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Configure Zscaler for automatic user provisioning with Microsoft Entra ID

The objective of this article is to demonstrate the steps to be performed in Zscaler and Microsoft Entra ID to configure Microsoft Entra ID to automatically provision and de-provision users and/or groups to Zscaler.

Note

This article describes a connector built on top of the Microsoft Entra user provisioning service. For important details on what this service does, how it works, and frequently asked questions, see Automate user provisioning and deprovisioning to SaaS applications with Microsoft Entra ID.

Prerequisites

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

- 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..

  • A Zscaler tenant.
  • A user account in Zscaler with Admin permissions.

Note

The Microsoft Entra provisioning integration relies on the Zscaler SCIM API, which is available to Zscaler developers for accounts with the Enterprise package.

Before configuring Zscaler for automatic user provisioning with Microsoft Entra ID, you need to add Zscaler from the Microsoft Entra application gallery to your list of managed SaaS applications.

To add Zscaler from the Microsoft Entra application gallery, perform the following steps:

  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 search box, type Zscaler, select Zscaler from result panel then select Add button to add the application.

    Screenshot of Zscaler in the results list.

Step 2: Assign users to Zscaler

Microsoft Entra ID uses a concept called "assignments" to determine which users should receive access to selected apps. In the context of automatic user provisioning, only the users and/or groups that have been "assigned" to an application in Microsoft Entra ID are synchronized.

Before configuring and enabling automatic user provisioning, you should decide which users and/or groups in Microsoft Entra ID need access to Zscaler. Once decided, you can assign these users and/or groups to Zscaler by following the instructions here:

Important tips for assigning users to Zscaler

  • It's recommended that a single Microsoft Entra user is assigned to Zscaler to test the automatic user provisioning configuration. Additional users and/or groups may be assigned later.

  • When assigning a user to Zscaler, you must select any valid application-specific role (if available) in the assignment dialog. Users with the Default Access role are excluded from provisioning.

Step 3: Configure automatic user provisioning to Zscaler

This section guides you through the steps to configure the Microsoft Entra provisioning service to create, update, and disable users and/or groups in Zscaler based on user and/or group assignments in Microsoft Entra ID.

Note

Open a support ticket to create a domain on Zscaler.

Tip

You may also choose to enable SAML-based single sign-on for Zscaler, following the instructions provided in the Zscaler single sign-on article. Single sign-on can be configured independently of automatic user provisioning, though these two features complement each other.

Note

When users and groups are provisioned or de-provisioned we recommend to periodically restart provisioning to ensure that group memberships are properly updated. Doing a restart will force our service to re-evaluate all the groups and update the memberships. Please be aware that the restart can take time if you're syncing all users and groups in your tenant or have assigned large groups with 50K+ members.

Configure automatic user provisioning for Zscaler in Microsoft Entra ID

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

  2. Browse to Entra ID > Enterprise apps > Zscaler.

  3. Select the Provisioning tab.

    Screenshot of the Zscaler - Provisioning Enterprise Application sidebar with the Provisioning option highlighted.

  4. Select + New configuration.

    Screenshot of New configuration.

  5. Under the Admin Credentials section, enter the Tenant URL and Secret Token of your Zscaler Beta account as described later in this article.

  6. To obtain the Tenant URL and Secret Token, navigate to Administration > Authentication Settings in the Zscaler portal user interface and select SAML under Authentication Type.

    Screenshot of the Authentication Settings page.

  7. Select Configure SAML to open Configuration SAML options.

    Screenshot of the Configure SAML dialog box with the Base URL and Bearer Token text boxes called out.

  8. Select Enable SCIM-Based Provisioning to retrieve Base URL and Bearer Token, then save the settings. Copy the Base URL to Tenant URL, and Bearer Token to Secret Token.

  9. Upon populating the fields shown in Step 5, select Test Connection to ensure Microsoft Entra ID can connect to Zscaler. If the connection fails, ensure your Zscaler account has Admin permissions and try again.

    Screenshot of Token.

  10. Select Create to create your configuration.

  11. Select Properties on the Overview page.

  12. Select the Edit icon to edit the properties. Enable notification emails and provide an email to receive quarantine notifications. Enable Accidental deletions prevention. Select Apply to save the changes.

    Screenshot of Provisioning properties.

  13. Select Attribute Mapping in the left panel and select users.

  14. Review the user attributes that are synchronized from Microsoft Entra ID to Zscaler in the Attribute Mapping section. The attributes selected as Matching properties are used to match the user accounts in Zscaler for update operations. Select the Save button to commit any changes.

    Attribute Type Supported for filtering Required by Zscaler
    userName String ✓ ✓
    externalId String ✓
    active Boolean ✓
    name.givenName String
    name.familyName String
    displayName String ✓
    urn:ietf:params:scim:schemas:extension:enterprise:2.0:User:department String ✓

  15. Select Groups.

  16. Review the group attributes that are synchronized from Microsoft Entra ID to Zscaler in the Attribute Mapping section. The attributes selected as Matching properties are used to match the groups in Zscaler for update operations. Select the Save button to commit any changes.

    Attribute Type Supported for filtering Required by Zscaler
    displayName String ✓ ✓
    members Reference
    externalId String ✓

  17. To configure scoping filters, refer to the instructions provided in the Scoping filter article.

  18. Use on-demand provisioning to validate sync with a small number of users before deploying more broadly in your organization.

  19. When you're ready to provision, select Start Provisioning from the Overview page.

Step 4: Monitor your deployment

Once you configure provisioning, use the following resources to monitor your deployment:

  1. Use the provisioning logs to determine which users are provisioned successfully or unsuccessfully
  2. Check the progress bar to see the status of the provisioning cycle and how close it's to completion
  3. If the provisioning configuration seems to be in an unhealthy state, the application goes into quarantine. Learn more about quarantine states the application provisioning quarantine status article.

Additional resources

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