of the
794 existing <span class="fixed">httpd.conf</span> file rather than trying
795 to merge it in-line; <a href="#3.c.2.">step 2</a> describes the
796 necessary modifications to the Apache startup script. The default
797 configuration will often work, but if customization is necessary, these
798 options may be modified:<dl>
799 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">LoadModule <module> <pathname></span></dd>
800 <dd class="value">Specifies the name and location of the module,
801 installed by default at <span class="fixed">/opt/shibboleth/libexec/mod_shib_13.so</span>
802 or <span class="fixed">/opt/shibboleth/libexec/mod_shib_20.so</span></dd>
804 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">ShibConfig <pathname></span></dd>
805 <dd class="value">Specifies the <span class="fixed">pathname</span>
806 of the Shibboleth configuration file. Defaults to <span class="fixed">
807 /opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/shibboleth.xml</span>.</dd>
809 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">ShibSchemaDir <path></span></dd>
810 <dd class="value">Specifies the <span class="fixed">path</span>
811 of the Shibboleth schema folder. Defaults to <span class="fixed">
812 /opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth</span>.</dd>
814 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed"><Location <i>url</i>><br>
815 SetHandler <method><br>
816 </Location></span></dd>
817 <dd class="value"><p>(Apache 1.3 only) Specifies the relative <span class="fixed">path</span>
818 and the <span class="fixed">handler</span> the target uses to process
819 incoming sessions and lazy session startup for Shibboleth-protected
820 resources. This works in concert with the <span class="fixed">shireURL</span>
821 settings in the XML configuration file. Any virtual locations that are to be
822 used for this purpose should be defined to Apache here.</p>
823 <p>Another option for some sites is to configure Shibboleth globally in
824 "lazy" session mode for all content. This allows the module to
825 detect session requests and pass them to the handler without the need to
826 configure the handler itself.</p>
830 <li>If the OpenSSL libraries are not in the system's search path, they
831 should be added to the <span class="fixed">LD_LIBRARY_PATH</span> used by
832 Apache. You will also usually need to add <span class="fixed">/opt/shibboleth/lib</span>
833 to <span class="fixed">LD_LIBRARY_PATH</span> as well.</li>
834 <li>The SHAR must be started along with Apache. Among other methods on
835 Unix, this can be done either by creating a separate SHAR startup script
836 or by modifying Apache's RC script to start/stop the <span class="fixed">
837 SHAR</span> <b>before</b> <span class="fixed">httpd</span>. It is
838 suggested that Apache's script be modified by adding:<blockquote>
839 <p><span class="fixed">/opt/shibboleth/bin/shar -f &</span> </p>
841 <p>In most cases, the build process insures that the SHAR can locate
842 the configuration file and schemas, but the SHIBCONFIG and SHIBSCHEMAS
843 environment variables may be used as well. Command line options can also
844 be used to specify them.</p>
845 <p>On Windows, the SHAR is a service and is managed separately.</li>
846 <li>By default, the Shibboleth modules are configured to log information
847 on behalf of Apache to the file <span class="fixed">
848 /opt/shibboleth/var/log/shibboleth/shire.log</span>, though this can be
849 changed by modifying the <span class="fixed">.logger</span> files
850 pointed to by <a href="#4.a.">configuration elements</a>. For this log
851 to be created, Apache must have permission to write to this file, which
852 may require that the file be manually created and permissions assigned
853 to whatever user Apache is configured to run under. If the file does not
854 appear when Apache runs with the modules loaded, check for permission
856 <li>The options in <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span> must be
857 configured as documented in <a href="#4.a.">4.a</a>. Apache content may
858 then need to be modified for Shibboleth authentication. This is
859 discussed in <a href="#4.d.">4.d</a>. It is recommended that the target
860 then be tested as detailed in section <a href="#5.a.">5.a</a>.</li>
863 <h4><a name="3.d."></a>3.d. Configure Microsoft IIS</h4>
866 <li>The package includes an ISAPI filter and bundled extension for
867 session startup in a single library, <span class="fixed">libexec\isapi_shib.dll</span>.
868 This filter is configured using commands in <span class="fixed">
869 C:\opt\shibboleth\etc\shibboleth\shibboleth.xml</span> (or wherever you've
870 installed the software). Make sure you or the installer has added the lib
871 directory to the path as directed in <a href="#3.b.">section 3.b.</a>
872 You will generally need to restart the system after installation.
873 <p>Installing the extension into IIS is a two step process:
875 <li type="a">First, add the filter using the Internet Services
876 Manager MMC console. Right click on the machine icon on the left,
877 and edit the WWW Service master properties. On the "ISAPI Filters"
878 tab, add a new filter called Shibboleth and specify the DLL named
879 above. The priority should be High, and once the filter is loaded,
880 make sure it appears in the list <b>below</b> the "sspifilt" entry.
881 Restart IIS and make sure the filter shows up with a green arrow.
882 Check the Windows event log if it fails to load.</li>
883 <li type="a">Secondly, map a special, distinct file extension, such as
884 <span class="fixed">.shire</span>, to the ISAPI library so that
885 virtual URLs can be specified to invoke the extension handler for each
886 web site. Right click on the machine icon on the left, and edit the
887 WWW Service master properties. On the "Home Directory" tab, add a
888 script mapping using the "Configuration" button. The "Executable"
889 box should point to <span class="fixed">isapi_shib.dll</span>, and the
890 "Extension" can be set to anything unlikely to conflict, but
891 <span class="fixed">.shire</span> is assumed (and the dot must be
892 included). You should NOT select the option to limit verbs, and
893 you MUST uncheck the "Check that file exists" box. On newer
894 versions of IIS, checking the "Script Engine" box is suggested,
895 as it will permit the extension to handle requests in directories with only
896 script permissions assigned.</li>
897 <li type="a"><font color="#444499">(IIS 6 Only)</font> A new Web
898 Service Extension must be defined for Shibboleth; without this, the
899 mapping from <span class="fixed">*.shire</span> to <span
900 class="fixed">isapi_shib.dll</span> won't occur and a file error
901 will appear Add this extension with an arbitrary name and associate
902 it with <span class="fixed">isapi_shib.dll</span>.</li>
905 <li>All other aspects of configuration are handled via the
906 <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span> file and associated XML
907 files described in subsequent sections. Particular use is made of
908 the <span class="fixed">/SHIRE/Implementation/ISAPI</span> element that allows
909 IIS sites to be mapped to scheme, hostname, and port for proper request
910 mapping and generation of redirects.</li>
911 <li>Instance IDs are used in the IIS metabase to identify web sites. In older versions,
912 they are applied starting with 1(one) and number the web sites in order in the
913 Internet Services Manager from top to bottom. Newer versions appear to assign
914 some IID values with strange ASCII formulas applied to the site name. A simple
915 ASP or CGI script can be run within a site to dump the INSTANCE_ID header.</li>
916 <li>See the following section for information on running the SHAR
917 service on Windows.</li>
918 <li>The options in <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span> must be
919 configured as documented in <a href="#4.a.">4.a</a>. It is recommended
920 that the target then be tested as detailed in section <a href="#5.a.">5.a</a>.</li>
923 <h4><a name="3.e."></a>3.e. Running the SHAR on Windows</h4>
925 <p>The SHAR is a console application that is primarily designed to be
926 installed as a Windows service. To run the process in console mode for
927 testing or to diagnose major problems, the <span class="fixed">-console</span>
928 parameter is used. Otherwise, parameters are used to install (or remove) the SHAR from the
929 service database and subsequent control is via the Service Control Manager
930 applet. The following command line parameters can be used:</p>
932 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">-console</span></dd>
933 <dd class="value">Allows the process to be started from a command
934 prompt. Since the console will exit if the desktop user logs out, this
935 is not suitable for production use, but may be useful for testing.</dd>
936 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">-check</span></dd>
937 <dd class="value">Validates the general correctness of the configuration.
938 Not all problems can be detected this way, but the chance of successful startup
939 is high if the checking process does not log any errors.</dd>
940 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">-config <pathname></span> </dd>
941 <dd class="value">Specifies the pathname of the SHAR's configuration
942 file. Defaults to <span class="fixed">\opt\shibboleth\etc\shibboleth\shibboleth.xml</span>
943 or the value of the <span class="fixed">SHIBCONFIG</span> environment
944 variable, if it is set.</dd>
945 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">-schemadir <path></span> </dd>
946 <dd class="value">Specifies the path to the XML schema files. Defaults to
947 <span class="fixed">\opt\shibboleth\etc\shibboleth</span> or the value of the
948 <span class="fixed">SHIBSCHEMAS</span> environment variable, if it is set.</dd>
949 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">-install <servicename></span></dd>
950 <dd class="value">Installs the SHAR as a named service in the Windows
951 service database. A name should be provided if multiple instances of the
952 SHAR need to be run on different ports, and thus installed separately.
953 The <span class="fixed">-config</span> option can be provided to include
954 a specific configuration file on the service's command line.</dd>
955 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">-remove <servicename></span></dd>
956 <dd class="value">Removes the named service instance of the SHAR from
957 the Windows service database.</dd>
963 <h3><a name="4."></a>4. Getting Running</h3>
964 <h4><a name="4.a."></a>4.a. Configuring <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span></h4>
966 <p>The configuration for the target is mostly contained within <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span>,
967 located by default at <span class="fixed">\opt\shibboleth\etc\shibboleth\shibboleth.xml</span>.
968 The target comes pre-configured with certificates and settings that will work against a test origin
969 running on the same server; however, there are several values that must later be changed to interoperate
970 with other sites securely and effectively.</p>
971 <p>The following is a hyperlinked version of a basic configuration file, followed by a list of elements
972 and attributes that must be modified. The actual example shipped with Shibboleth includes many more options
973 that are commented out and other elements necessary to support test functionality.
