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Connect Okta as an identity provider to Citrix Cloud

November 27, 2023
Contributed by: 
J C

Citrix Cloud supports using Okta as an identity provider to authenticate subscribers signing in to their workspaces. By connecting your Okta organization to Citrix Cloud, you can provide a common sign-in experience for your subscribers to access resources in Citrix Workspace.

After enabling Okta authentication in Workspace Configuration, subscribers have a different sign-in experience. Selecting Okta authentication provides federated sign-in, not single sign-on. Subscribers sign in to workspaces from an Okta sign-in page, but they may have to authenticate a second time when opening an app or desktop from Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service). To enable single sign-on and prevent a second logon prompt, you need to use the Citrix Federated Authentication Service with Citrix Cloud. For more information, see Connect Citrix Federated Authentication Service to Citrix Cloud.

Prerequisites

Cloud Connectors or Connector Appliances

Either Cloud Connectors or Connector Appliances are required for enabling communication between Citrix Cloud and your resource location. At least two Cloud Connectors or Connector Appliances are required to ensure a highly available connection with Citrix Cloud. You need at least two Connectors joined to your Active Directory domain. These can be either Cloud Connectors or Connector Appliances.

The connectors must meet the following requirements:

  • Meet the requirements described in their respective documentation
  • Joined to your Active Directory (AD) domain. If your workspace users reside in multiple domains, the Connector Appliance multi-domain feature can be used to join multiple domains.
  • Connected to a network that can contact the resources that users access through Citrix Workspace.
  • Connected to the Internet. For more information, see System and Connectivity Requirements.

For more information about installing Cloud Connectors, see Cloud Connector Installation. For more information about installing Connector Appliances, see Connector Appliance Installation.

Okta domain

When connecting Okta to Citrix Cloud, you must supply the Okta domain for your organization. Citrix supports the following Okta domains:

  • okta.com
  • okta-eu.com
  • oktapreview.com

You can also use Okta custom domains with Citrix Cloud. Review the important considerations for using custom domains in Customize the Okta URL domain on the Okta web site.

For more information about locating the custom domain for your organization, see Finding Your Okta Domain on the Okta web site.

Okta OIDC web application

To use Okta as an identity provider, you must first create an Okta OIDC web application with client credentials you can use with Citrix Cloud. After you create and configure the application, note the Client ID and Client Secret. You supply these values to Citrix Cloud when you connect your Okta organization.

To create and configure this application, see the following sections in this article:

Workspace URL

When creating the Okta application, you must supply your Workspace URL from Citrix Cloud. To locate the Workspace URL, select Workspace Configuration from the Citrix Cloud menu. The Workspace URL is shown on the Access tab.

Important:

If you modify the workspace URL later on, you must update the Okta application configuration with the new URL. Otherwise, your subscribers might experience issues with logging off from their workspace.

Okta API token

Using Okta as an identity provider with Citrix Cloud requires an API token for your Okta organization. Create this token using a Read-Only Administrator account in your Okta organization. This token must be able to read the users and groups in your Okta organization.

To create the API token, see Create an Okta API token in this article. For more information about API tokens, see Create an API Token on the Okta website.

Important:

When you create the API token, make a note of the token value (for example, copy the value temporarily to a plain text document). Okta displays this value only once, so you might create the token just before you perform the steps in Connect Citrix Cloud to your Okta organization.

Sync accounts with the Okta AD agent

To use Okta as an identity provider, you must first integrate your on-premises AD with Okta. To do this, you install the Okta AD agent in your domain and add your AD to your Okta organization. For guidance for deploying the Okta AD agent, see Get started with Active Directory integration on the Okta web site.

Afterward, you import your AD users and groups to Okta. When importing, include the following values associated with your AD accounts:

  • Email
  • SID
  • UPN
  • OID

Note:

If you are using Citrix Gateway service with Workspace, you don’t need to synchronize your AD accounts with your Okta organization.

To synchronize your AD users and groups with your Okta organization:

  1. Install and configure the Okta AD agent. For complete instructions, refer to the following articles on the Okta website:
  2. Add your AD users and groups to Okta by performing a manual import or an automated import. For more information about Okta import methods and instructions, refer to Manage Active Directory users and groups on the Okta website.

Create an Okta OIDC web app integration

  1. From the Okta management console, under Applications, select Applications.
  2. Select Create App Integration.
  3. In Sign in method, select OIDC - OpenID Connect.
  4. In Application type, select Web Application. Select Next.
  5. In App Integration Name, enter a friendly name for the app integration.
  6. In Grant type, select Authorization Code (selected by default).
  7. In Sign-in redirect URIs, enter https://accounts.cloud.com/core/login-okta.
  8. In Sign-out redirect URIs, enter your Workspace URL from Citrix Cloud.
  9. Under Assignments, in Controlled access, select whether to assign the app integration to everyone in your organization, only groups that you specify, or to assign access later.
  10. Select Save. After you save the app integration, the console displays the application configuration page.
  11. In the Client Credentials section, copy the Client ID and Client Secret values. You use these values when you connect Citrix Cloud to your Okta organization.

