To manage their users, New Relic organizations can configure one or more authentication domains, which control how users are added to a New Relic account, how they're authenticated, and more.
Authentication domains explained
An authentication domain is a grouping of New Relic users governed by the same user management settings, like how they're provisioned (added and updated) and how they're authenticated (logged in).
When you create a New Relic organization, the default authentication settings are:
- Source of users: your users are added to New Relic using only our user management tools (not third party tools)
- Authentication: users log in using their email and password
Those default settings would be under one authentication domain. If you added another authentication domain, you might set it up like this:
- Source of users: Users are added and managed from a third-party identity provider via SCIM provisioning
- Authentication: users are logged in using SAML single sign-on (SSO) from an identity provider
When you add users to New Relic, they're always added to a specific authentication domain. Typically organizations have either one or two authentication domains: one with the manual methods and one for the methods associated with an identity provider. Learn more in this short video (4:26 minutes):
Requirements
To manage authentication domains:
- Your organization must be either Pro or Enterprise edition to have editable authentication domains.
- To view or edit authentication domains, a user must:
- Have a user type of core user or full platform user.
- Be in a group with the Authentication domain administration setting.
- SCIM provisioning, also known as automated user management, requires Pro or Enterprise edition. Learn more about requirements.
- SAML SSO requires a paid edition. Our SAML SSO support includes:
Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS)
Auth0
Azure AD (Microsoft Azure Active Directory)
Google
Okta
OneLogin
Ping Identity
Salesforce
- Generic support for SSO systems that use SAML 2.0
Create and configure an authentication domain
If you meet the requirements, you can add and manage authentication domains.
To view and configure authentication domains: from the user menu, go to Administration > Authentication domains.
If you have existing domains, they'll be on the left. Note that most organizations will have, at most, two or three domains: one with the manual, default settings and one or two for the identity provider-associated settings.
To create a new domain from the authentication domain UI page, click Create authentication domain. For more about the configuration options, keep reading.
Switch to different domains
If you have user records in more than one authentication domain, you can switch between domains.
Source of users: how your users are added and managed
Dica
For an introduction to our SAML SSO and SCIM offerings, please read Get started with SSO and SCIM.
From the authentication domain UI, you can set one of two options for the source of your users:
- Manual (default): This means that your users are added manually to New Relic from the User management UI.
- SCIM: Our automated user management feature allows you to use SCIM provisioning to import and manage users from your identity provider.
Notes on these settings:
- You can't toggle Source of users. This means if you want to change this for an authentication domain that's already been set up, you'll need to create a new one.
- When you first enable SCIM, the bearer token is generated and only shown once. If you need to view a bearer token later, the only way to do this is to generate a new one, which will invalidate the old one and any integrations using the old token.
For how to set up SCIM, see Automated user management.
Method of managing user type
In the Authentication Domain UI, if you've selected SCIM for your method of provisioning users, you have two options for how your users' user type is managed:
- Manage user type in New Relic: This is the default option. It allows you to manage your users' user type from New Relic.
- Manage user type with SCIM: Enabling this means that you can no longer manage user type from New Relic. You'd only be able to change and manage it from your identity provider.
More on these two options:
Authentication: how your users log in
The authentication method is the way in which New Relic users log in to New Relic. All users in an authentication domain have a single authentication method. There are two authentication options:
- Username/password (default): Your users log in via email and password.
- SAML SSO: Your users log in via SAML single sign-on (SSO) using your identity provider. To learn how to set that up, keep reading.
Set up SAML SSO authentication
Before enabling SAML SSO using the instructions below, here are some things to understand and consider:
- Consider reading an introduction to New Relic SSO and SCIM.
- Consider reviewing the SAML SSO requirements.
- Consider watching a video on how to set up SAML SSO.
- Note that your SSO-enabled users won't receive email verification notifications from New Relic because the login and password information is handled by your identity provider.
- Consult your identity provider service's docs because they may have New Relic-specific instructions.
If you're setting up SCIM provisioning:
If you only want to enable SAML SSO and not SCIM, and if you use Azure, Okta, or OneLogin, follow these instructions for configuring the relevant app:
- If you're implementing SAML using a different identity provider not mentioned above, you'll need to attempt to integrate using the SAML instructions below. Note that your identity provider must use the SAML 2.0 protocol, and must require signed SAML assertions.
Next, you'll go to our authentication domain UI. From the user menu, click Administration, and then click Authentication domains. If you don't already have one, create a new domain to be used for your SAML-authenticating users.
Under Authentication, click Configure. Under Method of authenticating users, select SAML SSO.
If you're using the Okta, OneLogin, or Azure AD app, you can skip this step. Under Provided by New Relic, we have some New Relic-specific information. You'll need to place these in the relevant fields in your identity provider service. If you're not sure where they go, consult your identity provider docs.
Under Provided by you, input the Source of SAML metadata. This URL is supplied by your identity provider and may be called something else. It should conform to SAML V2.0 metadata standards. If your identity provider doesn't support dynamic configuration, you can do this by using Upload a certificate. This should be a PEM encoded x509 certificate.
Under Provided by you, set the SSO target URL supplied by your identity provider. You can find this by going to the Source of SAML metadata and finding the POST binding URL. It looks like:
https://newrelic.oktapreview.com/app/newreliclr/1234567890abcdefghij/sso/saml.If your identity provider has a redirect URL for logout, enter it in the Logout redirect URL; otherwise, leave it blank.
If you're using an identity provider app, you'll need to input the authentication domain ID in the app. That ID is found at the top of New Relic's authentication domain UI page.
Optional: In New Relic's authentication domain UI, you can adjust other settings, like browser session length and user upgrade method. You can adjust these settings at any time.
If you're enabling SAML only, you'll need to create groups. (If you enabled SCIM, you've already completed this step.) Groups are what give your users access to New Relic accounts. Without being assigned to groups, your users are provisioned in New Relic but have no access to accounts or roles. To learn how to do this:
- Okta only: Return to Okta's New Relic app and, from the Add New Relic by organization page, uncheck the two Application visibility "Do not display..." checkboxes and click on Done.
To verify it's been set up correctly, see if your users can log in to New Relic via your identity provider and ensure they have access to their accounts.
Other user-related settings
To manage session-related settings, and whether users can self-upgrade or not:
- From the User management UI, select an authentication domain from the switcher.
- Click the gear icon .
- Edit the settings, which are described in more detail below.
Session-related settings
Session-related settings include:
- Length of time users can remain logged in
- Amount of idle time before a user's session expires (learn about session limits)
User upgrade settings
Settings related to how users upgrade to higher user type include:
- Automatic approval: This allows users to be able to immediately upgrade to a higher user type on their own, without approval. This allows these users to be able to more quickly respond to issues.
- Require review: With this option, admins (users with the Authentication domain administration setting) receive an email when a user requests an upgrade, and can approve or deny those requests in the User management UI.
- A user is limited to 6 upgrade requests over a 24-hour sliding window. For example, if you make your 6 upgrade requests between 8am to 10am, then you're required to wait until 8am the next day before making another upgrade request.