974 Click on any attribute or element for more information on its population and definition.</p>
977 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confShibbolethTargetConfig"><ShibbolethTargetConfig xmlns="urn:mace:shibboleth:target:config:1.0"
978 logger="/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/shibboleth.logger" clockSkew="180"></a>
980 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confExtensions"><Extensions></a>
981 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confLibrary"><Library path="/opt/shibboleth/libexec/xmlproviders.so" fatal="true"/></a>
982 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confExtensions"></Extensions></a>
984 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confSHAR"><SHAR logger="/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/shar.logger"></a>
986 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confExtensions"><Extensions></a>
987 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confLibrary"><Library path="/opt/shibboleth/libexec/shib-mysql-ccache.so" fatal="false"/></a>
988 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confExtensions"></Extensions></a>
990 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confUnixListener"><UnixListener address="/tmp/shar-socket"/></a>
992 <!-- Primarily for Windows Deployments:
993 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confTCPListener"><TCPListener address="127.0.0.1" port="12345" acl="127.0.0.1"/></a>
997 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confMemorySessionCache"><MemorySessionCache cleanupInterval="300" cacheTimeout="3600" AATimeout="30" AAConnectTimeout="15"
998 defaultLifetime="1800" retryInterval="300" strictValidity="true" propagateErrors="true"/></a>
1001 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confMySQLSessionCache"><MySQLSessionCache cleanupInterval="300" cacheTimeout="3600" AATimeout="30" AAConnectTimeout="15"
1002 defaultLifetime="1800" retryInterval="300" strictValidity="true" propagateErrors="true"
1003 mysqlTimeout="14400"></a>
1004 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confArgument"><Argument>--language=/opt/shibboleth/share/english</Argument></a>
1005 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confArgument"><Argument>datadir=/opt/shibboleth/data</Argument></a>
1006 </MySQLSessionCache>
1008 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confSHAR"></SHAR></a>
1010 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confSHIRE"><SHIRE logger="/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/shire.logger"></a>
1012 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confRequestMapProvider"><RequestMapProvider type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.target.provider.XMLRequestMap"></a>
1013 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confRequestMap"><RequestMap applicationId="default"></a>
1014 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confHost"><Host name="localhost" scheme="https"></a>
1015 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confPath"><Path name="secure" requireSession="true" exportAssertion="true">
1016 <!-- Example shows a subfolder on the SSL port assigned to a separate <Application> -->
1017 <Path name="admin" applicationId="foo-admin"/>
1019 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confHost"></Host></a>
1020 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confHost"><Host name="localhost" scheme="http"></a>
1021 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confPath"><Path name="secure" requireSession="true" exportAssertion="true"/></a>
1022 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confHost"></Host></a>
1023 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confRequestMap"></RequestMap></a>
1024 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confRequestMapProvider"></RequestMapProvider></a>
1027 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confImplementation"><Implementation></a>
1028 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confISAPI"><ISAPI normalizeRequest="true"></a>
1029 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confSite"><Site id="1" scheme="https" host="localhost" port="443"/></a>
1030 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confISAPI"></ISAPI></a>
1031 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confImplementation"></Implementation></a>
1033 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confSHIRE"></SHIRE></a>
1035 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confApplications"><Applications xmlns:saml="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.0:assertion"
1036 applicationId="default" providerId="https://example.org/shibboleth/target"
1037 signRequest="false" signedResponse="false" signedAssertions="false"></a>
1039 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confSessions"><Sessions lifetime="7200" timeout="3600" checkAddress="true"
1040 shireURL="/Shibboleth.shire" shireSSL="false" cookieName="_shibsession_default" cookieProps="; path=/"
1041 wayfURL="https://wayf.internet2.edu/InQueue/WAYF"></a>
1043 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confErrors"><Errors shire="/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/shireError.html"
1044 rm="/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/rmError.html"
1045 access="/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/accessError.html"
1046 supportContact="root@localhost"
1047 logoLocation="/shibtarget/logo.jpg"
1048 styleSheet="/shibtarget/main.css"/></a>
1050 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCredentialUse"><CredentialUse TLS="defcreds" Signing="defcreds"></a>
1051 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confRelyingParty"><RelyingParty Name="urn:mace:inqueue" TLS="inqueuecreds" Signing="inqueuecreds"/></a>
1052 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCredentialUse"></CredentialUse></a>
1055 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confAttributeDesignator"><AttributeDesignator AttributeName="urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonScopedAffiliation"
1056 AttributeNamespace="urn:mace:shibboleth:1.0:attributeNamespace:uri"/></a>
1059 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confAAPProvider"><AAPProvider type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.target.provider.XMLAAP"
1060 uri="/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/AAP.xml"/></a>
1062 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confFederationProvider"><FederationProvider type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.common.provider.XMLMetadata"
1063 uri="/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/sites.xml"/></a>
1065 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confTrustProvider"><TrustProvider type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.common.provider.XMLTrust"
1066 uri="/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/trust.xml"/></a>
1069 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confRevocationProvider"><RevocationProvider type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.common.provider.XMLRevocation"
1070 uri="/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/trust.xml"/></a>
1073 <a class="fixedlink" href="confAudience"><saml:Audience>urn:mace:inqueue</saml:Audience></a>
1075 <!-- Override settings for this application.
1076 <a class="fixedlink" href="confApplication"><Application id="foo-admin"></a>
1077 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confSessions"><Sessions lifetime="7200" timeout="3600" checkAddress="true"
1078 shireURL="/secure/admin/Shibboleth.shire" shireSSL="true" cookieProps="; path=/secure/admin; secure"
1079 wayfURL="https://wayf.internet2.edu/InQueue/WAYF"/></a>
1080 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confAttributeDesignator"><saml:AttributeDesignator AttributeName="urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonPrincipalName"
1081 AttributeNamespace="urn:mace:shibboleth:1.0:attributeNamespace:uri"/></a>
1082 <a class="fixedlink" href="confApplication"></Application></a>
1085 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confApplications"></Applications></a>
1087 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCredentialsProvider"><CredentialsProvider type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.common.Credentials"></a>
1088 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCredentials"><Credentials xmlns="urn:mace:shibboleth:credentials:1.0"></a>
1089 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confFileResolver"><FileResolver Id="defcreds"></a>
1090 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confKey"><Key format="PEM" password="secret"></a>
1091 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCredPath"><Path>/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/shar.key</Path></a>
1092 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confKey"></Key></a>
1093 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCertificate"><Certificate format="PEM"></a>
1094 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCredPath"><Path>/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/shar.crt</Path></a>
1095 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCAPath"><CAPath>/opt/shibboleth/etc/shibboleth/ca.crt</CAPath></a>
1096 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCertificate"></Certificate></a>
1097 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confFileResolver"></FileResolver></a>
1098 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCredentials"></Credentials></a>
1099 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confCredentialsProvider"></CredentialsProvider></a>
1101 <a class="fixedlink" href="#confShibbolethTargetConfig"></ShibbolethTargetConfig></a>
1104 <p>The following changes must be made to the default configuration before the target will interoperate in a federation.</p>
1107 <p>The main <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a> element's
1108 <span class="fixed">providerId</span> attribute must be changed to reflect the URI this target will
1109 use to identify itself to origins by default. This will often be approved or supplied by a federation.</p>
1112 <p>The <span class="fixed">supportContact</span> and error templates for the target found in the
1113 <a href="#confErrors"><span class="fixed">Errors</span></a> element should be changed to ensure that
1114 users have a proper support mechanism.</p>
1117 <p>Proper credentials for this target signed by an authority that the federation recognizes must be
1118 referenced by the <a href="#confCredentials"><span class="fixed">Credentials</span></a> element.
1119 The default configuration points at files containing widely-available, insecure keys and certificates.
1120 Note that keys are supported in a variety of formats: DER, PEM, encrypted PEM, PKCS8, and encrypted PKCS8.</p>
1123 <p><a href="#confFederationProvider"><span class="fixed">FederationProvider</span></a> and
1124 <a href="#confTrustProvider"><span class="fixed">TrustProvider</span></a> elements must be added or
1125 changed as needed to reflect the arrangements required. This information is often provided by
1126 federations to their members.</p>
1130 <p>For Apache (but not IIS), there is also information that must be
1131 configured in <span class="fixed">/usr/local/apache/conf/httpd.conf</span>
1132 (or equivalent); for more information, refer to <a href="#3.c.2.">3.c</a>.</p>
1133 <p>Information in the logging configuration files referenced by
1134 <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span> may require additional changes to
1135 meet local needs. The logging level can be raised to <span class="fixed">
1136 DEBUG</span> if extremely detailed information is needed for testing.
1137 It is recommended that after initial installation is
1138 completed, the log level in both files be left at either <span class="fixed">
1139 INFO</span> or <span class="fixed">WARN</span>.</p>
1140 <p>All elements are optional unless otherwise specified. All attributes of an element are optional unless
1141 designated <span class="mandatory">mandatory</span> by a purple background.</p>
1143 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confAAPProvider"><span class="fixed"><AAPProvider <span class="mandatory">type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.target.provider.XMLAAP"</span> uri="<i>pathname</i>"/></span></a></dd>
1145 <p>This element is used to specify individual attribute acceptance policies that will apply to an application
1146 and may appear zero or more times within the <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a>
1147 or <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> element. For information about these
1148 policies and their format, refer to <a href="#4.e.">section 4.e</a>.</p>
1149 <p>The default set of AAP providers in the <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a>
1150 element can be replaced within individual <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> elements.</p>
1153 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confApplication"><span class="fixed"><Application <span class="mandatory">id="<i>identifier</i>"</span> providerId="<i>identifier</i>" signRequest="<i>true/false</i>" signedResponse="<i>true/false</i>" signedAssertions="<i>true/false</i>"></span></a></dd>
1155 <p>Individual applications that require different attributes, session settings, metadata, etc. can be differentiated
1156 from the default configuration as specified in the <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a>
1157 element. It must contain a <a href="#confSessions"><span class="fixed">Sessions</span></a> element, but overriding other
1158 elements is optional.</p>
1160 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">id</span>: This attribute defines an internal identifier allowing
1161 individual <span class="fixed">applicationId</span> attributes as part of
1162 <a href="#confHost"><span class="fixed">Host</span></a> and <a href="#confPath"><span class="fixed">Path</span></a>
1163 elements to point to this <span class="fixed">Application</span> to handle requests.</li>
1164 <li><span class="fixed">providerId</span>: Distinct from the internal identifier, this is the unique identifier
1165 that will be used when communicating with origin sites to request authentication or attributes.
