Domain verification for SAML SSO on the Neat Pulse management platform

Last updated October 25, 2024

Introduction

Domain verification is an important measure for establishing security and trust between providers and organisations, ensuring that services are securely delivered to the legitimate owners of a domain. Domain verification is a requirement to configure SAML SSO in the Neat Pulse management platform

In this article, we will guide you step-by-step through how to setup domain verification for SAML SSO.

Important note: this feature is only available to customers on a paid Pulse plan.

Overview

You can verify your domain ownership by adding a TXT entry in your DNS records. The same domain name can be verified by multiple Pulse tenants, using different TXT entries. 

Note that, for security purposes, you can only verify the domain you were using when you logged in to Pulse, using username/password or Google/Microsoft Entra ID. 

Step by step guide

1. Generate a verification token

  • Navigate to Settings -> Domain in the Neat Pulse Management Platform. Click Verify domain. 
  • A new window will appear, showing the domain it identified from your login credentials. Click Next. 
  • Review the instructions and copy the verification token. Click Verify.
  • The status of domain verification should progress to Verifying. 

2. Add a DNS record

  • Sign in to your domain registrar/DNS provider and navigate to the DNS settings of the domain you want to verify. Note that this step can differ between providers and how you manage your DNS records..
  • Add a new DNS record
  • Ensure that the Type is TXT
  • Depending on your provider and how you manage your DNS records, you might have to set a record name (often called Name or Hostname) to @ or blank. Set the record name (often called Name or Hostname) to @ or blank, depending on your provider
  • Paste your verification token as Value (can also be called Content). Note that the neat-pulse-domain-verification- should be part of that value. 
  • Set TTL to the smallest allowed value. Save your record.

3. Verify your domain

  • Head back to the Neat Pulse Management Platform and navigate back to Settings -> Domain. 
  • Your domain should still have the status Verifying. Initiate a new scan by clicking the Refresh button. 
  • If Neat Pulse successfully found your DNS record, your domain will now change status to Verified. 

Notes

  • If your first manual scan fails, wait a few minutes before trying again
  • If you do not manually initiate a scan, your domain will be verified automatically within 24h
  • If you lose your verification token, or forgot to copy it before closed the modal in step 1, click Verify again to generate a new token