Configure authentication through Active Directory

ThoughtSpot enables you to set up integration with LDAP using Active Directory. After successful setup, you can authenticate users against a secure LDAP server.

This article describes how to set up integration with LDAP using Active Directory. On ThoughtSpot version 6.3 and later, and on release 6.0.5, ThoughtSpot also integrates with OpenLDAP for user authentication. LDAP provides security and makes user management more centralized. To enable user authentication through OpenLDAP, contact ThoughtSpot Support.

Configuration prerequisites

You can configure LDAP using tscli or through the Admin Console.

Before you configure ThoughtSpot for Active Directory, collect the following information:

URL

Required to connect to Active Directory.

For example, ldap://ad.yourdomain.local:389 or ldap://ad.yourdomain.local:636

Domain name

Default domain under which users who want to be authenticated against Active Directory reside. When a user logs in with a username, the default domain is added to the username before sending it to the LDAP server. If users reside in multiple sub-domains, you can still designate one of them as the default. Authentication against multiple domains isn’t supported.

Users who don’t belong to the default domain must explicitly qualify their username when they sign in.

For example: username@ad.yourdomain.local.

Search base

LDAP search base. The scope of searching user information, like email and Display name, within AD.

SSL

If you want to use SSL, you must obtain the SSL certificate from an issuing authority.

If AD servers are behind a load balancer, you must procure the SSL certificate to identify ThoughtSpot to the load balancer. The communication after the load balancer is non-secure. ThoughtSpot doesn’t support a scenario where multiple AD servers provide their own SSL certificates.

Automatically add LDAP or AD users in ThoughtSpot? (yes/no)

If you choose 'yes', new users are automatically created within ThoughtSpot when successfully authenticated against AD. ThoughtSpot doesn’t cache passwords for AD-authenticated users.

If you choose 'no', users have to be manually created with a dummy password as a placeholder in ThoughtSpot before they can sign in. The username you specify when creating the LDAP-authenticated user manually in ThoughtSpot has to be domain qualified, for example: username1@ad.yourdomain.local.

In order to sign in to ThoughtSpot, the user has to exist in ThoughtSpot independent of whether that user is authenticated against AD or against ThoughtSpot’s internal authentication.

Also use ThoughtSpot internal authentication? (yes/no)

If you choose 'yes', ThoughtSpot will first attempt to authenticate the user against AD. If that attempt fails, it will then attempt to authenticate the user as an internal/local ThoughtSpot user. If either of these succeed, then the user is successfully logged in. This is useful in scenarios where some users aren’t in AD and are created only in ThoughtSpot.

Configure LDAP using tscli

You don’t have to create a user called tsadmin on your LDAP server. Internal authentication can be used for tsadmin. To configure AD based authentication, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the Linux shell using SSH.

  2. Run the command to configure AD authentication:

     $ tscli ldap configure

  3. Answer the prompts using the information you collected under Before you begin section. For example:

     Choose the LDAP protocol:
 [1] Active Directory
 Option number: 1
 Configuring Active Directory
 URL to connect to Active Directory. (Example: ldap://ad.yourdomain.local:389): ldaps://ad.yourdomain.local:636
 Default domain (Example: ldap.thoughtspot.com): yourdomain.local
 Use SSL (LDAPS) (y/n): n
 LDAP search base (Example: cn=Users): cn=Users,ou=orgunit,dc=youdomain,dc=local
 Automatically add LDAP users in ThoughtSpot (y/n): y
 Also use ThoughtSpot internal authentication (y/n): y

  4. If you are using SSL, add the SSL certificate for AD.

  5. If you want to remove the AD configuration, issue the following command:

     $ tscli ldap purge-configuration

Configure LDAP using the Admin Console

ThoughtSpot Training

  • For best results, we recommend that you take the following ThoughtSpot U course: Active Directory.

  • See other training resources at ThoughtSpot U.

Navigate to the Admin Console by clicking on the Admin tab from the top navigation bar. Select LDAP/AD from the side navigation bar that appears.

Admin Console - Active Directory

Click the Configure button in the middle of the screen, and add your information based on the information you collected in the prerequisites.

If you configure authentication through Active Directory, you cannot also configure authentication through SAML.
Configure Active Directory

If you select yes for SSL required, ThoughtSpot prompts you to enter the SSL certificate and certificate alias. The certificate alias is a unique name you make up for your SSL certificate, in string format. If you replace the SSL certificate, you need a new certificate alias.

SSL required - yes

After you add all your information, click OK.

ThoughtSpot adds external users, or users that authenticate through SAML or Active Directory, to the all group by default. This group has no privileges. You must manually assign users to ThoughtSpot groups to give them privileges, such as can upload user data, or can manage data.
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