1166 This value is referenced by origins when creating rules for the release of attributes to targets and will
1167 often be provided to federations to facilitate origin configuration. If none is specified, the default
1168 <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a> element's
1169 <span class="fixed">providerId</span> applies.</li>
1170 <li><span class="fixed">signRequest</span>: If <span class="fixed">true</span>, the target will sign attribute
1171 requests that it sends to origins on behalf of this application. This is usually unnecessary, as the
1172 TLS/SSL transport can provide authentication more efficiently.</li>
1173 <li><span class="fixed">signedResponse</span>: If <span class="fixed">true</span>, the target will require that
1174 all SAML attribute responses it receives for this application be signed.</li>
1175 <li><span class="fixed">signedAssertions</span>: If <span class="fixed">true</span>, the target will require that
1176 individual SAML assertions it receives for this application be signed. This may be particularly useful if the
1177 application is forwarding the assertion, but requires a liberal (or no) AAP to avoid corrupting the signature.</li>
1181 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confApplications"><span class="fixed"><Applications <span class="mandatory">id="<i>default</i>" providerId="<i>identifier</i>"</span> signRequest="<i>true/false</i>" signedResponse="<i>true/false</i>" signedAssertions="<i>true/false</i>"></span></a></dd>
1183 <p>The <span class="fixed">Applications</span> element must appear once and contains default settings for requests
1184 handled by the target. It must contain at least one each of the <a href="#confSessions"><span class="fixed">Sessions</span></a>,
1185 and <a href="#confErrors"><span class="fixed">Errors</span></a> elements, and may contain
1186 <a href="#confCredentialUse"><span class="fixed">CredentialUse</span></a>,
1187 <a href="#confAttributeDesignator"><span class="fixed">saml:AttributeDesignator</span></a>,
1188 <a href="#confAudience"><span class="fixed">saml:Audience</span></a>,
1189 <a href="#confFederationProvider"><span class="fixed">FederationProvider</span></a>,
1190 <a href="#confTrustProvider"><span class="fixed">TrustProvider</span></a>,
1191 <a href="#confRevocationProvider"><span class="fixed">RevocationProvider</span></a>,
1192 and <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> elements.</p>
1194 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">id</span>: This attribute has a fixed value of "default" and should not be changed.</li>
1195 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">providerId</span>: Distinct from the internal identifier, the
1196 <span class="fixed">providerId</span> is the unique identifier that will be used when communicating
1197 with origin sites to request authentication or attributes. This value is referenced by origins when
1198 creating rules for the release of attributes to targets and will often be provided to federations to
1199 facilitate origin configuration.</li>
1200 <li><span class="fixed">signRequest</span>: If <span class="fixed">true</span>, the target will sign attribute
1201 requests that it sends to origins by default. This is usually unnecessary, as the TLS/SSL transport can provide
1202 authentication more efficiently.</li>
1203 <li><span class="fixed">signedResponse</span>: If <span class="fixed">true</span>, the target will require that
1204 all SAML attribute responses it receives are signed by default.</li>
1205 <li><span class="fixed">signedAssertions</span>: If <span class="fixed">true</span>, the target will require that
1206 individual SAML assertions it receives are signed by default. This may be particularly useful if the
1207 application is forwarding the assertion, but requires a liberal (or no) AAP to avoid corrupting the signature.</li>
1209 <p>Default settings can be overridden by using the <a href="#confRequestMap"><span class="fixed">RequestMap</span></a> to
1210 assign a non-default <span class="fixed">applicationId</span> to particular content in
1211 <a href="#confHost"><span class="fixed">Host</span></a> and <a href="#confPath"><span class="fixed">Path</span></a>
1212 elements. An <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> element is then inserted containing
1213 a matching <span class="fixed">id</span> attribute, and finally specific elements that override the defaults are
1214 placed within it. A fully specified <a href="#confSessions"><span class="fixed">Sessions</span></a> element is
1215 always required for any new application created, because each application needs a distinct
1216 <span class="fixed">shireURL</span> so that new sessions can be unambiguously mapped to a particular application.</p>
1219 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confArgument"><span class="fixed"><Argument><i>value</i></Argument></span></a></dd>
1221 <p>The <span class="fixed">Argument</span> element is used in the
1222 <a href="#confMySQLSessionCache"><span class="fixed">MySQLSessionCache</span></a> element to specify one or more
1223 arguments to pass to the MySQL database engine.</p>
1226 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confAttributeDesignator"><span class="fixed"><saml:AttributeDesignator <span class="mandatory">AttributeName="<i>name</i>" AttributeNamespace="<i>namespace</i>"</span>></span></a></dd>
1228 <p>The <span class="fixed">AttributeDesignator</span> element is used in the
1229 <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a> and
1230 <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> elements to name an attribute to specifically
1231 request from origins on behalf of an application. If none are specified, the application will be given anything
1232 the origin allows it to receive.</p>
1234 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">AttributeName</span>: Specifies the name of a SAML attribute, generally a URI.</li>
1235 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">AttributeNamespace</span>: Specifies the attribute's SAML namespace,
1236 which Shibboleth by convention sets to "urn:mace:shibboleth:1.0:attributeNamespace:uri".</li>
1238 <p>The default set of designators can be overridden within individual
1239 <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> elements, but if default elements are specified,
1240 it isn't possible to "remove" them and revert to none within a particular application.</p>
1243 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confAudience"><span class="fixed"><saml:Audience><i>value</i></saml:Audience></span></a></dd>
1245 <p>The <span class="fixed">Audience</span> element is used in the
1246 <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a> and
1247 <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> elements element to specify one or more
1248 SAML audience URIs to designate while processing assertions. Audience values are used by origins to constrain the
1249 parties they issue assertions for. A target application always includes its own <span class="fixed">providerId</span>
1250 as an audience value.</p>
1251 <p>Within an <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> element, this setting is not
1252 inherited from the <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a> element. Any values
1253 desired must be specified. In most cases, this element can be omitted.</p>
1256 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confCAPath"><span class="fixed"><CAPath><i>pathname</i></CAPath></span></a></dd>
1258 <p>Paired with a <a href="#confCredPath"><span class="fixed">Path</span></a> element within a
1259 <a href="#confFileResolver"><span class="fixed">FileResolver</span></a> element, it allows for the specification
1260 of additional certificates in a chain up to a trust anchor. As many <span class="fixed">CAPath</span> elements as
1261 necessary to complete the chain may be specified. May be needed if the relying party does not possess the entire CA
1265 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confCertificate"><span class="fixed"><Certificate format="<i>type</i>"></span></a></dd>
1267 <p>This specifies the certificate corresponding to this set of credentials. The certificate itself must be specified
1268 by a <a href="#confCredPath"><span class="fixed">Path</span></a> element contained by this element. If the certificate
1269 isn't self-signed or signed by an authority familiar to the relying party, the files of certificates in the path to
1270 the root authority may be specified using one or more <a href="#confCAPath"><span class="fixed">CAPath</span></a> elements.
1271 Valid formats are <span class="fixed">PEM</span>, <span class="fixed">DER</span>, and <span class="fixed">PKCS12</span>.</p>
1272 <p>It's placed within the <a href="#confFileResolver"><span class="fixed">FileResolver</span></a> element and must be
1273 paired with the corresponding private key using the <a href="#confKey"><span class="fixed">Key</span></a> element.</p>
1276 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confCredentials"><span class="fixed"><Credentials xmlns="urn:mace:shibboleth:credentials:1.0"></span></a></dd>
1278 <p>This element is the container for credentials used by the XML-based credentials provider with type
1279 "edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.common.Credentials". These credentials are used by the target to
1280 authenticate itself in SSL sessions or sign attribute requests, depending on application configuration. It must contain
1281 one or more <a href="#confFileResolver"><span class="fixed">FileResolver</span></a> elements.</p>
1284 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confCredentialsProvider"><span class="fixed"><CredentialsProvider <span class="mandatory">type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.common.Credentials"</span>></span></a></dd>
1286 <p>This element is the container for providers of credentials used by the target and is placed inside the
1287 <a href="#confShibbolethTargetConfig"><span class="fixed">ShibbolethTargetConfig</span></a> element. The supplied
1288 provider of type "edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.common.Credentials" must contain one
1289 <a href="#confCredentials"><span class="fixed">Credentials</span></a> element detailing the credentials
1290 to be used by the target. Other provider types might require different content.</p>
1293 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confCredentialUse"><span class="fixed"><CredentialUse <span class="mandatory">TLS="<i>string</i>" Signing="<i>string</i>"</span>></span></a></dd>
1295 <p>Used in the <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a> or
1296 <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> elements to specify the credentials used by
1297 applications for signing and TLS/SSL. The <span class="fixed">TLS</span> and <span class="fixed">Signing</span>
1298 attribute values reference the identifiers of credential resolvers defined in the
1299 <a href="#confCredentialsProvider"><span class="fixed">CredentialsProvider</span></a> element. May also contain
1300 <a href="#confRelyingParty"><span class="fixed">RelyingParty</span></a> elements that specify the credentials
1301 to use for specific origins or federations.</p>
1304 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confErrors"><span class="fixed"><Errors <span class="mandatory">shire="<i>pathname</i>" rm="<i>pathname</i>" access="<i>pathname</i>"</span> supportContact="<i>e-mail</i>" logoLocation="<i>URL</i>"/></span></a></dd>
1306 <p>Shibboleth is capable of displaying customized error pages based on templates and information provided by
1307 additional attributes in this element. These should all be customized to fit the requirements of the target application.
1308 For more information on configuration of error page generation, please see <a href="#4.b.">section 4.b</a>.</p>
1310 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">shire</span>: Specifies the location of the template for the error page
1311 generated when there is an error re-directing the user to the WAYF or processing a new session sign-on.</li>
1312 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">rm</span>: Specifies the location of the template for the error page
1313 generated if internal errors occur when supplying attributes to the application.</li>
1314 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">accessError</span>: Specifies the location of the template for the page
1315 displayed to users when access to a protected resource is denied based on access control. This is distinct
1316 from when errors occur during the evaluation process itself, and indicates a denial of authorization.</li>
1317 <li><span class="fixed">supportContact</span>: Specifies a support e-mail address for the user to contact.</li>
1318 <li><span class="fixed">logoLocation</span>: Specifies the location of the logo used in the generation of error pages.
1319 This logo can be in any format that the web browser will understand, and should be a URL (absolute or relative) that
1320 will return a valid logo.</li>
1322 <p>The last two attributes are examples of tags that can be inserted at runtime into the templates. Arbitrary
1323 attributes may be specified in this element simply by adding them; no additional configuration is necessary.
1324 If there is a matching ShibMLP tag in the error page template as designed in <a href="#4.b.">4.b</a>, Shibboleth
1325 will insert the value of that attribute.</p>
1328 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confExtensions"><span class="fixed"><Extensions></span></a></dd>
1330 Extension libraries for one of the Shibboleth components or the entire target can be specified using this element
1331 depending on where it's present. It may be contained by any of the
1332 <a href="#confSHAR"><span class="fixed">SHAR</span></a>, <a href="#confSHIRE"><span class="fixed">SHIRE</span></a>,
1333 or <a href="#confShibbolethTargetConfig"><span class="fixed">ShibbolethTargetConfig</span></a> elements.
1334 It must contain one or more <a href="#confLibrary"><span class="fixed">Library</span></a> elements.
1337 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confFederationProvider"><span class="fixed"><FederationProvider <span class="mandatory">type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.common.provider.XMLMetadata"</span> uri="<i>pathname</i>"></span></a></dd>
1339 <p>This element, when specified within an <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a>
1340 or <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> element, points to operational metadata either
1341 inline within the element or in a local XML file. Federations will often publish signed XML files for targets to download
1342 periodically. This should be refreshed regularly; see <a href="#4.g.">section 4.g</a> for further details.</p>
1343 <p>The default set of federation providers in the <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a>
1344 element can be replaced within individual <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> elements.</p>
1347 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confFileResolver"><span class="fixed"><FileResolver <span class="mandatory">Id="<i>string</i>"</span>></span></a></dd>
1349 <p>This element defines files used to store a private key, certificate, and certificate authorities and associates
1350 the set with an identifier. Placed inside the <a href="#confCredentials"><span class="fixed">Credentials</span></a>
1351 element. <a href="#confCredentialUse"><span class="fixed">CredentialUse</span></a> and
1352 <a href="#confRelyingParty"><span class="fixed">RelyingParty</span></a> elements will refer to these identifiers in
1353 their <span class="fixed">TLS</span> and <span class="fixed">Signing</span> attributes, allowing different credentials
1354 to be used for different applications and relying parties.</p>
1355 <p>Must contain one <a href="#confKey"><span class="fixed">Key</span></a> element and should contain one
1356 <a href="#confCertificate"><span class="fixed">Certificate</span></a> element.</p>
1359 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confHost"><span class="fixed"><Host scheme="<i>protocol</i>" <span class="mandatory">name="<i>fqdn</i>"</span> port="<i>integer</i>" applicationId="<i>id</i>" requireSession="<i>true/false</i>" exportAssertion="<i>true/false</i>"></span></a></dd>
1361 <p>Individual (real or virtual) hosts that this target protects are enumerated by <span class="fixed">Host</span> elements
1362 inside the <a href="#confRequestMap"><span class="fixed">RequestMap</span></a> element. If a request is processed by
1363 Shibboleth for a URL on this host, these parameters will be applied to it. If there are
1364 <a href="#confPath"><span class="fixed">Path</span></a> elements within this element that match the URL and contain
1365 the <span class="fixed">applicationId</span>, <span class="fixed">requireSession</span>, or
1366 <span class="fixed">exportAssertion</span> attributes, they will override values in this element; similarly, values
1367 within this element will override those in the containing
1368 <a href="#confRequestMap"><span class="fixed">RequestMap</span></a> element.</p>
1370 <li><span class="fixed">scheme</span>: This specifies the protocol on which this host responds.
1371 Valid choices are <span class="fixed">http</span>, <span class="fixed">https</span>, <span class="fixed">ftp</span>,
1372 <span class="fixed">ldap</span>, and <span class="fixed">ldaps</span>.</li>
1373 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">name</span>: This is the fully-qualified domain name of the host.
1374 This appended to the <span class="fixed">scheme</span> must match what is contained in the URL for the element's
1375 settings to apply to the request.</li>
1376 <li><span class="fixed">port</span>: This is the port the host is listening on, if not the standard port for the scheme.</li>
1377 <li><span class="fixed">requireSession</span>: This attribute controls whether Shibboleth will forcibly establish
1378 an authenticated session with the user before handing off the request to the web server or application.
1379 If <span class="fixed">true</span>, Shibboleth will force session establishment. If <span class="fixed">false</span>
1380 (the default), applications are responsible for ensuring that a session exists if necessary, so-called
1381 <a href="#1.g.">lazy session establishment</a>. Most deployments should not specify <span class="fixed">false</span>
1382 for protected content without a full understanding of the implications.</li>
1383 <li><span class="fixed">exportAssertion</span>: When <span class="fixed">true</span>, the entire SAML attribute
1384 assertion received from the origin is exported to a CGI request header called
1385 <span class="fixed">Shib-Attributes</span>, encoded in <span class="fixed">base64</span>. This requires an
1386 application to be able to parse the raw XML. Defaults to <span class="fixed">false</span>, which most deployments
1391 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confImplementation"><span class="fixed"><Implementation></span></a></dd>
1393 <p>A container element placed inside the <a href="#confSHIRE"><span class="fixed">SHIRE</span></a> element,
1394 the contents of this element will vary depending on the web server or environment that this Shibboleth deployment serves.
