Hosted Sharepoint 2013 - Claims based Auth issue

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networkn

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#198600 15-Jul-2016 13:39

We have a customer with a cloud provider using sharepoint and after the recent upgrade to 2013, they now require to login to a website, before they can access the mapped drive on their computer.

This, I am told by the provider is the normal, and no workaround is available, and they have suggested we move to OneDrive instead.

Can anyone confirm this to be the case, or suggest a work around please?

mrdrifter

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#1593158 15-Jul-2016 13:49

Is the mapped drive, pointing to a location on the SharePoint environment?

networkn

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#1593159 15-Jul-2016 13:50

mrdrifter:

Is the mapped drive, pointing to a location on the SharePoint environment?

Yes.

mrdrifter

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#1593164 15-Jul-2016 13:56

It sounds like SSO isn't configured to integrate from the desktop right through to SharePoint.

If that is the case then yes the user will need to connect to SharePoint and login successfully to gain a claims token that windows can use for authenticating the shared drive connection.

networkn

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#1593165 15-Jul-2016 13:57

mrdrifter:

It sounds like SSO isn't configured to integrate from the desktop right through to SharePoint.

If that is the case then yes the user will need to connect to SharePoint and login successfully to gain a claims token that windows can use for authenticating the shared drive connection.

Sorry I don't know much about Sharepoint, but SSO, do you have some information you can share about that ? Would that still be available in a hosted Environment?

mrdrifter

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#1593169 15-Jul-2016 14:06

SSO - Single Sign On.

Its likely the SharePoint end will be hooked up with claims authentication. In an ideal SharePoint world this would be using ADFS to ensure the user can use the same account to access SharePoint that they are using to login to their desktop. In this scenario, the first time a user connects to SP in the morning they will be issued a claims token automatically using the account they are logged in as, the token is stored on their machine and used for all logins until it expires. With SSO the user shouldn't be prompted for their password.

Without SSO the user will be prompted for their username/password whenever they require a new claims token for the browser, office apps, desktop to use.

Hopefully this makes sense? Normally this kind of chat involves a whiteboard.

MackinNZ

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#1593175 15-Jul-2016 14:17

A good alternative is to use this product, although there is a yearly license cost.

It works very well however and the support from the developer is outstanding.

(edit: spelling)

networkn

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#1593176 15-Jul-2016 14:20

The computers in question are just a workgroup. There no DC by which to configure SSO, and I think this would be required if I am reading correctly.

I wish the provider had told us of this limitation, it's very frustrating for the customer.

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Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

yitz

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#1593182 15-Jul-2016 14:30

Generally I would remove/check Windows Credential Manager for any conflicting entries, perhaps there an old authentication URL. Also make sure intranet security settings are correct.

mrdrifter

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#1593201 15-Jul-2016 14:53

Ah with a workgroup setup, it would definitely be easier to utilise a 3rd party tool such as the thinkscape option mentioned by @MackinNZ.

Depending on the hosting provider and the authentication type they use, the recommendation from @Yitz may help, but I've found its become less relevant with SP2013 or later, although most of my time is spent with large scale enterprise deployments either on-premise or hybrid.

geekiegeek

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#1593223 15-Jul-2016 15:48

Or do as suggested by the provider and use OneDrive.

networkn

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#1593225 15-Jul-2016 15:50

geekiegeek:

Or do as suggested by the provider and use OneDrive.

I've very rarely heard good things about MS Onedrive, and heard a lot of bad things around syncing and reliability. I think they would take the inconvenience of a login to a website over the potential other misery.

MackinNZ

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#1593231 15-Jul-2016 16:05

I don't think there's anything wrong with OneDrive per se. It's the MS OneDrive sync tool that is the cause of all the problems. Even the updated version seems to have issues.

Using Thinkscape's ZeeDrive to connect to OneDrive works very well.

networkn

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#1593233 15-Jul-2016 16:13

MackinNZ:

I don't think there's anything wrong with OneDrive per se. It's the MS OneDrive sync tool that is the cause of all the problems. Even the updated version seems to have issues.

Using Thinkscape's ZeeDrive to connect to OneDrive works very well.

I'll chat to the customer and see what they have to say.

lokhor

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#1593385 15-Jul-2016 21:01

They could also use Colligo Briefcase

https://www.colligo.com/products/sharepoint/colligo-briefcase/

All comments are my own opinion, and not that of my employer unless explicitly stated.