Microsoft Entra single sign-on (SSO) integration with Salesforce Sandbox

In this article, you learn how to integrate Salesforce Sandbox with Microsoft Entra ID. When you integrate Salesforce Sandbox with Microsoft Entra ID, you can:

• Control in Microsoft Entra ID who has access to Salesforce Sandbox.
• Enable your users to be automatically signed-in to Salesforce Sandbox with their Microsoft Entra accounts.
• Manage your accounts in one central location.

Prerequisites

The scenario outlined in this article assumes that you already have the following prerequisites:

• A Microsoft Entra user account with an active subscription. If you don't already have one, you can Create an account for free.
• One of the following roles:
  • Application Administrator
  • Cloud Application Administrator
  • Application Owner.

• Salesforce Sandbox single sign-on (SSO) enabled subscription.

Scenario description

In this article, you configure and test Microsoft Entra single sign-on in a test environment.

• Salesforce Sandbox supports SP and IDP initiated SSO
• Salesforce Sandbox supports Just In Time user provisioning
• Salesforce Sandbox supports Automated user provisioning

Adding Salesforce Sandbox from the gallery

To configure the integration of Salesforce Sandbox into Microsoft Entra ID, you need to add Salesforce Sandbox from the gallery to your list of managed SaaS apps.

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.
2. Browse to Entra ID > Enterprise apps > New application.
3. In the Add from the gallery section, type Salesforce Sandbox in the search box.
4. Select Salesforce Sandbox from results panel and then add the app. Wait a few seconds while the app is added to your tenant.

Alternatively, you can also use the Enterprise App Configuration Wizard. In this wizard, you can add an application to your tenant, add users/groups to the app, assign roles, and walk through the SSO configuration as well. Learn more about Microsoft 365 wizards.

Configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO for Salesforce Sandbox

Configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO with Salesforce Sandbox using a test user called B.Simon. For SSO to work, you need to establish a link relationship between a Microsoft Entra user and the related user in Salesforce Sandbox.

To configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO with Salesforce Sandbox, perform the following steps:

1. Configure Microsoft Entra SSO - to enable your users to use this feature.
   1. Create a Microsoft Entra test user - to test Microsoft Entra single sign-on with B.Simon.
   2. Assign the Microsoft Entra test user - to enable B.Simon to use Microsoft Entra single sign-on.
2. Configure Salesforce Sandbox SSO - to configure the single sign-on settings on application side.
   1. Create Salesforce Sandbox test user - to have a counterpart of B.Simon in Salesforce Sandbox that's linked to the Microsoft Entra representation of user.
3. Test SSO - to verify whether the configuration works.

Configure Microsoft Entra SSO

Follow these steps to enable Microsoft Entra SSO.

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.

2. Browse to Entra ID > Enterprise apps > Salesforce Sandbox > Single sign-on.

3. On the Select a single sign-on method page, select SAML.

4. On the Set up single sign-on with SAML page, select the pencil icon for Basic SAML Configuration to edit the settings.

   

5. On the Basic SAML Configuration section, if you have Service Provider metadata file and wish to configure in IDP initiated mode perform the following steps:

   a. Select Upload metadata file.

   

   b. Select folder logo to select the metadata file and select Upload.

   

   Note

   You get the service provider metadata file from the Salesforce Sandbox admin portal which is explained later in the article.

   c. After the metadata file is successfully uploaded, the Reply URL value gets auto populated in Reply URL textbox.

   

   Note

   If the Reply URL value don't get auto populated, then fill in the value manually according to your requirement.

6. On the Set up Single Sign-On with SAML page, in the SAML Signing Certificate section, select Download to download the Metadata XML from the given options as per your requirement and save it on your computer.

   

7. On the Set up Salesforce Sandbox section, copy the appropriate URL(s) as per your requirement.

   

Create and assign Microsoft Entra test user

Follow the guidelines in the create and assign a user account quickstart to create a test user account called B.Simon.