1395 Multiple configurations may be specified, but only one per implementation type. This element may contain the
1396 <a href="#confISAPI"><span class="fixed">ISAPI</span></a> element.</p>
1399 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confISAPI"><span class="fixed"><ISAPI normalizeRequest="<i>true/false</i>"></span></a></dd>
1401 <p>The configuration information for Shibboleth targets deployed on Microsoft IIS is stored inside this container element.
1402 This element must contain one or more <a href="#confSite"><span class="fixed">Site</span></a> elements, each of which
1403 maps an INSTANCE ID value to a hostname. If <span class="fixed">normalizeRequest</span> is
1404 <span class="fixed">true</span> (the default), all redirects and computed request URLs generated by Shibboleth will
1405 be created using the hostname assigned to the site instance handling the request. If <span class="fixed">false</span>,
1406 the browser's supplied URL is sometimes used to compute the information. Placed inside the
1407 <a href="#confImplementation"><span class="fixed">Implementation</span></a> element.</p>
1410 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confKey"><span class="fixed"><Key format="<i>type</i>"></span></a></dd>
1412 <p>Specifies a file containing a private key to be used within a set of credentials. Valid formats are
1413 <span class="fixed">PEM</span> (the default), <span class="fixed">DER</span>, and <span class="fixed">PKCS12</span>.
1414 Placed within a <a href="#confFileResolver"><span class="fixed">FileResolver</span></a> element, it should be paired
1415 with a <a href="#confCertificate"><span class="fixed">Certificate</span></a> element, and contain a
1416 <a href="#confCredPath"><span class="fixed">Path</span></a> element.</p>
1419 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confLibrary"><span class="fixed"><Library <span class="mandatory">path="<i>pathname</i>"</span> fatal="<i>true/false</i>"/></span></a></dd>
1421 <p>This element defines an extension library for one of Shibboleth's components and is placed within an
1422 <a href="#confExtensions"><span class="fixed">Extensions</span></a> element.</p>
1424 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">path</span>: This designates the complete pathname of the library.</li>
1425 <li><span class="fixed">fatal</span>: If <span class="fixed">true</span> and the library is not located or fails
1426 to load properly, the target will not successfully initialize. The default is false.</li>
1430 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confListener"><span class="fixed"><Listener <span class="mandatory">type="<i>string</i>"</span>></span></a></dd>
1432 <p>Specifies a pluggable implementation of a mechanism for communication between the web server and SHAR,
1433 specified in the <span class="fixed">type</span> attribute. This element is placed within the
1434 <a href="#confSHAR"><span class="fixed">SHAR</span></a> element and is mutually exclusive with the
1435 <a href="#confTCPListener"><span class="fixed">TCPListener</span></a> and
1436 <a href="#confUnixListener"><span class="fixed">UnixListener</span></a> elements.</p>
1439 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confMemorySessionCache"><span class="fixed"><MemorySessionCache AAConnectTimeout="<i>seconds</i>" AATimeout="<i>seconds</i>" cacheTimeout="<i>seconds</i>" cleanupInterval="<i>seconds</i>" defaultLifetime="<i>seconds</i>" propagateErrors="<i>true/false</i>" retryInterval="<i>seconds</i>" strictValidity="<i>true/false</i>"/></span></a></dd>
1441 <p>Shibboleth will cache sessions and received attributes in memory if this element is found in the
1442 <a href="#confSHAR"><span class="fixed">SHAR</span></a> element. This element is mutually exclusive with the
1443 <a href="#confMySQLSessionCache"><span class="fixed">MySQLSessionCache</span></a> and
1444 <a href="#confSessionCache"><span class="fixed">SessionCache</span></a> elements.</p>
1446 <li><span class="fixed">AAConnectTimeout</span>: Time in seconds the target will wait before timing out on the
1447 initial connection to an origin to request attributes. Defaults to <span class="fixed">15</span>.</li>
1448 <li><span class="fixed">AATimeout</span>: Time in seconds the target will wait before timing out while waiting
1449 for attributes from an origin once the initial connection is established. Defaults to <span class="fixed">30</span>.</li>
1450 <li><span class="fixed">cacheTimeout</span>: Time in seconds to permit a session to stay in the cache before
1451 being purged. Defaults to <span class="fixed">28800</span>.</li>
1452 <li><span class="fixed">cleanupInterval</span>: Seconds between runs of the background thread that purges
1453 expired sessions. Defaults to <span class="fixed">300</span>.</li>
1454 <li><span class="fixed">defaultLifetime</span>: If the attribute assertion doesn't carry an explicit
1455 expiration time, the assertion will expire after this time in <span class="fixed">seconds</span> has elapsed.
1456 Defaults to <span class="fixed">1800</span>.</li>
1457 <li><span class="fixed">propagateErrors</span>: If true, then any errors that occur during the attribute
1458 query stage are fatal and will be presented to the user as an error, terminating their session. If false,
1459 any errors that occur during the query are non-fatal, and the application will be given older, expired
1460 attributes based on the <span class="fixed">strictValidity</span> setting.
1461 <p>This should generally only be left to false (the default) by deployments that are using real principal
1462 names as subjects because attribute retrieval is treated as an optional process.</p></li>
1463 <li><span class="fixed">retryInterval</span>: Time in seconds between attempts to obtain fresh attributes. If a query fails, a timer is set, and once the interval elapses, the next user request causes another query. This prevents pointless repeated attempts to query a failed origin. Defaults to <span class="fixed">300</span>.</li>
1464 <li><span class="fixed">strictValidity</span>: If true, expired attributes will never be made available to the Shibboleth application; if no valid attributes can be obtained, then an empty set is provided. When false, if a fresh set of attributes cannot be retrieved due to failures, any cached, expired attributes are made available. Defaults to <span class="fixed">true</span>.</li>
1468 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confMySQLSessionCache"><span class="fixed"><MySQLSessionCache mysqlTimeout="<i>seconds</i>"/></span></a></dd>
1470 <p>Shibboleth will back the memory cache of sessions using an embedded MySQL database if this element is found
1471 in the <a href="#confSHAR"><span class="fixed">SHAR</span></a> element. Arguments may be passed directly to
1472 MySQL by populating this element with <span class="fixed"><a href="#confArgument">Argument</a></span> elements.
1473 The element may also specify any of the attributes defined for the <a href="#confMemorySessionCache">MemorySessionCache</a>
1474 element. Mutually exclusive with the <a href="#confMemorySessionCache"><span class="fixed">MemorySessionCache</span></a>
1475 and <a href="#confSessionCache"><span class="fixed">SessionCache</span></a> elements.</p>
1477 <li><span class="fixed">mysqlTimeout</span>: Time in seconds to permit a session to stay in the persistent
1478 cache before being purged. Defaults to <span class="fixed">28800</span>.</li>
1482 <dd class="attribute">(RequestMap) <a name="confPath"><span class="fixed"><Path <span class="mandatory">name="<i>pathname</i>"</span> applicationId="<i>id</i>" requireSession="<i>true/false</i>" exportAssertion="<i>true/false</i>"></span></a></dd>
1484 <p>This element allows for different application identifiers and session handling to be defined iteratively for
1485 subdirectories or documents within a host. Requests are processed on a best-match basis, with the innermost
1486 element taking precedence. Path elements may be contained by <a href="#confHost"><span class="fixed">Host</span></a>
1487 elements or other <a href="#confPath"><span class="fixed">Path</span></a> elements.</p>
1489 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">name</span>: This is the name of the path component or filename to match
1490 against the request. Only exact matching is supported by the supplied request mapping provider.</li>
1491 <li><span class="fixed">requireSession</span>: This attribute controls whether Shibboleth will forcibly establish
1492 an authenticated session with the user before handing off the request to the web server or application.
1493 If <span class="fixed">true</span>, Shibboleth will force session establishment. If <span class="fixed">false</span>
1494 (the default), applications are responsible for ensuring that a session exists if necessary, so-called
1495 <a href="#1.g.">lazy session establishment</a>. Most deployments should not specify <span class="fixed">false</span>
1496 for protected content without a full understanding of the implications.</li>
1497 <li><span class="fixed">exportAssertion</span>: When <span class="fixed">true</span>, the entire SAML attribute
1498 assertion received from the origin is exported to a CGI request header called
1499 <span class="fixed">Shib-Attributes</span>, encoded in <span class="fixed">base64</span>. This requires an
1500 application to be able to parse the raw XML. Defaults to <span class="fixed">false</span>, which most deployments
1505 <dd class="attribute">(Credential) <a name="confCredPath"><span class="fixed"><Path><i>pathname</i></Path></span></a></dd>
1507 <p>Placed inside the <a href="#confKey"><span class="fixed">Key</span></a> and
1508 <a href="#confCertificate"><span class="fixed">Certificate</span></a> elements to specify the pathname of the file
1509 containing the credential.</p>
1512 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confRelyingParty"><span class="fixed"><RelyingParty <span class="mandatory">name="<i>string</i>" TLS="<i>string</i>" Signing="<i>string</i>"</span>></span></a></dd>
1513 <dd class="value"><p>One or more <span class="fixed">RelyingParty</span> elements may be contained by a <a href="#confCredentialUse"><span class="fixed">CredentialUse</span></a> element to enumerate relying parties for which a distinct set of credentials should be used. The <span class="fixed">TLS</span> and <span class="fixed">Signing</span> attribute values reference the identifiers of credential resolvers defined in <a href="#confCredentialsProvider"><span class="fixed">CredentialsProvider</span></a> elements.</p>
1515 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">name</span>: Identifies the origin site or group of sites to which the credentials specified in the element apply. This is used to match the providerId sent within attribute assertions from origin sites against a set of "groups" based on metadata.</li>
1519 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confRequestMap"><span class="fixed"><RequestMap <span class="mandatory">applicationId="<i>default</i>"</span> requireSession="<i>true/false</i>" exportAssertion="<i>true/false</i>"></span></a></dd>
1521 <p>The <span class="fixed">RequestMap</span> element is a container holding
1522 <a href="#confHost"><span class="fixed">Host</span></a> and <a href="#confPath"><span class="fixed">Path</span></a>
1523 elements. Request URLs processed by Shibboleth are parsed and matched against this set of elements in order to
1524 determine how to process the request. Attributes on the RequestMap, Host, and Path elements specify whether to
1525 require an authenticated session, and how to locate the associated Application element and settings.</p>
1527 <li><span class="fixed">applicationId</span>: Contains a fixed value of "default" to reference the default
1528 <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a> element.</li>
1529 <li><span class="fixed">requireSession</span>: This attribute controls whether Shibboleth will forcibly establish
1530 an authenticated session with the user before handing off the request to the web server or application.
