Meraki cloud app

Using the SAML 2.0 standard, you can configure single sign-on (SSO) for a number of cloud apps. After you set up SSO, your users can use their Google Workspace credentials to sign in to an app using SSO.

Use SAML to set up SSO for Meraki

You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

Before you begin

Before configuring SSO, you must create a new custom attribute in the Google Admin console. You will map this attribute (called role) to the role attribute in Meraki. For the steps to create the attribute, go here.

Step 1: Set up Google as a SAML identity provider

  1. In the Google Admin console, go to Menu and then Appsand thenWeb and mobile apps.

    You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

  2. Click Add appand thenSearch for apps.
  3. For Enter app name, enter Meraki.
  4. In the search results, point to Meraki and click Select.
  5. In the Google Identity Provider details window, copy the Certificate and use it to calculate a fingerprint using the SHA-1 algorithm.
  6. Click Continue.
  7. On the Service provider details page, for ACS URL, replace {consumer-url-provided-by-sp} with your Meraki consumer URL.
  8. In the Attribute Mapping window, click Select field and map the following Google directory attributes to their corresponding Meraki attributes. The role and username attributes are required:
    Google directory attribute Meraki attribute
    Role > Role in Meraki role
    Basic Information > First Name username
  9. (Optional) To add additional mappings, click Add Mapping and select the fields that you need to map.
  10. (Optional) To enter group names that are relevant for this app:
    1. For Group membership (optional), click Search for a group, enter one or more letters of the group name, and select the group name.
    2. Add additional groups as needed (maximum of 75 groups).
    3. For App attribute, enter the corresponding groups attribute name of the service provider.

    Regardless of how many group names you enter, the SAML response includes only groups that a user is a member of (directly or indirectly). For more information, go to About group membership mapping.

  11. Click Finish.

Step 2: Set up Meraki as a SAML 2.0 service provider

  1. Open an Incognito browser window, go to the Meraki sign-in page, and sign in with your Meraki administrator account.
  2. Go to Organization and then Settings.
  3. In the SAML SSO list, for SAML Configuration, select SAML SSO enabled.
  4. For X.509 cert SHA1 fingerprint, enter the SHA-1 fingerprint that you calculated in Step 1.
  5. Click Save Changes.

Step 3: Turn on app for users

Before you begin: To turn a service on or off for certain users, put their accounts in an organizational unit (to control access by department) or add them to an access group (to allow access for users across or within departments).

  1. In the Google Admin console, go to Menu and then Appsand thenWeb and mobile apps.

    You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

  2. Click Meraki.
  3. Click User access.

  4. To turn a service on or off for everyone in your organization, click On for everyone or Off for everyone, and then click Save.

  5. (Optional) To turn a service on or off for an organizational unit:
    1. At the left, select the organizational unit.
    2. To change the Service status, select On or Off.
    3. Choose one:
      • If the Service status is set to Inherited and you want to keep the updated setting, even if the parent setting changes, click Override.
      • If the Service status is set to Overridden, either click Inherit to revert to the same setting as its parent, or click Save to keep the new setting, even if the parent setting changes.
        Learn more about organizational structure.
  6. (Optional) To turn on a service for a set of users across or within organizational units, select an access group. For details, go to Customize service access using access groups.
  7. Ensure that your Meraki user account email domains match the primary domain of your organization's managed Google Account.

Step 4: Verify SSO is working

Meraki only supports identity provider-initiated SSO. You can't use SSO if you sign in directly to Meraki.

Verify identity provider-initiated SSO

  1. In the Google Admin console, go to Menu and then Appsand thenWeb and mobile apps.

    You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

  2. Click Meraki.

  3. In the Meraki section, click Test SAML Login.

    The app should open in a separate tab. If it doesn't, troubleshoot the error message and try again. For details on troubleshooting, go to SAML app error messages.


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