Live Testing the IdP v3 Upgrade
These instructions will no longer work. IdP v3 has been pushed to production and the test IP address has been reassigned. - May 11, 2016.
How to Test
You will need to be able to put a custom DNS entry in the hosts file on your client machine. See the instructions below for each major OS. The entry to add for the IdP v3 test server is:
152.7.108.38 shib.ncsu.eduIf your web browser is already open, close it and restart it fresh to clear any existing sessions or cached DNS entries. If your browser has a private browsing option, you may want to use that to avoid saving cookies from your test sessions. For example,
- Chrome: New incognito window
- Firefox: New Private Window
- Internet Explorer: InPrivate Browsing
Visit your web site and login as normal. When you are redirected to the IdP, you should see the new v3 pages. (Need an example page link)
If you run into any problems, please report them to us at shibboleth-help@ncsu.edu. Include the URL of the website that you were testing, and the date/time that the test failed. This will help us trace the problem in the server logs.
Test additional sites if you like. This will help confirm that the single-sign-on sessions are working properly.
Test your site's logout link to make sure it still works as expected.
When you have finished testing, remember to undo the hosts change that you made in step 1. Otherwise, your client will continue to use the prototype server for all logins. We cannot guarantee that this preview server will be working 24x7.
Example Test Sites
We have done basic testing on these common sites that use Shibboleth. If you have account permissions on each service, you should be able to login correctly.
-
- Note: Only the Unity logins are working. We cannot live test the Parents/Guests IdP because the service must be located on a new URL, and MyPack is configured to use the old URL.
Library Collections, e.g. Ebooks Library
WordPress Sites on CPanel, e.g. OIT Website
InCommon Sites, e.g. Internet2 Community Forum
Known Issues
These issues have been reported to us.
- Jan 29, 2016 - MyPack Parent/Guests login points to a URL that does not exist on the new server. There is no redirect to the new URL. Selecting the link fails.
Instructions for Changing Your Hosts File
Changing your hosts file allows you to override the DNS for a domain, on that particular machine. This is useful when you want to test your site prior to going live with a new server (like IdP v3) and for other DNS-related reasons. Modifying your hosts file causes your local machine only to look directly at the IP address specified.
You will need to change your hosts file to assign the IP address of the IdP v3 prototype to the name "shib.ncsu.edu".
152.7.108.38 shib.ncsu.edu
On a linux system, this requires root or sudo access and a text editor like vim:
# open a terminal window on your client
sudo vim /etc/hosts
# enter your sudo credential
# add the line given above
# save and exit
# you are ready to test
# when you are done, use sudo again to remove the line
Please refer to this Rackspace Support Article for details on other client operating systems.