1531 If <span class="fixed">true</span>, Shibboleth will force session establishment. If <span class="fixed">false</span>
1532 (the default), web applications are responsible for ensuring that a session exists if necessary, so-called
1533 <a href="#1.g.">lazy session establishment</a>. Most deployments should not specify <span class="fixed">false</span>
1534 for protected content without a full understanding of the implications.</li>
1535 <li><span class="fixed">exportAssertion</span>: When <span class="fixed">true</span>, the entire SAML attribute
1536 assertion received from the origin is exported to a CGI request header called
1537 <span class="fixed">Shib-Attributes</span>, encoded in <span class="fixed">base64</span>. This requires an
1538 application to be able to parse the raw XML. Defaults to <span class="fixed">false</span>, which most deployments
1543 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confRequestMapProvider"><span class="fixed"><RequestMapProvider <span class="mandatory">type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.target.provider.XMLRequestMap"</span> uri="<i>pathname</i>"></span></a></dd>
1545 <p>This element specifies a request mapper that defines how Shibboleth will handle sessions and other behavior
1546 for a given request. For the built-in type "edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.target.provider.XMLRequestMap",
1547 there must be a <a href="#confRequestMap"><span class="fixed">RequestMap</span></a> element within this element, or
1548 the <span class="fixed">uri</span> attribute must contain the local pathname of an XML file containing one.</p>
1551 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confRevocationProvider"><span class="fixed"><RevocationProvider <span class="mandatory">type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.common.provider.XMLRevocation"</span> uri="<i>pathname</i>"></span></a></dd>
1553 <p>This element, when specified within an <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a>
1554 or <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> element, points to revocation information either
1555 inline within the element or in a local XML file. Federations will often publish signed XML files for targets to download
1556 periodically. This should be refreshed regularly; see <a href="#4.g.">section 4.g</a> for further details.</p>
1557 <p>The default set of revocation providers in the <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a>
1558 element can be replaced within individual <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> elements.</p>
1561 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confSessionCache"><span class="fixed"><SessionCache <span class="mandatory">type="<i>string</i>"</span>></span></a></dd>
1563 <p>Specifies a pluggable session cache implementation of the specified <span class="fixed">type</span>. This element
1564 is placed within the <a href="#confSHAR"><span class="fixed">SHAR</span></a> element and is mutually exclusive with
1565 the <a href="#confMemorySessionCache"><span class="fixed">MemorySessionCache</span></a> and
1566 <a href="#confMySQLSessionCache"><span class="fixed">MySQLSessionCache</span></a> elements.</p>
1567 <p>Any plugin should support the basic attributes defined by the
1568 <a href="#confMemorySessionCache"><span class="fixed">MemorySessionCache</span></a> element.</p>
1571 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confSessions"><span class="fixed"><Sessions
1572 <span class="mandatory">wayfURL="<i>URL</i>"
1573 shireURL="<i>URL</i>"</span>
1574 shireSSL="<i>true/false</i>"
1575 lifetime="<i>seconds</i>"
1576 timeout="<i>seconds</i>"
1577 checkAddress="<i>true/false</i>"
1578 cookieName="<i>URL</i>"
1579 cookieProps="<i>URL</i>"></span></a></dd>
1581 <p>Configuration parameters that affect the way Shibboleth handles sessions for an individual application are bundled
1582 in this element, which must be included in each <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a>
1583 and the default <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a> element. Note that these
1584 parameters only apply to Shibboleth sessions, and not any sessions applications manage on their own behalf.</p>
1586 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">wayfURL</span>: The URL of the <a href="#1.c.">WAYF service</a>
1587 responsible for redirecting users accessing this application to their identity provider (origin).</li>
1588 <li class="mandatory">
1589 <p><span class="fixed">shireURL</span>: Specifies the SHIRE URL, or assertion consumer service, at which
1590 new sessions are initiated or lazy sessions are triggered. This can be an absolute URL, or a relative path
1591 to be prefixed by the base URL of the virtual host. Using an absolute URL allows a virtual server to funnel
1592 requests to a fixed location, to force use of SSL, for example.</p>
1593 <p>Note that this URL issues the session cookie set on behalf of the application, and this cookie must be
1594 returned in subsequent requests, so the virtual host's domain name and port must be consistent with this
1595 domain name and port for some browsers to properly return the cookie. If default ports are used (and thus
1596 left unspecified), browsers will generally return cookies set via SSL to a non-SSL port. If non-default
1597 ports are used, it is recommended that this be a relative URL so that each virtual host handles its own
1598 cookie operations.</p>
1599 <p>For Shibboleth to function properly in IIS, the file extension at the end of this URL must match the
1600 value configured into IIS and mapped to the ISAPI extension. This causes the request to be serviced properly,
1601 even though no file by that name actually exists.</p>
1603 <li><span class="fixed">shireSSL</span>: If <span class="fixed">true</span> (the default), the application will
1604 <b>only</b> accept new session requests over SSL, as is strongly recommended; see <a href="#2.c.">section 2.c</a>
1605 for more details.</li>
1606 <li><span class="fixed">cookieName</span>: Optionally specifies the name given to in-memory session cookies that
1607 are associated with this application. If omitted, Shibboleth will generate a cookie name for you of the form
1608 _shibsession_<Application ID></li>
1609 <li><span class="fixed">cookieProps</span>: A string of additional Set-Cookie properties can be specified using
1610 this element which give the browser further instructions about cookie processing and use. Always begin with a
1611 semicolon to delineate from the session ID value.</li>
1612 <li><span class="fixed">lifetime</span>: Duration in seconds of the Shibboleth session; this does not affect
1613 the lifetime of application sessions initiated independently of Shibboleth. Defaults to 3600. If 0 is specified,
1614 sessions are infinite, subject to purging by the cache.</li>
1615 <li><span class="fixed">timeout</span>: If the value in seconds elapses following the last request in a
1616 session, the session will be expired for inactivity and a new session must be initiated upon the next request.
1617 Defaults to 1800. If 0 is specified, there is no inactivity timeout</li>
1618 <li><span class="fixed">checkAddress</span>: If <span class="fixed">true</span> (the default), Shibboleth will
1619 check the browser's client address to insure that session cookies are issued and used by a consistent client address.
1620 In most circumstances, this should be enabled to help prevent attacks using stolen cookies, but this can cause
1621 problems for users behind proxies or NAT devices.</li>
1625 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confSHAR"><span class="fixed"><SHAR logger="<i>pathname</i>"></span></a></dd>
1627 <p>This is the container element for configuration information pertaining to the SHAR, the target component responsible
1628 for most attribute and session processing. Its single attribute, <span class="fixed">logger</span>, points to a
1629 Log4J-format property configuration file that controls SHAR logging behavior. It is placed within the
1630 <a href="#confShibbolethTargetConfig"><span class="fixed">ShibbolethTargetConfig</span></a> element and may contain an
1631 <a href="#confExtensions"><span class="fixed">Extensions</span></a> element specifying additional libraries.</p>
1632 <p>It must contain either a <a href="#confUnixListener"><span class="fixed">UnixListener</span></a> element to listen
1633 to the server module on a UNIX domain socket or a <a href="#confTCPListener"><span class="fixed">TCPListener</span></a>
1634 element to listen on a TCP port. Session caching must also be specified using a
1635 <a href="#confMemorySessionCache"><span class="fixed">MemorySessionCache</span></a> element to use in-memory session
1636 caching or a <a href="#confMySQLSessionCache"><span class="fixed">MySQLSessionCache</span></a> element to backup session
1637 information into a MySQL database.</p>
1640 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confShibbolethTargetConfig"><span class="fixed"><ShibbolethTargetConfig clockSkew="integer"></span></a></dd>
1642 <p>This is the root element for target configuration and must be present once and only once. It must always contain a
1643 <a href="#confSHAR"><span class="fixed">SHAR</span></a> element, a
1644 <a href="#confSHIRE"><span class="fixed">SHIRE</span></a> element, an
1645 <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a> element, one or more
1646 <a href="#confCredentialsProvider"><span class="fixed">CredentialsProvider</span></a> elements, and optionally an
1647 <a href="#confExtensions"><span class="fixed">Extensions</span></a> element.</p>
1649 <li><span class="fixed">clockSkew</span>: Controls allowed clock skew in seconds between target and origin servers
1650 when evaluating times sent in messages. Defaults to 180, and should be as small as practical.</li>
1654 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confSHIRE"><span class="fixed"><SHIRE logger="<i>pathname</i>"></span></a></dd>
1656 <p>This is the container element for configuration information pertaining to the SHIRE, the part of the target that
1657 integrates into the web server environment. Its single attribute, <span class="fixed">logger</span>, points to a
1658 Log4J-format property configuration file that controls SHIRE logging behavior. It is placed within the
1659 <a href="#confShibbolethTargetConfig"><span class="fixed">ShibbolethTargetConfig</span></a> element and may contain an
1660 <a href="#confExtensions"><span class="fixed">Extensions</span></a> element specifying additional libraries.</p>
1661 <p>It may contain an <a href="#confImplementation"><span class="fixed">Implementation</span></a> element, within which
1662 configuration for the SHIRE which varies by platform will be specified.</p>
1663 <p>It may contain a <a href="#confRequestMapProvider"><span class="fixed">RequestMapProvider</span></a> element,
1664 which provides fine-grained control over aspects of target behavior at a host, path, or document level.</p>
1667 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confSite"><span class="fixed"><Site <span class="mandatory">id="<i>INSTANCE_ID</i>" host="<i>fqdn</i>"</span> scheme="<i>http/https</i>" port="<i>integer</i>"></span></a></dd>
1669 <p>This element is placed in the <a href="#confISAPI"><span class="fixed">ISAPI</span></a> element to specify a
1670 mapping from individual instance ID's to the corresponding host, port, and scheme.</p>
1673 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confTCPListener"><span class="fixed"><TCPListener <span class="mandatory">address="<i>pathname</i>" port="<i>integer</i>"</span> acl="<i>ip</i>"></span></a></dd>
1675 <p>This element is placed within the <a href="#confSHAR"><span class="fixed">SHAR</span></a> element and is mutually
1676 exclusive with the <a href="#confUnixListener"><span class="fixed">UnixListener</span></a> and
1677 <a href="#confListener"><span class="fixed">Listener</span></a> elements. It allows the SHAR to communicate with the
1678 web server component using TCP.</p>
1680 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">address</span>: Specifies the IP address of the listener.</li>
1681 <li class="mandatory"><span class="fixed">port</span>: Specifies the TCP port on which the SHAR will listen.</li>
1682 <li><span class="fixed">acl</span>: By default, the SHAR will only listen to requests from 127.0.0.1 (localhost).
1683 This should generally not be specified except in test environments.</li>
1687 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confTrustProvider"><span class="fixed"><TrustProvider <span class="mandatory">type="edu.internet2.middleware.shibboleth.common.provider.XMLTrust"</span> uri="<i>pathname</i>"></span></a></dd>
1689 <p>This element, when specified within an <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a>
1690 or <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> element, points to trust metadata either
1691 inline within the element or in a local XML file. Federations will often publish signed XML files for targets to download
1692 periodically. This should be refreshed regularly; see <a href="#4.g.">section 4.g</a> for further details.</p>
1693 <p>The default set of trust providers in the <a href="#confApplications"><span class="fixed">Applications</span></a>
1694 element can be replaced within individual <a href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a> elements.</p>
1697 <dd class="attribute"><a name="confUnixListener"><span class="fixed"><UnixListener address="<i>pathname</i>"></span></a></dd>
1699 <p>Use this element to specify a UNIX domain socket located at the <span class="fixed">pathname</span> specified in
1700 the <span class="fixed">address</span> attribute at which the SHAR should listen for requests. This element must be
1701 contained by the <a href="#confSHAR"><span class="fixed">SHAR</span></a> element and is mutually exclusive with the
1702 <a href="#confTCPListener"><span class="fixed">TCPListener</span></a> and
1703 <a href="#confListener"><span class="fixed">Listener</span></a> elements.