Configure the Okta OIDC web application

In this step, you configure your Okta OIDC web application with the settings required for Citrix Cloud. Citrix Cloud requires these settings to authenticate your subscribers through Okta when they sign in to their workspaces.

  1. (Optional) Update client permissions for the implicit grant type. You might choose to perform this step if you prefer to allow the least amount of privilege for this grant type.
    1. From the Okta application configuration page, on the General tab, scroll to the General Settings section and select Edit.
    2. In the Application section, in Grant type, under Client acting on behalf of a user, clear the Allow Access Token with implicit grant type setting.
    3. Select Save.
  2. Add application attributes. These attributes are case-sensitive.
    1. From the Okta console menu, select Directory > Profile Editor.
    2. Select the Okta User (default) profile. Okta displays the User profile page.
    3. Under Attributes, select Add attribute.
    4. Enter the following information:
      • Display Name: cip_email
      • Variable Name: cip_email
      • Description: AD User Email
      • Attribute Length: Select Greater than and then enter 1.
      • Attribute Required: Yes
    5. Select Save and Add Another.
    6. Enter the following information:
      • Display Name: cip_sid
      • Variable Name: cip_sid
      • Description: AD User Security Identifier
      • Attribute Length: Select Greater than and then enter 1.
      • Attribute Required: Yes
    7. Select Save and Add Another.
    8. Enter the following information:
      • Display Name: cip_upn
      • Variable Name: cip_upn
      • Description: AD User Principal Name
      • Attribute Length: Select Greater than and then enter 1.
      • Attribute Required: Yes
    9. Select Save and Add Another.
    10. Enter the following information:
      • Display Name: cip_oid
      • Variable Name: cip_oid
      • Description: AD User GUID
      • Attribute Length: Select Greater than and then enter 1.
      • Attribute Required: Yes
    11. Select Save.
  3. Edit attribute mappings for the application:
    1. From the Okta console, select Directory > Profile Editor.
    2. Locate the active_directory profile for your AD. This profile might be labelled using the format myDomain User, where myDomain is the name of your integrated AD domain.
    3. Select Mappings. The User Profile Mappings page for your AD domain appears and the tab for mapping your AD to Okta User is selected.
    4. In the Okta User User Profile column, locate the attributes you created in Step 2 and map as follows:
      • For cip_email, select email from the User Profile column for your domain. When selected, the mapping appears as appuser.email.
      • For cip_sid, select objectSid from the User Profile column for your domain. When selected, the mapping appears as appuser.objectSid.
      • For cip_upn, select userName from the User Profile column for your domain. When selected, the mapping appears as appuser.userName.
      • For cip_oid, select externalId from the User Profile column for your domain. When selected, the mapping appears as appuser.externalId.
    5. Select Save Mappings.
    6. Select Apply updates now. Okta starts a job to apply the mappings.
    7. Sync Okta with your AD.
      1. From the Okta console, select Directory > Directory Integrations.
      2. Select your integrated AD.
      3. Select the Provisioning tab.
      4. Under Settings, select To Okta.
      5. Scroll to the Okta Attribute Mappings section and then select Force Sync.

Create an Okta API token

  1. Sign in to the Okta console using a Read-Only Administrator account.
  2. From the Okta console menu, select Security > API.
  3. Select the Tokens tab and then select Create Token.
  4. Enter a name for the token.
  5. Select Create Token.
  6. Copy the token value. You supply this value when you connect your Okta organization to Citrix Cloud.

Connect Citrix Cloud to your Okta organization

  1. Sign in to Citrix Cloud at https://citrix.cloud.com.
  2. From the Citrix Cloud menu, select Identity and Access Management.
  3. Locate Okta and select Connect from the ellipsis menu.
  4. In Okta URL, enter your Okta domain.
  5. In Okta API Token, enter the API token for your Okta organization.
  6. In Client ID and Client Secret, enter the client ID and secret from the OIDC web app integration you created earlier. To copy these values from the Okta console, select Applications and locate your Okta application. Under Client Credentials, use the Copy to Clipboard button for each value.
  7. Click Test and Finish. Citrix Cloud verifies your Okta details and tests the connection.

After the connection is verified successfully, you can enable Okta authentication for workspace subscribers.

Enable Okta authentication for workspaces

  1. From the Citrix Cloud menu, select Workspace Configuration > Authentication.
  2. Select Okta.
  3. When prompted, select I understand the impact on the subscriber experience.
  4. Select Save.

After switching to Okta authentication, Citrix Cloud temporarily disables workspaces for a few minutes. When workspaces are re-enabled, your subscribers can sign in using Okta.

More information

Connect Okta as an identity provider to Citrix Cloud
November 27, 2023
Contributed by: 
J C
November 27, 2023
Contributed by: 
J C

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