When a user logs in to a service provider, SURFconext sends a so-called SAML assertion to the service provider. This SAML assertion contains a number of statements about the user who is logging in to you service, including his identity, and possible a number of additional attributes (see below). More information about SAML can be found on this page.
User identifiers
The user's identity is transmitted in the form of the NameId element of the SAML statement. SPs should use the NameId (rather than email address, or other attributes that might change) to identify users, as it is guaranteed to be stable and never change for a fixed user (except in the case of transient identifiers, see below).
SURFconext can provide NameIds of three different types:
- A persistent identifier. A persistent NameId contains a random string that uniquely identifies the user for this SP, and which persists over multiple sessions for the same user..
- A transient identifier. A transient NameId contain a random string that uniquely identifies the user for this SP during the session. Once the user's session at SURFconext expires, a new transient identifier will be generated for the user and SP.
- A legacy identifier. A legacy NameId contains a human-readable dentifier of the form urn:collab:person:example.com:johndoe. This form of the identifier is deprecated and is not available for newly connected services. The reason for this is that SURFconext aims at minimal disclosure of personal information. If the SP needs information that is contained in the legacy NameId format (for example, the user's home institution), they should use proper attributes (for example, schacHomeOrganisation, see below) as a source for this informaiton.
Persistent and transient identifiers are typically of the form "bd09168cf0c2e675b2def0ade6f50b7d4bb4aaef". However, this form may change in the future, and service providers MUST NOT rely on the fact that the NameId is a 40-character hexadecimal string.
Formally, these formats are defined in the SAML2int standard. The two supported NameId types are
urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:persistenturn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:transient
which are specified in sections 8.3.7 and 8.3.8 of the SAML2 core specification.
The legacy format is not standardized, and currently has the type urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:unspecified.
Attributes
By default, SURFconext only transmits persistent NameIds to SPs. However, in many cases these services require more information about the users, such as a name or an email address.
Because of European privacy regulations, we cannot release such information to the SPs by default. In order to receive additional information, the user's home institution needs to give permission for each SP to receive its users' data. Typically, such permission will be arranged for during the initial SURFconext connection procedure.
SURFconext supports 2 'types' of atttributes: urn:oid schema and the urn:mace schema. By default SURFconext will provide attributes in both schemata as part of the assertion. Altough bth are provided, it is not reccommened to mix the use of these schemata.
SURFconext supported relaying of the following attributes:
Friendly name |
Attribute name |
Definition |
Data type |
Example |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ID |
(NameId) |
Random string |
bd09168cf0c2e675b2def0ade6f50b7d4bb4aae |
||
Surname |
UTF8 string |
Vermeegen |
|||
Given name |
UTF8 string |
Mërgim Lukáš |
|||
Common name |
UTF8 String |
Prof.dr. Mërgim Lukáš Vermeegen |
|||
Display name |
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:displayName |
UTF8 String |
Prof.dr. Mërgim L. Vermeegen |
||
Email address |
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:mail |
RFC-5322 address |
m.l.vermeegen@university.example.org |
]]></ac:plain-text-body></ac:structured-macro> |
|
Organization |
urn:mace:terena.org:attribute-def:schacHomeOrganization |
RFC-1035 domain string |
university.example.org |
||
Organization Type |
urn:mace:terena.org:attribute-def:schacHomeOrganizationType |
RFC-2141 URN |
urn:mace:terena.org:schac:homeOrganizationType:int:university |
||
Affiliation |
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonAffiliation |
Enum type (UTF8 String) |
faculty, student, staff, alum, member, affiliate, employee, library-walk-in |
||
Entitlement |
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonEntitlement |
RFC-2141 URN |
to be determined |
||
PrincipalName |
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonPrincipalName |
UTF8 String |
not.a@vålîd.émail.addreß |
||
isMemberOf |
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:isMemberOf |
RFC-2141 URN |
urn:collab:org:surf.nl |
||
uid |
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:uid |
UTF8 String |
s9603145 |
||
preferredLanguage |
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:preferredLanguage |
BCP47 language tag |
nl-BE |
More information
http://www.incommon.org/federation/attributesummary.html
saml2int.org
Attributes
The following attributes can be included in the response from SURFconext to the service provider. They contain information about the authenticated user. This will make it possible for the service to for instance show the "displayName" of the user in the interface or determine the affiliation of the user for authorization. For instance a student has a different view than a teacher.