1704 <span class="fixed">UnixListener</span> cannot be specified for Windows-based installations.</p>
1708 <h4><a name="4.b."></a>4.b. Dynamic Error Page Generation</h4>
1710 <p>Shibboleth supports the dynamic generation of information in error pages
1711 referenced by the <a href="#confErrors"><span class="fixed">Errors</span></a> element
1712 in <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span>. The target implementation
1713 employs a simply template language to insert special tags into the
1714 generated HTML. The parser will read the error template looking for any tag that
1717 <p><span class="fixed"><shibmlp tag-name /></span> </p>
1719 <p>Shibboleth will replace <span class="fixed">tag-name</span> with the
1720 appropriate markup tag either from the table below or by looking for a matching XML attribute
1721 in the <a href="#confErrors"><span class="fixed">Errors</span></a> element:</p>
1723 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">requestURL</span></dd>
1724 <dd class="value">The user's requested URL.</dd>
1725 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">errorType</span></dd>
1726 <dd class="value">The type of error.</dd>
1727 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">errorText</span></dd>
1728 <dd class="value">The actual error message.</dd>
1729 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">errorDesc</span></dd>
1730 <dd class="value">A textual description of the error intended for human
1732 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">originContactName</span></dd>
1733 <dd class="value">The contact name for the origin site provided by that
1734 site's metadata.</dd>
1735 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">originContactEmail</span></dd>
1736 <dd class="value">The contact email address for the origin site provided
1737 by that site's metadata.</dd>
1738 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">originErrorURL</span></dd>
1739 <dd class="value">The URL of an error handling page for the origin site
1740 provided by that site's metadata.</dd>
1742 <p>To improve the appearance of error messages, a simple, limited form of
1743 conditional checking is supported so that the presence of absence of data
1744 to substitute into a particular tag-name can trigger the inclusion or
1745 exclusion of markup. Conditionals look like:</p>
1747 <p><span class="fixed"><shibmlpif tag-name> arbitrary markup </shibmlpif></span><br>
1748 <span class="fixed"><shibmlpifnot tag-name> arbitrary markup </shibmlpifnot></span></p>
1750 <p>Respectively, these special tags include or skip the markup between the tags if the
1751 specified tag-name has an associated value available to be substituted for it. Note that
1752 you cannot nest these conditionals; a <span class="fixed">shibmlpif</span> tag cannot
1753 appear inside another <span class="fixed">shibmlpif</span> tag, due to the simplicity
1754 of the substitution engine.</p>
1755 <p>Sample error templates for different kinds of errors are included in the
1756 Shibboleth distribution, and can be triggered by anything that will cause
1757 Shibboleth to be unable to accept an incoming session, obtain attributes,
1758 make an authorization decision, etc., including bad configuration settings,
1759 signature verification or certificate validation failures, or a skewed clock
1761 <p><b>You should edit these templates, provide or remove style sheets and
1762 images, and otherwise customize these templates to suit the user experience
1763 you want your users to have when errors occur. The defaults are not likely
1764 to meet the needs of any site.</b></p>
1766 <h4><a name="4.c."></a>4.c. Key Generation and Certificate Installation</h4>
1768 <p>The only target component that must have a private key and certificate is
1769 the SHAR. While the target server itself should support SSL in most cases
1770 for users, it is mandatory for the SHAR to authenticate when contacting an
1771 AA, and it must therefore be given a key and an SSL client certificate. It
1772 is permissible for the SHAR to use the same keypair and certificate used by
1773 the target web server itself, provided the certificate is signed by a CA
1774 accepted by the origin sites that will be queried for attributes.</p>
1775 <p>On Unix, we require that OpenSSL be installed to use Shibboleth. On
1776 Windows, OpenSSL libraries and the command line tool are included in the
1777 package and can be used directly, if not otherwise available. Certain
1778 commands require the <span class="fixed">openssl.cnf</span> configuration
1779 file, an example of which is included with the Windows installation in
1780 <span class="fixed">C:\opt\shibboleth\etc\shibboleth\openssl.cnf</span>.
1781 To locate this file for a command that requires it, add the
1782 <span class="fixed">-config C:\opt\shibboleth\etc\shibboleth\openssl.cnf</span>
1783 parameter to the command.</p>
1784 <p>The certificate and key file location should be based on whether they
1785 will also be used for Apache. If they will be used as a server key pair
1786 as well, they should probably be in the Apache tree in the usual
1787 <span class="fixed">mod_ssl</span>-defined locations inside the Apache
1788 configuration folder, and the SHAR can read them from there. If the SHAR is
1789 not running as <span class="fixed">root</span>, permissions might need to be
1790 changed to allow this access. If the certificate and key will only be used
1791 for the SHAR, they can be put in the same folder with the
1792 <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span> file and protected appropriately.</p>
1793 <p>Other web servers like IIS do not use the file formats that Apache and
1794 Shibboleth can share, and therefore the components must generally use
1795 separate copies of the key and certificate if they are to be shared. Most
1796 other servers can export and/or import keys to and from PEM or DER format.
1797 Refer to your server's documentation or ask for assistance from others
1799 <p>The SHAR is assigned a key and a certificate using shibboleth.xml's
1800 <a href="#confFileResolver"><span class="fixed">FileResolver</span></a> element
1801 described in <a href="#4.a.">section 4.a.</a> Various formats are supported and
1802 OpenSSL can generate and convert among them. OpenSSL commands to generate a new
1803 keypair and a certificate request are shown here, assuming 2048 bit RSA keys are
1806 <p><span class="fixed">$ openssl genrsa -out ssl.key 2048<br>
1807 $ openssl req -new -key ssl.key -out ssl.csr</span> </p>
1809 <p>The signed certificate file returned by the CA should be usable directly.</p>
1810 <p>If the key is to be shared with Apache, the web server's child processes,
1811 often running as <span class="fixed">nobody</span> or a similar uid, must be
1812 able to read them while the server is running, which may require permission
1814 <p>This particularly applies when sharing the key and certificate used by
1815 mod_ssl, which are only readable by root by default. The password, if any,
1816 must be placed in the <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span> file, since
1817 the Apache module cannot prompt for it during initial startup as mod_ssl
1818 can. The issues surrounding how to securely obtain a key while running as
1819 <span class="fixed">nobody</span> may be addressed in a later release. Since
1820 the password will be stored in clear text in a frequently examined file, it
1821 is suggested to use a password not used elsewhere, or preferably not to use
1822 a password at all.</p>
1825 <h4><a name="4.d."></a>4.d. Protecting Web Pages</h4>
1827 <p>Protection of web pages is primarily achieved through "mapping"
1828 attributes provided by an AA to a localized vocabulary for authorization
1829 rules. This is accomplished using features in the AAP syntax, described in
1830 <a href="#4.e.">section 4.e.</a> This applies to both Apache and IIS.</p>
1831 <p><b><u>IIS</u></b></p>
1832 <p>The IIS filter module supports the mapping of attributes into HTTP headers
1833 via AAP files, but it does not yet support rule-based access control and
1834 therefore cannot protect static content at this time. In addition, all of
1835 the configuration settings, such as control over whether to prompt for new
1836 sessions automatically, are managed via the
1837 <a href="#confRequestMap"><span class="fixed">RequestMap</span></a> element,
1838 so there are no additional commands to document at this time.<br>
1840 <p><b><u>Apache</u></b></p>
1841 <p>The Apache module provided can also interpret AAP settings to map
1842 attributes to HTTP request headers and to <span class="fixed">Require</span>
1843 rules, permitting protection of both static and dynamic content. Any of the
1844 typical ways of protecting content may be used (.htaccess, Directory,
1845 Location, Files, etc.). They define what content is to be protected and
1846 static access control rules.</p>
1847 <p>There are two ways to require Shibboleth authentication, but both also require
1848 enabling the module to activate by specifying an <span class="fixed">AuthType</span>
1849 of <span class="fixed">shibboleth</span> and supplying at least one
1850 <span class="fixed">Require</span> rule in <span class="fixed">httpd.conf</span>
1851 or <span class="fixed">.htaccess</span> files. The <span class="fixed">Require</span>
1852 rule can enforce a specific access control policy based on attributes, can specify
1853 <span class="fixed">valid-user</span> to require any authenticated session, or it can
1854 support so-called lazy sessions by using the place-holder rule name of
1855 <span class="fixed">Shibboleth</span>. In such cases, the module is activated, but
1856 in a passive mode that does not automatically force a session, but will process
1857 and validate a session if one exists, leaving the authorization decision to the
1858 application. Using a static access control rule that will fail in the absence of
1859 a session is only sensible if one of the two approaches below that force a session
1861 <p>To require a session, either the Apache command, <span class="fixed">ShibRequireSession On</span>,
1862 or the <span class="fixed">requireSession</span> boolean XML attribute on the
1863 <a href="#confRequestMap"><span class="fixed">RequestMap</span></a>,
1864 <a href="#confHost"><span class="fixed">Host</span></a>, or
1865 <a href="#confPath"><span class="fixed">Path</span></a> elements in
1866 <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span> can be used. Both approaches are equivalent, and
1867 using either one to require a session will supersede a false or absent setting of the other type.</p>
1868 <p>As an example, the following commands will require Shibboleth authentication for a resource:</p>
1870 <span class="fixed">AuthType shibboleth<br>
1871 ShibRequireSession On<br>
1872 Require valid-user</span>
1874 <p>A complete list of Apache directives and their values is below:</p>
1876 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">ShibURLScheme <http/https></span></dd>
1877 <dd class="value">Used in advanced virtual hosting environments which need to generate
1878 SSL redirects from virtual servers that use only HTTP. Supplements the
1879 Apache <span class="fixed">ServerName</span> and <span class="fixed">Port</span>
1880 commands with this missing option. Defaults to a null value in which the scheme
1881 for redirects is based on the physical connection to the server. This is a server-level
1882 command, while the rest of the commands listed are content commands that can appear
1884 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">AuthType <string></span></dd>
1885 <dd class="value">Use <span class="fixed">shibboleth</span> for direct
1886 invocation, or <span class="fixed">Basic</span> plus the
1887 <span class="fixed">ShibBasicHijack</span> option described below.</dd>
1888 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">ShibBasicHijack <on/off></span></dd>
1889 <dd class="value">Controls whether Shibboleth should or should not
1890 ignore requests with <span class="fixed">AuthType Basic</span>. Defaults
1891 to <span class="fixed">off</span>.</dd>
1892 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">ShibRequireSession <on/off></span></dd>
1893 <dd class="value">Controls whether to require an authenticated session before passing
1894 control to the authorization phase or the actual resource. Defaults to
1895 <span class="fixed">off</span>.</dd>
1896 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">ShibExportAssertion <on/off></span></dd>
1897 <dd class="value">Controls whether the SAML attribute assertion provided
1898 by the AA is exported in a base64-encoded HTTP header,
1899 <span class="fixed">HTTP_SHIB_ATTRIBUTES</span>. Defaults to <span class="fixed">off</span>.</dd>
1900 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">ShibRequireAll <on/off></span></dd>
1901 <dd class="value">Controls whether all <span class="fixed">Require</span> rules
1902 specified must be satisfied before access to the resource is granted. Defaults to
1903 <span class="fixed">off</span>, which means any single rule can be satisfied, the
1904 usual Apache behavior.</dd>
1905 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">AuthGroupFile <pathname></span></dd>
1906 <dd class="value">Same as mod_auth; collects values found in REMOTE_USER
1907 into a named group for access control. An attribute must be mapped to
1908 REMOTE_USER for this to work. Note that mod_auth will not support group
1909 files when the Shibboleth module is loaded, since they share the same command.
1910 <p><a href="http://httpd.apache.org/docs/mod/core.html#require">This is
1911 implemented</a> by placing a <span class="fixed">.htaccess</span> file
1912 that references a group file stored at <span class="fixed">/pathname</span>:</p>
1914 <p><span class="fixed">AuthGroupFile /pathname<br>
1915 require group workgroup</span></p>
1918 <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/docs/mod/mod_auth.html#authgroupfile">
1919 AuthGroupFile</a> used by Shibboleth might resemble:<br>
1920 <span class="fixed">workgroup: joe@example.edu, jane@demo.edu, jim@sample.edu</span>
1922 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">Require <string></span></dd>
1923 <dd class="value">Enforce authorization using one of the following methods.
