Azure Identity Blog

Seamless Single Sign-On for Hybrid Environments with Azure AD

Published: October 26, 2023 | By: Azure Identity Team

In today's complex IT landscape, organizations often maintain a hybrid environment, leveraging both on-premises resources and cloud services. For users, this can translate into a fragmented login experience, requiring multiple credentials and constant re-authentication. This not only frustrates users but also introduces security risks. Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) offers robust solutions to bridge this gap, enabling seamless Single Sign-On (SSO) across your hybrid environment.

The Challenge of Hybrid Identity

Managing identities in a hybrid setup presents unique challenges. On-premises Active Directory (AD) might be the primary source of truth for many users and applications, while cloud-based applications rely on Azure AD. Ensuring consistent access, secure authentication, and a simplified user experience between these two worlds requires careful planning and the right tools.

Azure AD Connect: The Foundation

At the heart of enabling hybrid identity is Azure AD Connect. This powerful tool synchronizes your on-premises AD objects (users, groups, contacts) to Azure AD. By establishing this connection, you can leverage your existing on-premises identities for cloud-based resource access. Azure AD Connect supports several sign-in methods, each with its own benefits for hybrid environments:

• Password Hash Synchronization (PHS): The simplest method, synchronizing a hash of the user's on-premises password hash to Azure AD.
• Pass-through Authentication (PTA): Azure AD validates the user's password directly against your on-premises AD.
• Federation with AD FS (or other identity providers): For more complex scenarios, this method redirects authentication requests to your on-premises federation server.

Achieving Seamless SSO

While Azure AD Connect synchronizes identities, achieving truly seamless SSO requires more. Azure AD offers features that eliminate the need for users to repeatedly enter their credentials when accessing both on-premises and cloud applications.

1. Azure AD Seamless SSO

This feature works hand-in-hand with PHS or PTA. When a user is on a corporate device joined to the on-premises domain, Seamless SSO automatically presents their domain credentials to Azure AD when they access cloud resources. This is achieved through a secured Kerberos ticket mechanism, eliminating the prompt for username and password.

Key Benefits of Azure AD Seamless SSO:

• User Experience: Reduced login prompts, leading to increased productivity and satisfaction.
• Security: No need to manage separate cloud passwords, reducing password-related security risks and complexity.
• Simplified Administration: Easier to manage user access across hybrid resources.

2. Hybrid Azure AD Join

For devices that are managed by your organization but need to access both on-premises and cloud resources, Hybrid Azure AD Join is crucial. Devices are registered in Azure AD and joined to your on-premises domain. This allows these devices to automatically authenticate to Azure AD when users sign in with their on-premises credentials, enabling SSO to cloud applications without additional prompts.

Implementation Considerations

Implementing Seamless SSO and Hybrid Azure AD Join involves several steps:

1. Prerequisites: Ensure Azure AD Connect is installed and configured correctly, and your on-premises AD is healthy.
2. Enable Seamless SSO: This is done through a Group Policy Object (GPO) that configures the necessary settings for client devices.
3. Configure Hybrid Azure AD Join: This typically involves configuring SCP (Service Connection Point) in Active Directory or using tools like Intune/SCCM.
4. Testing: Thoroughly test the SSO experience for different user scenarios and device types.

Conclusion

Azure AD provides a comprehensive suite of tools and features to simplify identity management and deliver a seamless SSO experience in hybrid environments. By leveraging Azure AD Connect, Seamless SSO, and Hybrid Azure AD Join, organizations can enhance user productivity, strengthen security posture, and reduce IT operational overhead.

For detailed configuration guides and best practices, please refer to the official Azure AD Seamless SSO documentation.