Attribute |
Attribute (OID) |
Example |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
John Doe |
Usually this is equal to |
|
|
john@example.org |
This attribute can contain multiple email addresses. |
|
|
Doe |
|
|
|
John Doe |
|
|
|
John |
|
|
|
john_doe@example.org |
This is not necessarily a valid email address! |
|
|
example.org |
|
|
|
john_doe |
You should not use this for (unique) user identification purposes in your service! |
|
|
student |
Supported values: |
|
|
urn:collab:org:surf.nl |
Contact us before you want to use this attribute! |
In order to uniquely identify a user the persistent Name ID value can be used. This value can be extracted from the Name ID and is also available in the attribute urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonTargetedID (urn:oid:1.3.6.1.4.1.5923.1.1.1.10) if the SAML software does not support extracting Name ID values.
Currently we convert schacHomeOrganization to the wrong OID. The correct value is urn:oid:1.3.6.1.4.1.25178.1.2.9. This will be fixed soonish.
UID is the unique identifier of the user at the home institution, it is not unique for all users in SURFconext! Use eduPersonTargetedID (preferred) or eduPersonPrincipalName if you need to uniquely identify users.
A service provider SHOULD only at most request the following attributes, requesting these and any other attributes MUST BE accompanied by an explanation of why they are needed:
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:displayNameurn:mace:dir:attribute-def:mailurn:mace:dir:attribute-def:cnurn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonAffiliationurn:mace:terena.org:attribute-def:schacHomeOrganization
The attributes are available in both human readable format and OID format. See also this eduGAIN recommendation.
Ultimately it is up to the identity provider and service provider to agree on a set of attributes to be released by the IdP, SURFconext only mediates. However, it is strongly recommend to stick to the above attributes as they are standardized and ensure greater interoperability.
The table below lists the attributes that have been defined for use within SURFfederatie. This list was created in consultation with the connected institutions, specifically within the 3TU partnership. With a view to the expected future international collaboration, this table is largely based on the EduPerson and SCHAC tables. A number of attributes that are specific to SURFfederatie and the Netherlands have been added.
Note that the attributes described on this page are the standardised attributes that an identity provider may provide to the SURFnet federation gateway. If you are a service provider connecting to SURFconext, please refer to the attribute description on ?Authentication using SAML page.
Attributes overview
A more detailed description of each attribute can be found in the next section.
Attribute Name |
Description |
Example value(s) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
uid |
user id/login name |
joebloggs |
4236712 |
sn |
surname |
Bloggs |
Smith |
givenName |
given name |
Joe |
Prof. H.A.B. |
cn |
full name |
Joseph Bloggs |
|
displayName |
display name |
Joey |
|
e-mail address |
j.bloggs@rug.nl |
H.A.B.Smith@tudelft.nl |
|
eduPersonAffiliation |
affiliation type |
student |
employee |
eduPersonEntitlement |
entitlement |
?depends on service provider |
|
eduPersonPrincipalName |
unique name |
joebloggs@rug.nl |
|
preferredLanguage |
preferred language |
nl |
en |
schacHomeOrganization |
domain name |
tudelft.nl |
|
schacHomeOrganizationType |
type of organisation |
urn:mace:terena.org:schac: homeOrganizationType:eu: higherEducationInstitution |
|
nlEduPersonHomeOrganization |
name of institution |
Delft University of Technology |
Utrecht University of Applied Sciences |
nlEduPersonStudyBranch |
ROHO code |
52734 |
|
nlEduPersonOrgUnit |
department name |
Faculty of Humanities |
Library |
nlStudielinkNummer |
studielink number |
xxxxxxxxxx |
|
nlDigitalAuthorIdentifier |
DAI number |
070014345 |
|
Detailed attribute descriptions
The names of the attributes in the above table are the commonly used abbreviations. In the description below the attributes are listed using their full name. The SURFfederatie gateway will always provide the attributes by their full name. The attributes are defined in three different namespaces: urn:mace:dir:attribute-def, urn:mace:terena.org:schac and urn:mace:surffederatie.nl:attribute-def.