1925 <li><span class="fixed">valid-user</span><blockquote>
1926 <p>Any Shibboleth user from a trusted origin site is accepted,
1927 even if no actual attributes are received. This is a very
1928 minimal kind of policy, but is useful for testing or for
1929 deferring real policy to an application.</p>
1932 <li><span class="fixed">user</span><blockquote>
1933 <p>A space-delimited list of values, such as from the
1934 <span class="fixed">urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonPrincipalName</span>
1935 attribute. Actually, any attribute can be mapped to REMOTE_USER,
1936 even if this doesn't always make sense.</p>
1939 <li><span class="fixed">group</span><blockquote>
1940 <p>A space-delimited list of group names defined within
1941 <span class="fixed">AuthGroupFile</span> files, again provided
1942 that a mapping to <span class="fixed">REMOTE_USER</span> exists.</p>
1945 <li><span class="fixed"><i>alias</i></span><blockquote>
1946 <p>An arbitrary rule name that matches an Alias defined in an
1947 AAP file. The rule value is a space-delimited list of attribute
1948 values, whose format depends on the attribute in question (e.g.
1949 an affiliation rule might look like:</p>
1950 <p><span class="fixed">require affiliation staff@osu.edu faculty@mit.edu</span></p>
1953 <li><span class="fixed">shibboleth</span><blockquote>
1954 <p>If a session cookie of the expected name exists, the corresponding
1955 session will be validated and any cached attributes exported as otherwise
1956 specified. Authorization will be controlled by the resource, unless
1957 additional rules are specified. If however a session does not already
1958 exist, or if the current session expires or times out, no session will
1959 be requested and control will pass to the resource.</p>
1963 <p>Additionally, for <span class="fixed">user</span> and
1964 <span class="fixed"><alias></span>-based rules, if a tilde character is
1965 placed immediately following <span class="fixed">user</span> or
1966 <span class="fixed"><alias></span>, the expressions that follow are
1967 treated as regular expressions. The syntax supported is generally based
1968 on the one defined by <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema-2/#regexs">
1969 XML Schema</a>. This specification borders on unreadable, but the syntax
1970 is generally Perl-like. Expressions should generally be "anchored" with
1971 the ^ and $ symbols to insure mid-string matches don't cause false
1973 <p>For example, the rule:<br>
1974 <span class="fixed">require affiliation ~ ^member@.+\.edu$<br>
1975 </span>would evaluate to allowing anyone with an <span class="fixed">
1976 affiliation</span> of <span class="fixed">member</span> from a .edu
1980 <h4><a name="4.e."></a>4.e. Defining Attributes and Acceptance Policies</h4>
1982 <p>Shibboleth allows a user and a site to release a varying set of
1983 attributes to a destination site, and does not impose restrictions on the
1984 kinds of attribute information provided by an AA. Target implementations
1985 must be prepared to examine the attributes they receive and filter them
1986 based on policies about what information to permit an origin site to assert
1987 about its users.</p>
1988 <p>Attribute acceptance is the process of defining acceptable attributes and
1989 filtering attribute values before passing them on to a resource manager,
1990 such as the Shibboleth module or a web application. Data blocked by
1991 AAP filters will not be passed to the CGI environment or used when enforcing
1992 <span class="fixed">.htaccess</span> rules in Apache. Note that the attribute
1993 assertion exported to the <span class="fixed">HTTP_SHIB_ATTRIBUTES</span> header
1994 is now also filtered. This is a change from previous versions. To compensate,
1995 either no AAP can be specified, or a rule can be applied to permit all
1996 attributes to pass through while also exporting specific attributes.</p>
1997 <p>The Shibboleth implementation supports Scoped and Simple attributes and
1998 filtering policies for different kinds of attributes, and is potentially
1999 extensible to more complex attributes in the future. An attribute is
2000 considered Scoped if the XML representation of its values contains a "Scope"
2001 attribute. As of 1.1+, this is detected at runtime and requires no
2002 configuration in advance.</p>
2003 <p><b>An essential part of the Shibboleth trust fabric is ensuring that
2004 sites only assert attributes for domains for which they are considered
2005 authoritative by the target. Typically, this means that Brown University
2006 will be trusted to assert attributes only scoped to <span class="fixed">
2007 brown.edu</span>. Unless there are very specific circumstances requiring
2008 this restriction be removed, it is strongly encouraged that such policies be
2009 left in place.</b></p>
2012 <p>Scoped attributes are a special kind of attribute whose values are a
2013 combination of a <span class="fixed">value</span> and a
2014 <span class="fixed">scope</span>, or <span class="fixed">context</span>
2015 for the value. An example is <span class="fixed">
2016 eduPersonScopedAffiliation</span>, which adds a scope to the defined set
2017 of <span class="fixed">eduPersonAffiliation</span> values, such as
2018 <span class="fixed">student</span>, <span class="fixed">member</span>,
2019 or <span class="fixed">faculty</span>. Scopes are expressed as DNS
2020 domains and subdomains as a convention.</p>
2021 <p>Any <span class="fixed">scoped</span> attribute can be scoped only to
2022 the origin site's permitted domains. These domains are listed in the
2023 operational metadata that provides policy information to the system and
2024 can be overridden or supplemented using the AAP. Domains can be explicit
2025 or regular expressions, and can be changed by a target to meet its needs.
2026 Thus, attribute acceptance processing for <span class="fixed">scoped</span>
2027 attributes is based on site metadata and target-specified overrides in
2028 addition to the mechanism described below for <span class="fixed">simple</span>
2030 <p>Scope rules specified in an AAP are additive with any domains
2031 permitted by site metadata, and the rules are applied by first looking
2032 for an applicable denial rule, and then looking at site metadata and any
2033 applicable site rules for an accept rule.</p>
2037 <p>Simple attributes are attributes whose value is expressed in XML as a
2038 Text node; that is, the value is just a string. Multiple values are
2039 permitted. <span class="fixed">eduPersonEntitlement</span>, in which the
2040 values are URIs, is one example of a simple attribute.</p>
2041 <p>Both Simple and Scoped attribute acceptance is controlled with an
2042 external (or in 1.2, optionally inline) policy file written in XML.
2043 The schema for the file is described by the <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xsd</span>
2044 schema, and an example file is included, <span class="fixed">AAP.xml</span>.
2045 It is now optional to supply such a policy, but in the absence of one, no
2046 attributes will be exported into request headers, and the option to export
2047 the assertion as a whole must be used instead.</p>
2048 <p>The policy is a default-deny algorithm that requires permissible
2049 attributes and values be listed explicitly. That is, an empty (as opposed to no)
2050 policy permits nothing. Each attribute to be supported must be listed in the
2051 policy by name in an <span class="fixed"><AttributeRule></span>. Each such
2052 rule is a collection of <span class="fixed"><SiteRule></span> elements
2053 along with an optional <span class="fixed"><AnySite></span> default
2054 rule. In turn each site rule is a set of <span class="fixed"><Value></span>
2055 rules that specify matches to permit, either literal or regular
2056 expressions, or a wildcarded <span class="fixed"><AnyValue></span>
2057 default rule, which is equivalent to a single regular expression rule
2058 allowing anything.</p>
2059 <p>With 1.2, a new <span class="fixed"><AnyAttribute></span> element
2060 can be used before or in place of the <span class="fixed"><AttributeRule></span>
2061 elements to allow all attributes and values to pass muster. The purpose of this
2062 is to then supply rules to specify the export of particular attributes, without
2063 using those rules to control acceptance.</p>
2065 <p>A syntax summary follows:</p>
2067 <p><span class="fixed"><AttributeAcceptancePolicy></span></p>
2069 <p>The top level element in the file.</p>
2071 <p><span class="fixed"><AnyAttribute></span></p>
2073 <p>Disables acceptance filtering and leaves the assertion intact.</p>
2075 <p><span class="fixed"><AttributeRule><br>
2076 Name="urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonScopedAffiliation"<br>
2077 Header="Shib-EP-Affiliation" Alias="affiliation"></span></p>
2079 <p>Specifies a rule for an attribute, named by its URI. The
2080 following XML attributes can be supplied:</p>
2081 <table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5">
2083 <td><span class="fixed">Name</span></td>
2084 <td>The name of the Shibboleth attribute, usually a URI.
2085 This is the only required XML attribute.</td>
2088 <td><span class="fixed">Namespace</span></td>
2089 <td>If the attribute's name includes a SAML namespace,
2090 supply it here. Normally this is unused.</td>
2093 <td><span class="fixed">Header</span></td>
2094 <td>The HTTP request header to map the attribute's values
2098 <td><span class="fixed">Alias</span></td>
2099 <td>A short name for the attribute, determines the name of
2100 the Apache <span class="fixed">Require</span> rule.</td>
2104 <p><span class="fixed"><AnySite></span></p>
2106 <p>Specifies a rule that always applies to the attribute, regardless
2107 of the asserting origin site.</p>
2109 <p><span class="fixed"><SiteRule Name="providerId"></span></p>
2111 <p>A rule that applies to the origin site corresponding to the supplied
2114 <p><span class="fixed"><Scope Accept="true|false" Type="type"></span></p>
2116 <p>Specifies a value to accept or deny, either directly using
2117 <span class="fixed">type</span> <span class="fixed">literal</span>,
2118 or using a set of matching expressions as <span class="fixed">type</span>
2119 <span class="fixed">regexp</span>. <span class="fixed">literal</span>
2120 is the default if <span class="fixed">Type</span> is not specified.
2121 Accept defaults to "true">.</p>
2123 <p><span class="fixed"><AnyValue></span></p>
2125 <p>Specifies a rule that always applies to the attribute and site,
2126 regardless of the value(s).</p>
2128 <p><span class="fixed"><Value Type="type"></span></p>
2130 <p>Specifies a value to permit, either directly using
2131 <span class="fixed">type</span> <span class="fixed">literal</span>,
2132 or using a set of matching expressions as <span class="fixed">type</span>
2133 <span class="fixed">regexp</span>. <span class="fixed">literal</span>
2134 is the default if <span class="fixed">Type</span> is not specified.</p>
2137 <p>The regular expression syntax is a subset of the usual Perl and Unix
2138 syntaxes that is described in the XML Schema specification by the W3C. Most
2139 typical expressions should work. Be sure to anchor them using
2140 <span class="fixed">^</span> and <span class="fixed">$</span> to avoid
2141 unintentional matches midstring.</p>
2143 <h4><a name="4.f."></a>4.f. Using Attributes and Session Data in Applications</h4>
2145 <p>Apart from the simple RM functionality provided, attribute information
2146 may be made available directly to applications via the standard practice of
2147 creating custom HTTP request headers before passing control to the
2148 resource. Web applications should make no assumption about the presence of
2149 specific attributes for their use unless they have intimate knowledge of the
2150 attribute release policies in place.</p>
2151 <p>The AAP rules control this interface, and map Shibboleth attributes
2152 to header names, such as <span class="fixed">Shib-EP-Affiliation</span>.
