CA SiteMinder® Federation Standalone Guide › Federation Entity Configuration › How to Create an Entity without Using Metadata › Detailed Remote Entity Configuration

Detailed Remote Entity Configuration

After you have specified the entity type, configure the details of the entity. For a remote entity type, define the following options:

• Identification information about the entity
• Signature and encryption options
• NameID and attribute information

Be aware of the following concepts:

Entity ID and Entity Name Settings

If the Entity ID represents a remote partner, the value must be unique. If the Entity ID represents a local partner, it can be reused on the same system.

The Entity Name identifies an entity object for in the system's database. The Entity Name must be a unique value. This value is for internal use only; the remote partner is not aware of this value.

Note: The Entity Name can be the same value as the Entity ID, but the value cannot be shared.

Signing and Encryption Features

For signing and encryption features, you must have the appropriate key/certificate entries in the database. If you do not have the appropriate key/certificate entries, click Import to import a private key/certificate pair from a file on your local system. You can also import trusted certificates.

Note: If you are using SAML 2.0 POST profile, signing assertions is required.

Assertion Attributes Configuration

You can configure the asserting party to include specific assertion attributes when it generates an assertion. The recommended method is to define these attributes at the entity level. The entity serves as a template for the partnership so any assertion attributes you define for the entity get propagated to the partnership. The benefit of defining assertion attributes at the entity is that it enables you to use an entity in more than one partnership.

If you want to add or remove assertion attributes for the partnership, make such modifications at the partnership level, not at the entity level.

Follow these steps:

1. Begin at the Configure Entity step.
2. Complete any required fields for features and services associated with the remote entity type you are configuring.

   Note: Click Help for a description of fields, controls, and their respective requirements.

3. Click Next.

The Confirm dialog is displayed.

Confirm the Entity Configuration

Review the entity configuration before saving it.

Follow these steps:

1. Review the settings in the entity dialog.
2. Click Back to modify any settings from this dialog.
3. Click Finish when you are satisfied with the configuration.

A new entity is configured.

Entity Configuration Changes from a Partnership

You can change an entity ID value for the remote entity from within the context of a single partnership configuration. However, changing the entity ID at the partnership level does not link the partnership to another entity, nor does it update the original entity. Modifications to an entity are a one-way propagation from the entity to the partnership. A change to the entity ID at the partnership level does not get propagated to the original entity.

Note: The entity ID you specify has to match what your remote partner is using.

Regard entity configurations as templates. Partnerships are created based on the entity templates so changing the partnership does not change the original entity template.

Refer to editing an entity from a partnership for more details about entities within a partnership.