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    Error "Unable to Authenticate User" Signing In with SAML

    Published: 11 Jun 2014
    Last Modified Date: 12 Mar 2018

    Issue

    When you try to sign in to Tableau Server using SAML authentication, the following error might occur:
    Authentication Failed
    Unable to Authenticate User. Please try again or contact your Administrator for assistance.
     
    In addition, the following message appears in the Tableau Server log files:
     
    Response issue time is either too old or with date in the future...

    Environment

    • Tableau Server
    • SAML

    Resolution

    Option 1

    Synchronize the system clocks on the computer running Tableau Server and the computer running the Identity Provider (IdP). For more information, see Synchronize the Time Server for the Domain Controller with an External Source on Microsoft TechNet.

    Option 2

    On Tableau Server, adjust the wgserver.saml settings to match the settings on the computer running the IdP. For example, if authentication sessions expire after 6 hours on your IdP, use the following commands to match the authentication session length: 
    1. On the computer running Tableau Server, open the Command Prompt window as an administrator and run one of the following commands:
      • On a 32-bit computer: cd "C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau Server\<version>\bin"
      • On a 64-bit computer: cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Tableau\Tableau Server\<version>\bin"
    2. At the command prompt, run the following commands in order:
    tabadmin stop 
tabadmin set wgserver.saml.maxauthenticationage 21600
tabadmin config
tabadmin start

    Cause

    The authentication response time from the IdP exceeds the allowed amount of time configured for Tableau Server.
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    Related Links
    tabadmin set options
    SAML
     
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