More Info about the Hornet Hub!

How does it all Work?

The Hornet Hub or sometimes called SSO, works with the Applications that we are already using, without having to navigate to each site and logging in. Think of SSO like your Phone with a number of Apps, each with a specific login and password right? When you tap the Facebook or Pinterest app you are not prompted to login each time, it remembers your information. This is the same thing that SSO does. SSO stores your information in a secure means so that each site's requirements are kept, and the "handshake" is handled without you ever knowing.

What is happening between SSO and the Applications?

With SSO the interaction between the Portal and the Application is behind the scenes, but how does it work and what exactly is it doing?

Well there are different ways that SSO talks to each Application, one way is called SAML.

SAML stands for Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML, pronounced sam-el) and is an XML-based, open-standard data format for exchanging authentication and authorization data between parties, in particular, between an identity provider and a service provider.

What does that mean?

To better explain a SAML connection I will use the following analogy. A Kindergarten student wants to join the Soccer team so he asks his Teacher if he can join. The Teacher sends the student home with a form for his parents to complete and sign. Once home the form is given to the parents, they complete the form, sign it, and instruct the student to return the form exactly as is to the Teacher. The kid takes the completed and signed form back to the teacher, who verifies it and lets the kid join the soccer practice.

At the basic level this is exactly how SAML works -- just substitute the User for the kid, a Service Provider (SP) for the school teacher and an Identity Provider (IdP) for the parents.