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Case Study - H3 - USC CAPS (2013)

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University of Southern California CAPS: Shibboleth to SharePoint Integration 

Like many colleges and universities, USC participates in a multi-organizational federated login network known as InCommon through USCNet. This federation is largely built on Shibboleth, a product popular with educational organizations and the open source community. USC CAPS wanted to allow SharePoint users to connect using their USCNet login. However, integration between SharePoint and Shibboleth is known to be quite complex. Many struggle just to get it working, let alone make it secure.  

Performance Period 

May 2013 – July 2013 

Technical Accomplishments 

To manage this highly sophisticated deployment, LMS leveraged a combination of web based forms, XML, and PowerShell scripts to provide systematic and repeatable configuration. We designed and implemented an Active Directory Federated Services based architecture, acting as claims broker between Shibboleth and SharePoint. This allowed us to transform proprietary USC claims into industry accepted standards. 

We also leveraged ADFS and Beowulf™, our own suite of authentication products, to eliminate the redundant realm picker dropdowns in SharePoint and ADFS and allow ADFS users to log out of SharePoint. 

Results Achieved 

  • Relatively Painless Turnkey Process 

  • Cost Savings vs. Other Software Products 

  • Simple Form-Based Configuration 

  • Secure and Flexible Options 

  • Setup AD Accounts, Certificates, ADFS, and SharePoint 

  • Powerful Web Parts Also Included 

  • Also Works with OpenID, Azure ACS 

  • Fully Self-Documenting Solution 

More Information 

Ask us for our case study about this project. 

Contact 

Bob Oleinik, Associate IT Director, USC Career and Protective Services 
(213) 740-7220 (desk); roleinik@caps.usc.edu 

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