Clarity

Announcement: CA DocOps SSO Enhancement for CA PPM SaaS 14.x/15.x (Planned for March 11, 2017) 

Mar 01, 2017 09:31 AM

Updated

Updated: Unfortunately, the fix attempt is not working for 14.x users. They can still achieve a true SSO solution by registering or using one of the workarounds.

On March 11, 2017, a minor enhancement is planned for the CA On Demand Portal and http://docops.ca.com/ppmod to address a very specific online help access issue for the following environments:

 

  • CA PPM SaaS 14.3.x, 14.4.x, 15.1.0.0, 15.1.0.1 (non-EBF), or 15.2 environments with single sign-on (SSO)
  • CA PPM SaaS (On Demand) Release 14.2 environments are also indirectly able to take advantage of this enhancement

 

The following configurations are not impacted:

  • CA PPM on-premise customers are not impacted.
  • CA PPM SaaS customers without federated/enterprise SSO are not impacted.
  • CA PPM SaaS 15.1.0.2 or higher releases are not impacted by this change; we estimate this enhancement will be available to those users in a future patch. (Those releases include their own local edition of the docops Help system.)

 

Problem:

CA PPM SaaS +SSO business users click the Help link and expect to see the online help available at docops.ca.com. Instead, a Login or Register page appears. The secure SSO configuration is attempting single sign-on for the user; however, it is unable to authenticate access to docops.ca.com when the user is not already registered at ca.com.

 


Solution:

With this enhancement, CA PPM SaaS +SSO user receives immediate access to docops.ca.com. The Login or Register page no longer appears.

 

Q: How do I know if I have PPM SaaS with Single Sign-On (SSO)?

A: You typically log into the CA On Demand Portal with the same email address and password credentials as you use to access many of your other company applications.

Your company might also provide seamless SSO access to your CA PPM SaaS instance. In this configuration, you are automatically signed-on. SSO is still taking place, but it is transparent to the user.

 

Q: Why won't it let me access My Account – My Profile?

A: The enhancement gives you immediate access to the documentation in an SSO environment without the requirement that you register and create a profile. You likely do not have a ca.com profile. Moreover, your immediate goal is to view the documentation and not view or edit your profile. As an optional workaround for this minor known issue, click My Account, My Profile only when you want to sign-in with your registered ca.com credentials and edit your profile. You are not required to sign in to view the documentation.

 

Q: Why is this enhancement needed and how does it work?

A: CA PPM administrators and management want secure SSO; however, multiple databases are managing business users. One for CA PPM SaaS and SSO through the portal, and another for registered ca.com users who want to access docops.ca.com, support.ca.com, communities.ca.com, and other ca.com content. Business users expressed dissatisfaction with a one-time registration requirement to enable both SSO authentication sources to process the same username in the form of an email address.

 

Users log in to the CA On Demand portal and access their CA PPM SaaS application in an environment with SSO. (Access may also be simulated.) Their email ID is encrypted and passed to docops when they click Help. Their immediate need for product documentation is no longer blocked by the appearance of the Login or Register page. These users enjoy immediate doc access in an authentication process that simulates SSO; they are never required to remember a username and password to docops although registration at ca.com remains an available option for all users.

 

Q: Why would someone need to register at ca.com?

A: Certain documentation, exclusive online community content, and other ca.com content is restricted to users who take the time to register with CA. Additional registration options are available for access to support, education, and partner content.

 

Q: When am I required to log in?

A: With this enhancement, after you log in to the CA On Demand portal and access your CA PPM SaaS application, you are never required to log in to access the documentation. Your basic account registration at ca.com is still required for access to create, edit, and comment features in the online communities and a support account at ca.com is still required for access to additional support resources.

 

When you navigate directly to docops.ca.com, you are not required to log in. This behavior has been in place since inception. For example, in a new browser session, you can open a new tab and go to http://docops.ca.com/ppmod. However, login is still required to access restricted or advanced sections of the documentation.

 

Q: What does it mean when this notice states that CA PPM SaaS 14.2 environments are indirectly able to take advantage of this enhancement?

A: The Help link in CA PPM 14.2 remains hard-coded to open the CA PPM 14.2 Documentation Bookshelf, the popular collection of HTML and PDF documentation that was available when the product was released. However, 14.2 users can access the latest documentation for 14.2 and future releases on docops.ca.com. This planned enhancement is experienced whenever users log into CA PPM SaaS through SSO on the CA On Demand Portal. Instead of clicking Help, a CA PPM SaaS 14.2 user could open a new browser window and navigate to http://docops.ca.com/ppmod  where they will enjoy seamless access to the entire updated doc set.

 

Updated: This section no longer applies.

 

Q: Why must 15.1.0.2 or higher customers wait until a future patch (15.1.0.5) to get this enhancement?

A: Customers on 15.1.0.2 received a special immediate redirect to a local HTML doc set to avoid the Login or Register requirement. Please allow time for CA global development and engineering teams to package code in a future patch to reverse the local HTML documentation patch fix introduced in 15.1.0.2 and replace functionality with restored access to docops.ca.com.

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