2153 Using that example, any values of the mapped attribute will be placed in
2154 that header, delimited by semicolons. An application that uses a CGI-like
2155 syntax to access the header will find the values in the <span class="fixed">
2156 HTTP_SHIB_EP_AFFILIATION</span> variable. Any attribute can be placed in any
2157 header, to drive legacy applications that expect information in a particular
2159 <p>The <span class="fixed">REMOTE_USER</span> variable is a special case
2160 that is generally populated automatically by the web server based on an
2161 internal piece of data that represents the current <span class="fixed">
2162 username</span>. Unlike many authentication modules, Shibboleth does not
2163 guarantee that <span class="fixed">REMOTE_USER</span> will have any value,
2164 because users may remain anonymous in many cases. If it does have a value,
2165 it is set solely because of an AAP file that maps an attribute to that
2166 header name. For many purposes, the <span class="fixed">
2167 urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonPrincipalName</span> attribute should be
2168 mapped to <span class="fixed">REMOTE_USER</span>. Even so, EPPN may not be
2169 provided by the AA, and <span class="fixed">REMOTE_USER</span> might still
2171 <p>In addition to general attribute information, the following special
2172 HTTP headers are created for any authenticated request:</p>
2174 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">HTTP_SHIB_ORIGIN_SITE</span></dd>
2175 <dd class="value">Contains the unique identifier (providerId) of the
2176 origin site of the user. Some applications may use this to lookup
2177 additional policy or application data. It normally takes the form of a
2178 URI but could be any string in some deployments.</dd>
2179 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">HTTP_SHIB-AUTHENTICATION-METHOD</span></dd>
2180 <dd class="value">Contains the SAML AuthenticationMethod URI that
2181 documents some aspect of the user's authentication to the origin site's
2182 web authentication service.</dd>
2183 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">HTTP_SHIB_APPLICATION_ID</span></dd>
2184 <dd class="value">Contains the XML <span class="fixed">applicationId</span>
2185 attribute in <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span> that corresponds to
2186 the request based on the <a href="#confRequestMap"><span class="fixed">RequestMap</span></a>
2187 and associated elements.</dd>
2188 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">HTTP_SHIB_ATTRIBUTES</span></dd>
2189 <dd class="value">Contains the assertion in XML containing the
2190 SAML attribute information from the AA in base64-encoded format.
2191 This is a raw interface that provides an application with the entire
2192 assertion in, but is still a filtered view based on any attribute acceptance
2195 <p>Finally, special support exists to obtain the value of the SAML
2196 <span class="fixed"><NameIdentifier></span> element, which identifies the
2197 subject of the session, the user. Many Shibboleth deployments use opaque handles
2198 that have no application value, however newer deployments may choose to support
2199 alternative identifiers, including formats defined by SAML. Targets can use
2200 these origins and obtain the primary subject name by using a special AAP
2201 <span class="fixed"><AttributeRule></span> with a
2202 <span class="fixed">Name</span> corresponding to the SAML
2203 <span class="fixed">Format</span> identifier that describes the kind of
2204 identifier used to represent the subject. The rule specifies in what header
2205 to export the identifier value (such as <span class="fixed">REMOTE_USER</span>),
2206 while the <span class="fixed">Format</span> identifier will be placed in the
2207 <span class="fixed">HTTP_SHIB_NAMEIDENTIFIER_FORMAT</span> header.
2210 <h4><a name="4.g."></a>4.g. <span class="fixed">siterefresh</span></h4>
2212 <p>Shibboleth provides a simple tool called <span class="fixed">siterefresh</span>
2213 in the <span class="fixed">/opt/shibboleth/bin</span> folder of the
2214 distribution to maintain metadata files referenced by <span class="fixed">
2215 shibboleth.xml</span>. It will return 0 only on success and a negative number on
2216 failure and log errors to <span class="fixed">stderr</span>. If the data in
2217 the new metadata file is unusable or schema invalid, or the signature is invalid,
2218 the existing copy is kept and not overwritten. The SHAR and SHIRE stat all
2219 metadata files each time the data is used, allowing them to detect and utilize
2220 updates in real-time during system operation.</p>
2221 <p><span class="fixed">siterefresh</span> takes the following command-line
2224 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">--url <URL></span></dd>
2225 <dd class="value">Specifies the <span class="fixed">URL</span> of the
2226 remote metadata file with which to update the local file. HTTPS is not
2227 supported at this time.</dd>
2228 <dd class="attribute"><span class="fixed">--out <pathname></span></dd>
2229 <dd class="value">Specifies the local file to which to write the new
2231 <dd class="attributeopt"><span class="fixed">--noverify</span></dd>
2232 <dd class="value">Explicitly disables the requirement for the file to be signed
2233 and allows the certificate parameter to be ommitted. If the file is signed,
2234 the signature will be verified using whatever key is supplied inside it,
2235 and an invalid signature will still result in an error, but if the file is
2236 unsigned or has a valid signature, only a warning will be logged, and the
2237 result will be success.</dd>
2238 <dd class="attributeopt"><span class="fixed">--cert <pathname></span></dd>
2239 <dd class="value">Specifies the location of a certificate stored in
2240 <span class="fixed">PEM</span> format used to validate the signature of
2241 the metadata file. Since much of Shibboleth's security flows from
2242 metadata files, this option is highly recommended, and the certificate
2243 used should be verified independently in some out of band fashion.</dd>
2244 <dd class="attributeopt"><span class="fixed">--schema <pathname></span></dd>
2245 <dd class="value">Optionally defines a base path for schemas to use
2246 when validating the file. Defaults to a location based on the installation
2247 path on Unix, or <span class="fixed">\opt\shibboleth\etc\shibboleth</span>
2249 <dd class="attributeopt"><span class="fixed">--rootns <XML namespace></span></dd>
2250 <dd class="value">Optionally defines the XML namespace of the root element
2251 expected in the new file. Normally unused, provided to support alternative
2252 metadata formats that may be backported to older releases.</dd>
2253 <dd class="attributeopt"><span class="fixed">--rootname <XML element name></span></dd>
2254 <dd class="value">Optionally defines the name of the root element
2255 expected in the new file. Normally unused, provided to support alternative
2256 metadata formats that may be backported to older releases.</dd>
2258 <p>If a zero is returned, the command will copy the retrieved file to the output
2259 location. Otherwise one of the following error values will be returned:</p>
2260 <table align="center" cellspacing="5">
2261 <tr><td>-100</td><td>an invalid combination of parameters was specified</td></tr>
2262 <tr><td>-10</td><td>the OpenSAML library failed to initialize</td></tr>
2263 <tr><td>-1</td><td>the file's XML digital signature was invalid</td></tr>
2264 <tr><td>-2</td><td>a SAML exception was trapped</td></tr>
2265 <tr><td>-3</td><td>an XML library exception was trapped</td></tr>
2266 <tr><td>-4</td><td>a general XML security library exception was trapped</td></tr>
2267 <tr><td>-5</td><td>an XML security library crypto exception was trapped</td></tr>
2268 <tr><td>-6</td><td>an unknown exception was trapped</td></tr>
2270 <p>A complete command issued to <span class="fixed">siterefresh</span> might
2273 <p><span class="fixed">/opt/shibboleth/bin/siterefresh --out IQ-sites.xml --cert internet2.pem \<br>
2274 --url http://wayf.internet2.edu/InQueue/IQ-sites.xml </span></p>
2276 <p>It is recommended that such commands be added to a <span class="fixed">
2277 crontab</span> to keep the site and trust files refreshed. AAP files tend to
2278 be site-specific, but could be maintained and distributed centrally. If the
2279 command is invoked in a script that writes the file to a new location and
2280 compares it with the old contents before overwriting the original, the
2281 command could be run very often without impacting target operations,
2282 providing a high degree of currency in case sites become compromised.</p>
2284 <h4><a name="4.h."></a>4.h. MySQL Session Cache</h4>
2286 <p>Shibboleth includes a useful plugin that extends the default memory cache
2287 for storing session data in the SHAR with a backing cache using an embedded
2288 MySQL database. It is now disabled by default. The plugin can be found in the
2289 <span class="fixed">/opt/shibboleth/libexec</span> folder, and is loaded as an
2290 extension library using the <a href="#confExtensions"><span class="fixed">Extensions</span></a>
2291 element of <span class="fixed">shibboleth.xml</span>. The extension and the
2292 <a href="#confMySQLSessionCache"><span class="fixed">MySQLSessionCache</span></a>
2293 element are commented out by default.</p>
2294 <p>Important <a href="#confArgument"><span class="fixed">Argument</span></a>
2295 elements you'll find by default include:</p>
2296 <blockquote class="fixed">
2297 <p>--language=/opt/shibboleth/share/english<br>
2298 --datadir=/opt/shibboleth/data</p>
2300 <p>which set the message file path and the location of the cache's
2301 database files respectively. Make sure the data directory exists before
2302 starting the SHAR if you change this path.</p>
2304 <h4><a name="4.i."></a>4.i. Using Lazy Sessions</h4>
2306 <p><b>For a background on sessions in Shibboleth, and a description of what
2307 a lazy session is and why it would be useful, consult <a href="#1.g">section
2309 <p>This section describes how an application can trigger the establishment
2310 of a Shibboleth session and optionally receive attributes once its internal
2311 logic decides this is necessary. It assumes the application is protected
2312 using lazy sessions because the <span class="fixed">RequireSession</span>
2313 attribute of the <a href="#confPath"><span class="fixed">Path</span></a> or
2314 <a href="#confPath"><span class="fixed">Host</span></a> element protecting
2315 it is set to <span class="fixed">false</span>. This application must be
2316 aware of two pieces of information:</p>
2318 <li>The URL that should be accessed after the session is established;
2319 frequently, this will be the application's own URL; and</li>
2320 <li>The URL of the SHIRE associated with the <a
2321 href="#confApplication"><span class="fixed">Application</span></a>
2322 containing the URL to be accessed(contained within the corresponding <a
2323 href="#confSessions"><span class="fixed">Sessions</span></a>
2326 <p>These two pieces of information must be combined by the application to an
2327 appropriately formed URL to trigger session initiation as follows. To
2328 request a session, the application returns an HTTP redirect that sends the
2329 browser to the SHIRE URL with a parameter, <span
2330 class="fixed">target</span>, containing the URL of the resource to return to
2331 with a session. This will often be the URL that's triggering the redirect.
2332 The SHIRE will generate the redirect to the WAYF and the rest proceeds as a
2333 standard Shibboleth flow. This combined URL takes the form: <span class="fixed">https://<i>shireURL</i>?target=<i>applicationURL</i></span>.</p>
2334 <p>For example, if an application located at <span
2335 class="fixed">https://foo.com/portal</span> presents a page with an option
2336 to login, it could respond to the login button by redirecting the browser to
2338 class="fixed">https://foo.com/Shibboleth.shire?target=https%3A%2F%2Ffoo.com%2Fportal</span>.</p>
2342 <h3><a name="5."></a>5. Troubleshooting</h3>
2343 <p>This section provides basic information about testing Shibboleth targets.
2344 This information is not intended to be comprehensive, but instead rudimentary
2345 guidelines for basic configuration tests and problems. For more detailed
2346 information or answers to specific problems not addressed in this section,
2347 please mail <a href="mailto:shibboleth-users@internet2.edu">shibboleth-users@internet2.edu</a>
2348 with a thorough description of errors and configurations used.</p>
2349 <h4><a name="5.a."></a>5.a. Basic Testing</h4>
2351 <p>The target may be tested by generating a folder with very basic access
2352 controls on it, and accessing it using a web browser. Place a simple webpage
2353 such as <span class="fixed">index.html</span> in <span class="fixed">
2354 /secure/</span>. Then, add the following lines to <span class="fixed">
2355 httpd.conf</span>, which should be removed when testing is over:</p>
2357 <p><span class="fixed"># Configure a test directory<br>
2358 <Location /secure><br>
2359 AuthType shibboleth<br>
2360 ShibRequireSession On<br>
2361 require valid-user<br>
2362 </Location><br>
2365 <p><b>For information regarding specific error messages that may be
2366 generated if the target does not work successfully, please refer to section
2367 <a href="#5.b.">5.b.</a>, or write
2368 <a href="mailto:shibboleth-users@internet2.edu">shibboleth-users@internet2.edu</a>.</b></p>
2370 <h4><a name="5.b."></a>5.b. Common Problems</h4>
2372 <p>A knowledge base is being developed in the
2373 <a href="https://umdrive.memphis.edu/wassa/public/shib.faq/shibboleth-faq.html">
2374 Shibboleth Deployer's FAQ</a>. Please mail
2375 <a href="mailto:shibboleth-users@internet2.edu">shibboleth-users@internet2.edu</a>
2376 with any additional questions or problems encountered that are not answered
2377 by this basic guide.</p>