Single Sign-On
Offerings
Dustin MacIver
EBSCO Publishing
6/4/2011
Presentation Agenda
EBSCO Products Using Single Sign-On
• EBSCOhost
• EBSCO A-to-Z
• EBSCO A-to-Z with LinkSource
Administrative Module Implementation
Single Sign-On Considerations (EBSCO A-to-Z and
EBSCO A-to-Z with LinkSource
About EBSCOhost
An online reference system offering a variety of proprietary
full text databases and popular databases from leading
information providers.
EBSCO’s flagship platform.
Other subject-centric specialized interfaces available – e.g.
Business Searching Interface, Student Research Center,
Literary Reference Center, etc.).
Supports Athens and Shibboleth authentication.
EBSCOhost - Athens
When an institution registers with Athens for the first time, the
following process occurs:
The institution provides a list of vendors and database
subscriptions to Athens.
Athens contacts EBSCO Publishing to verify account status and
subscriptions.
Athens sends an Athens OrgID directly to the institution to use for
access via the Athens login.
The institution provides their Athens OrgID to EBSCO for
authentication updates in EBSCOadmin.
EBSCOhost - Athens
Athens authentication is
enabled in the
EBSCOhost
administrative module,
EBSCOadmin. The
Athens Organization
number is assigned at
the group level.
EBSCOhost - Athens
Users wishing to access EBSCOhost via Athens use the following
URL:
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=athens
Mixed authentication options are available:
Authtype=ip,athens (IP, Athens)
Authtype=cookie,ip,athens (cookie, IP, Athens)
Group, profile and database-level URLs are also available:
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,cookie,ath
ens&profile=ehost&defaultdb=a9h (Athens authenticated link for
Academic Search Complete)
EBSCOhost - Shibboleth
EBSCO currently supports the following federations:
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Renater (French Universities and Grandes Ecoles) – France
InCommon - United States
SURFnet - the Netherlands
SWAMID (SWedish ACadeMic IDentity) - Sweden
SWITCHaai - Switzerland
UK Access Management Federation for Education and
Research - United Kingdom
DFN-AAI - Germany
FCCNaai – Portugal
CESNET (Czech Academic Identity Federation) – Czech
Republic
EBSCOhost - Shibboleth
Shibboleth authentication is
also enabled in EBSCOadmin.
Before setting up Shibboleth
authentication, you should
contact the federation to which
your institution belongs--the
federation should provide the
region and either the affiliation
(eduPersonScopedAffiliation)
or entitlement
(eduPersonEntitlement)
information you will enter in
EBSCOadmin.
Like Athens, various Shibboleth URLs are available:
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,shib&profile=cinahl&
defaultdb=c8h (Shibboleth authenticating URL for CINAHL with Full Text)
EBSCOhost - Shibboleth
EBSCO site configuration allows the following SHIBBOLETH
standard names for these attributes (case insensitive):
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MEMBER
FACULTY
STUDENT
STAFF
ALUM
AFFILIATE
EMPLOYEE
TEMPORARY
EBSCOhost – Shibboleth
(Login Screen & Steps)
About EBSCO A-to-Z
A Web-based tool for organizing and providing links to a
library’s e-resources, including e-journals, titles in full-text
databases and e-journal packages, and e-books.
Print resources integration available.
Over 460,000 unique titles from more than 3,600 databases
and e-journal packages available for selection.
Choice of LCC, General or Medical subject headings.
Supports Athens and Shibboleth authentication.
About EBSCO A-to-Z with LinkSource
EBSCO’s vendor-neutral, OpenURL link resolver.
Offers item-level linking between your online services,
including e-journal sites, full-text and secondary research
databases, OPACs, Web sites, search engines, document
delivery and interlibrary loan forms.
Allows you to connect your end users from the citations in
one service to the full text in another, maximizing the use of
your full-text collections.
Utilizes EBSCO’s robust and ever-expanding A-to-Z
knowledge base.
OpenURL 1.0 KEV (Key/Encoded-Value) compliant..
EBSCO A-to-Z and Linksource - Athens
Athens authentication is enabled in the A-to-Z/LinkSource
administrative module, A-to-Z Admin.
In order for your patrons to be prompted for Athens authentication
(and to protect your collection), one should also set up user
name/password authentication. (Once your users reach the user
name/password log-in screen, they will see an Athens log-in option.)
EBSCO A-to-Z and
EBSCO A-to-Z with LinkSource - Shibboleth
Like Athens, Shibboleth authentication is enabled under the Access
Management tab in A-to-Z Admin.
The Shibboleth authentication option takes advantage of Shibboleth
credentials previously setup within EBSCOadmin.
Shibboleth authentication became available in February of 2011.
The Athens and Shibboleth authentication settings in A-to-Z Admin do
not authenticate end users to full text resources; the settings simply
authenticate users into EBSCO A-to-Z and/or LinkSource using these
protocols.
Athens & Shibboleth – A Proxy Solution
It is possible to direct specific
resource links through Athens on
EBSCO A-to-Z and EBSCO A-to-Z
with LinkSource by assigning the
Athens IP Proxy prefix to specific
resources. This is also
accomplished in A-to-Z Admin
under the Access Management tab.
Athens URL Mask: http://proxy1.athensams.net/athens?url={URL}
This and all proxy masks can be applied at the package or title levels in A-to-Z
Admin.
Some resources in the A-to-Z knowledge base for selection are Athens/Shibboleth
equipped.
Rewriting proxy servers (e.g. EZproxy) can also incorporate built in Shibboleth
authentication.
Athens resource proxy list:
http://support.ebsco.com/uploads/kb/openathens_authenticated_urls.doc
Single Sign On Considerations
(Administrator and EBSCO)
Not all full text resources accommodate Athens/Shibboleth (or there are
authentication level limitations – e.g. journal level only).
Athens/Shibboleth URL syntax can change, breaking resource URLs.
Administrative learning curve and commitment (no proxy server)
LinkSource proxy character limitations (EBSCO)
Accommodating Shibboleth entitlement only (EBSCO)
Accommodating additional federations (EBSCO)
Supporting Shibboleth 2.0 (EBSCO)
Thanks for attending today’s presentation
DustinMacIver@ebscohost.com