Configure Salesforce Sandbox SSO

1. Open a new tab in your browser and sign in to your Salesforce Sandbox administrator account.

2. Select the Setup under settings icon on the top right corner of the page.

   

3. Scroll down to the SETTINGS in the left navigation pane, select Identity to expand the related section. Then select Single Sign-On Settings.

   

4. On the Single Sign-On Settings page, select the Edit button.

   

5. Select SAML Enabled, and then select Save.

   

6. To configure your SAML single sign-on settings, select New from Metadata File.

   

7. Select Choose File to upload the metadata XML file which you have downloaded and select Create.

   

8. On the SAML Single Sign-On Settings page, fields populate automatically and select save.

   

9. On the Single Sign-On Settings page, select the Download Metadata button to download the service provider metadata file. Use this file in the Basic SAML Configuration section in the Azure portal for configuring the necessary URLs as explained above.

   

10. If you wish to configure the application in SP initiated mode, following are the prerequisites for that:

    a. You should have a verified domain.

    b. You need to configure and enable your domain on Salesforce Sandbox, steps for this are explained later in this article.

    c. In the Azure portal, on the Basic SAML Configuration section, select Set additional URLs and perform the following step:

    

    In the Sign-on URL textbox, type the value using the following pattern: https://<instancename>--Sandbox.<entityid>.my.salesforce.com

    Note

    This value should be copied from the Salesforce Sandbox portal once you have enabled the domain.

11. On the SAML Signing Certificate section, select Federation Metadata XML and then save the xml file on your computer.

    

12. Open a new tab in your browser and sign in to your Salesforce Sandbox administrator account.

13. Select the Setup under settings icon on the top right corner of the page.

    

14. Scroll down to the SETTINGS in the left navigation pane, select Identity to expand the related section. Then select Single Sign-On Settings.

    

15. On the Single Sign-On Settings page, select the Edit button.

    

16. Select SAML Enabled, and then select Save.

    

17. To configure your SAML single sign-on settings, select New from Metadata File.

    

18. Select Choose File to upload the metadata XML file and select Create.

    

19. On the SAML Single Sign-On Settings page, fields populate automatically, type the name of the configuration (for example: SPSSOWAAD_Test), in the Name textbox and select save.

    

20. To enable your domain on Salesforce Sandbox, perform the following steps:

    Note

    Before enabling the domain you need to create the same on Salesforce Sandbox. For more information, see Defining Your Domain Name. Once the domain is created, please make sure that it's configured correctly.

21. On the left navigation pane in Salesforce Sandbox, select Company Settings to expand the related section, and then select My Domain.

    

22. In the Authentication Configuration section, select Edit.

    

23. In the Authentication Configuration section, as Authentication Service, select the name of the SAML Single Sign-On Setting which you have set during SSO configuration in Salesforce Sandbox and select Save.

    

Create Salesforce Sandbox test user

In this section, a user called Britta Simon is created in Salesforce Sandbox. Salesforce Sandbox supports just-in-time provisioning, which is enabled by default. There's no action item for you in this section. If a user doesn't already exist in Salesforce Sandbox, a new one is created when you attempt to access Salesforce Sandbox. Salesforce Sandbox also supports automatic user provisioning, you can find more details here on how to configure automatic user provisioning.

Test SSO

In this section, you test your Microsoft Entra single sign-on configuration with following options.

SP initiated:

• Select Test this application, this option redirects to Salesforce Sandbox Sign on URL where you can initiate the login flow.

• Go to Salesforce Sandbox Sign-on URL directly and initiate the login flow from there.

IDP initiated:

• Select Test this application, and you should be automatically signed in to the Salesforce Sandbox for which you set up the SSO

You can also use Microsoft My Apps to test the application in any mode. When you select the Salesforce Sandbox tile in the My Apps, if configured in SP mode you would be redirected to the application sign on page for initiating the login flow and if configured in IDP mode, you should be automatically signed in to the Salesforce Sandbox for which you set up the SSO. For more information about the My Apps, see Introduction to the My Apps.

Related content

Once you configure the Salesforce Sandbox you can enforce session controls, which protects exfiltration and infiltration of your organization’s sensitive data in real time. Session controls extends from Conditional Access. Learn how to enforce session control with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps.