Setting up single sign-on (SSO)

This guide explains how to set up and enable single sign-on (SSO) when using an identity provider (IdP) for authentication.

SSO allows users to access multiple applications with a single set of credentials. An IdP manages authentication requests, enforces security policies, and reduces the need for separate passwords across different systems. By centralizing identity management, you can simplify access control and ensure consistent authentication policies across your organization.

You can also enforce security measures such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based access control (RBAC) to protect sensitive information. Once configured, SSO provides a seamless login experience while maintaining strong security across all connected applications.

Prerequisites

To enable SSO or require that it be applied to all of your organization’s users when they log in to the Fastly control panel, you must:

• be assigned the role of superuser for your Fastly account
• have access to your IdP’s administration console

In addition, your IdP must support:

• Security Assertion Markup Language 2.0 (SAML 2.0)
• Service Provider (SP) or IdP-initiated SSO for login purposes

You should also review this feature's limitations before enabling SSO.

Enabling SSO

Start by selecting an IdP and configuring that provider’s settings keeping in mind the prerequisites.

Requiring SSO for your organization

To require SSO for everyone in your organization except superusers, follow these instructions.

1. Log in to the Fastly control panel.

2. Go to Account > Single sign-on.

   

3. Select the Immediately enforce SSO checkbox that appears below the SAML configuration switch.

4. In the confirmation window, click Start enforcing SSO. Currently open non-SSO sessions for users assigned the role of user, billing, or engineer will be logged out and they will need to re-authenticate using SSO via your IdP.

Performing account tasks differently with SSO enabled

If your organization has enabled SSO, you may notice different feature availability in the Fastly control panel. This section describes the differences.

• Changing your email address and password. Because SSO requires user email addresses in Fastly to match those in the IdP, you won't be able to change your email address while logged in using SSO. You also won't be able to modify your password or enable two-factor authentication.

• Creating an API token. To create an API token while logged in to the Fastly control panel using SSO, you'll need to reauthenticate with your IdP. Follow the instructions for creating an API token and click the Re-Authenticate button on the Create a Token page.

  NOTE

  You can't create API tokens when using G Suite for authentication.

• Managing sessions. Sessions created by logging in to the Fastly control panel using SSO or with a username and password expire after 3 hours.

Changing SSO providers

To change SSO providers, follow these instructions.

1. Log in to the Fastly control panel.
2. Go to Account > Single sign-on.
3. From the Options menu, select Upload new SAML configuration.
4. In the confirmation window, click Continue to delete your existing SAML confirmation.
5. Follow the instructions in the enabling SSO section.

Disabling SSO

To disable SSO for your organization, either permanently or temporarily (e.g., your SSO provider is experiencing an outage), follow these instructions. Disabling SSO won't delete your SSO settings and you can re-enable SSO at any point using the same IdP configuration metadata you uploaded when you first enabled SSO.

1. Log in to the Fastly control panel.

2. Go to Account > Single sign-on.

   

3. Click the Single sign-on switch to disable SSO for your organization.

4. In the confirmation window, click Disable SSO. SSO will be disabled and will not be required for your organization's users. All active SSO sessions will expire, including your own, and users will automatically be logged out of the Fastly control panel.

Limitations and considerations

Fastly's SSO feature has the following limitations:

• Users cannot create API tokens from the Fastly control panel when using G Suite SSO for a session's authentication.
• Fastly does not support automatic provisioning and de-provisioning of users using SCIM for Fastly accounts. To enable SCIM for your Signal Sciences account, check out our guide to automating user management.

Also, keep in mind that the SHA-1 cryptographic algorithm has been retired by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and they recommend upgrading to more advanced and secure replacements such as those from the SHA-2 family of hash functions, like SHA-256. Consider using or upgrading to these more advanced algorithms for SAML certificate signing for SSO setup in advance of the NIST recommended phase out deadline.