Ensuring Uniqueness Against Existing Proxy Addresses

Overview

A common provisioning scenario is generating a new email address while ensuring that there isn't a clash with an existing directory record.

Often uniqueness should be enforced against both proxy addresses and existing email addresses. In this scenario we assume the prefix (portion before @) should be unique to accommodate email domain changes, but it is equally possible to include the domain in the uniqueness check.

With Identity Panel there is a pattern or "recipe" to follow for doing exactly this, and involves two elements:

1. a Uniqueness Checking Index, or collection of existing values to efficiently scan to avoid creating a clash
2. a Custom Rule Function, which although optional, ensures the means of accessing the index is consistent, and makes for easier overall solution documentation,

Recipe Part A - Create unique index

The following recipe shows how to create a unique index against proxy address collections. Typical deployments will also have indices on attributes like mail and UPN.

1. From the Settings menu select Extensions
2. Check to see if a Unique Names Settings extension already exists, and if not, create one:
1. Click in the Select Type field and select Unique Names Settings
2. Click + New
3. Click in the Name field and enter a meaningful value, e.g. Uniqueness Checks
4. Click the V button to expand

3. Click + New under Uniqueness Checking Indices
4. Enter details, e.g. (for an AD silo)
   
   1. Name = "Proxy" (must be unique - if multiple AD silos, consider concatenation of silo name)
   2. Identity Silo = "AD"
   3. Object Type = user

5. Click the V button to expand and enter Unique Index Definition details
   
   

1. 1. Attributes = proxyAddresses (select from drop-down list from silo schema)

   2. Is Multivalued = ON (checked)

   3. Iteration Limit = 100 (set according to likelihood of clash based on organization size)

   4. Value Rule = Split(Split(context, ":").1, "@").0

   5. Value Root = RegexReplace(Split(Split(context, ":").1, "@").0, "\\d", "")

   6. Key Rule = Attributes.employeeID (AD attribute which is already known to be unique)

   7. Reservation Time = 1.00:00:00 (1 day)

6. Save the configuration

Recipe Part B - Create Custom Rule Function

This recipe assumes checking against multiple indices (in this case Mail and Proxy).

1. From the Settings menu select Environment Settings

2. Check to see if a Unique Names Settings extension already exists, and if not, create one:

   1. Click + New

   2. Enter your new function name (with any parameters in parentheses), e.g.
      MakeEmail(empid, prefix, suffix)

   3. Click the V button to expand

   4. Select Kind = Rule (the PowerShell alternative is especially helpful if you are migrating from PowerShell rules)

   5.  

      Enter a description e.g.
      Creates a unique email address typically called in the migration service forms

   6.  

      Enter rule definition, e.g.
      MakeUnique(

        List("Mail", "Proxy"),

        empid,

        RegexReplace(prefix, "\\d", ""),

        $"{Parent.prefix}{IterationName}"

      ) + "@" + suffix

   7.  

      Save the configuration