Attributes defined in urn:mace:dir:attribute-def
International standardised attributes according to the EduPerson schema have been defined within the namespace urn:mace:dir:attribute-def: http://middleware.internet2.edu/urn-mace/urn-mace-dir-attribute-def.html. The version of the EduPerson schema used is: MACE-Dir/Educause, eduPerson Object Class Specification (200806), http://middleware.internet2.edu/eduperson/docs/internet2-mace-dir-eduperson-200806.html, June 2008
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:uid
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
The unique code for a person that is used as the login name within the institution. |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:sn
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
The surname of a person (including any words such as "van", "de", "von" etc.) used for personalisation; this can be a combination of existing attributes. |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:givenName
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
Given name / "name known by"; combinations of title, initials, and "name known by" are possible. |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:cn
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
Full given name. |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:displayName
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
Display name as displayed in applications |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:mail
Multiplicity |
multi-value |
Description |
e-mail address; syntax in accordance with RFC 1274 and RFC 822. |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonAffiliation
Multiplicity |
multi-value |
Description |
indicates the relationship between the user and his/her own organisation; possible values:
|
Notes |
Note that you must not allow alum or affiliate users to access SURFfederatie. Providing this attribute is not sufficient to deny these users access to SURFfederatie as many service providers do not receive this attribute. Please contact federatie-beheer@surfnet.nl if you have questions about this. |
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonEntitlement
Multiplicity |
multi-value |
Description |
entitlement; URI (URL or URN) that indicates an entitlement to something; is determined by a contract between the service provider and the institution. |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:eduPersonPrincipalName
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
Unique "net ID" beyond the scope of the particular institution, in the form "<user>@<scope>".E.g. "s012001234@student.example.com". |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:preferredLanguage
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
a two-letter abbreviation for the preferred language according to the ISO 639 language abbreviation code table; no subcodes. |
Notes |
|
Attributes defined in urn:mace:terena.org:attribute-def
International standardised attributes according to the Terena SCHAC schema have been defined within the namespace urn:mace:terena.org:schac: http://www.terena.org/activities/tf-emc2/schacreleases.html. The version of the SCHAC table used is 1.3.0 (12 December 2006).
urn:mace:terena.org:attribute-def:schacHomeOrganization
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
designation for the person's organisation using the organisation's domain name; syntax in accordance with RFC 1035. |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:terena.org:attribute-def:schacHomeOrganizationType
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
designation of the type of organisation to which a person belongs, using the values registered by Terena on: http://www.terena.org/registry/terena.org/schac/homeOrganizationType |
Notes |
|
Attributes defined in urn:mace:surffederatie.nl:attribute-def
Nationally standardised attributes within SURFfederatie have been defined within the namespace urn:mace:surffederatie.nl:attribute-def. The name of all these attributes starts with the prefix "nl"
urn:mace:surffederatie.nl:attribute-def:nlEduPersonHomeOrganization
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
|
Notes |
This attribute is deprecated. It has been replaced by the urn:mace:terena.org:attribute-def:schacHomeOrganization attribute |
urn:mace:surffederatie.nl:attribute-def:nlEduPersonOrgUnit
Multiplicity |
multi-value |
Description |
Name of the department |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:surffederatie.nl:attribute-def:nlEduPersonStudyBranch
Multiplicity |
multi-value |
Description |
Study programme; numerical string containing the CROHO code. Empty if the programme is not a regular one. |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:surffederatie.nl:attribute-def:nlStudielinkNummer
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
A student's Studielink number as registered at www.studielink.nl |
Notes |
|
urn:mace:surffederatie.nl:attribute-def:nlDigitalAuthorIdentifier
Multiplicity |
single-value |
Description |
Digital Author Identifier (DAI) as described here |
Notes |
|