WHAT’S CHANGING?
The Identity and Access Management (IAM) team has been working to consolidate authenticationAuthentication Verifying the identity of a user, process, or device, often as a prerequisite to allowing access to a system’s resources. services into one service called Enterprise Authentication and subsequently retire UT Shibboleth by August 2021.
The transition for applications directly integrated with UT Shibboleth through the InCommon Federation will not support a phased approach. The IAM team is working with UT System to coordinate a cutover on a pre-determined date, currently scheduled for Thursday, May 27, 2021.
On the day of the cutover, the University of Texas at Austin’s identity providerIdP An Identity Provider (IdP) is a software tool or service that offers user authentication as a service. The Identity Provider (IdP) manages the user's primary authentication credentials and issues assertions derived from those credentials. At UT Austin, the primary IdP used to authenticate the UT EID and EID Password is Enterprise Authentication, which is managed by the IAM Team. in the InCommon Federation will be updated from UT Shibboleth to Enterprise Authentication.
Delays in the propagation of the change may be expected for up to 24 hours. If you manage or utilize an application in the InCommon Federation, you should verify functionality following the cutover.
Additional communications will be sent via distribution list prior to cutover leading up to the May 27, 2021 date. These communications will remind customers of the change and urge them to verify proper service functionality following the change.
IMPACT AND RISK
Applications could experience a brief impact to service availability on Thursday, May 27, 2021 depending on how frequently the application’s metadata is being refreshed. The IAM team anticipates that most applications will be minimally impacted.
WHEN?
This change will take effect on Thursday, May 27, 2021.
ACTION REQUIRED
If your team manages web applications that authenticate using an InCommon Federation integration, you are encouraged to validate login functionality after you receive a confirmation from the IAM team of the completed change on May 27, 2021.
If you experience issues that persist beyond 24 hours post cutover, please reach out to the UT Service Desk.
QUESTIONS?
You may reference the UT Shibboleth to Enterprise Authentication Transition Plan KB article for more information about the UT Shibboleth retirement.
For an overview and general information about InCommon federated identity, please see the InCommon Federation services documentation
If you have any further questions or need technical assistance, please contact the UT Service Desk at 512.475.9400 or help@utexas.edu.
