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Integrating Dizzion Frame with ServiceNow: A Comprehensive Solution Guide

· 6 min read
Yangzhi Zhao

Dizzion Frame continues to innovate and deliver exceptional value to our customers! A prime example of this is the seamless integration of Dizzion's Frame Desktop-as-a-Service, enabling effortless onboarding and provisioning of apps and desktops for new users. Our commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions remains strong, ensuring our customers receive the best possible experience with Dizzion Frame.

Prerequisites

  • Third-Party identity provider (supported by Dizzion Frame and ServiceNow)

  • Install and configure the Okta Spoke within your ServiceNow instance (requires an IntegrationHub subscription).

  • Dizzion Frame Subscription with one or more Organizations, Accounts, and Launchpads configured.

note

For the purposes of this demo, we will be leveraging Okta as our identity provider - but you can use your supported identity provider of choice in a very similar approach.

Summary

In this demo, we have created two separate Frame Accounts for our users that belong to the same Frame Organization called SNOW:

Frame Accounts to be managed via ServiceNow

Frame Accounts to be managed via ServiceNow
  • Engineering: This Account is hosted in AWS Ohio and provides a persistent desktop (Windows Server 2019 with AMD GPU) to Engineering users. We have also created a single Launchpad called Engineering Desktop within this Account.

  • Marketing: This Account is hosted in Azure North Central and provides a non-persistent desktop (Windows 10 with no GPU) to Marketing users. We have also created a single Launchpad called Marketing Desktop within this Account.

We would now like to manage user access to these Accounts (via their respective Launchpads) via ServiceNow.

Configuration

Step 1. [Okta] Create your desired User Groups within Okta. For the purposes of this demo, we created two groups:

  • Frame Engineering (frame-snow-engineering)
  • Frame Marketing (frame-snow-marketing)

Step 2. [ServiceNow] Within ServiceNow, browse to Okta Spoke → Okta Groups and click on Fetch Okta Groups. Available Okta Groups should populate automatically.

Fra2e Engineering and Frame Marketing Okta Groups populate in ServiceNow Okta Spoke

Frame Engineering and Frame Marketing Okta Groups populate in ServiceNow Okta Spoke

Step 3. [ServiceNow] For any Okta Groups that you want to manage via ServiceNow will need to have a corresponding ServiceNow Group created within User and Groups → Groups.

Created Frame Engineering and Frame Marketing ServiceNow Groups

Created Frame Engineering and Frame Marketing ServiceNow Groups

Step 4. [Dizzion Frame] Add your Okta instance as SAML2 provider at the desired hierarchy level (Customer, Organization, or Account) within your Frame tenant. Detailed instructions for integrating Okta with Frame can be found here.

Okta instance added as a SAML2 provider within Frame

Okta instance added as a SAML2 provider within Frame

Step 5. [Dizzion Frame] Add the appropriate SAML2 permission rule for the Engineering Account (Account Dashboard → Users → SAML2 Permissions → Add Permission) by specifying the frame-snow-engineering Okta group and granting that group the Launchpad User Role to the Engineering Desktop Launchpad.

Frame SAML2 permission rule for Engineering

Frame SAML2 permission rule for Engineering

Step 6. [Dizzion Frame] Add the appropriate SAML2 permission rule for the Marketing Account (Account Dashboard → Users → SAML2 Permissions → Add Permission) by specifying the frame-snow-marketing Okta group and granting that group the Launchpad User Role to the Marketing Desktop Launchpad.

Frame SAML2 permission rule for Marketing

Frame SAML2 permission rule for Marketing

Demo

Now that we have everything configured, we are ready to begin provisioning user access to Frame using ServiceNow.

Lucky for us, we just so happen to have two new hires we need to onboard!

  1. John Smith (john.smith@fra.me) - A new member of the Engineering team.
  2. Jane Miller (jane.miller@fra.me) - A new member of the Marketing team.

To do so, we need to first create the above User accounts within Okta and then do the same within ServiceNow (ensuring emails match).

Step 1. [ServiceNow] Create User for John Smith and then associate the User to the frame-snow-engineering group.

Creating user account for John Smith

Creating user account for John Smith

Adding John Smith to the frame-snow-engineering group

Adding John Smith to the frame-snow-engineering group

You can also check in Okta to verify that the user was added to the right group:

Okta also shows John Smith was added to the frame-snow-engineering Okta group

Okta also shows John Smith was added to the frame-snow-engineering Okta group

Step 2. [ServiceNow] Create user for Jane Miller and then associate the user to the frame-snow-marketing group.

Creating user account for Jane Miller

Creating user account for Jane Miller

Adding Jane Miller to the frame-snow-marketing group

Adding Jane Miller to the frame-snow-marketing group

And that's it!

Now let's verify if John and Jane have access to their proper desktops within Frame.

Step 3. [Dizzion Frame] Log in to Frame with John Smith via Okta and confirm he has access to his Engineering Desktop.

Click "Sign in with frame-snow-test"

Click "Sign in with frame-snow-test"

Enter John Smith's Okta credentials

Enter John Smith's Okta credentials

Looks like the Engineering Desktop is available for John to access!

Looks like the Engineering Desktop is available for John to access!

Step 4. [Dizzion Frame] And finally, we will log in to Frame with Jane Miller via Okta and confirm she has access to her Marketing Desktop.

Click "Sign in with frame-snow-test"

Click "Sign in with frame-snow-test"

Enter Jane Miller's Okta credentials

Enter Jane Miller's Okta credentials

And the Marketing Desktop is available for Jane to access

And the Marketing Desktop is available for Jane to access

As you can see, with Frame, and your identity provider of choice, you can quickly and easily streamline the process of onboarding (and offboarding) users and ensure they have access to the proper desktops and apps all through the convenience of ServiceNow.

Conclusion

In conclusion, integrating Dizzion Frame with ServiceNow streamlines the onboarding and provisioning process, enhancing efficiency and user experience. By leveraging the powerful capabilities of both platforms, organizations can ensure seamless operations and rapid deployment of resources. We are committed to continuously providing innovative solutions that empower our customers to achieve their goals. Thank you for following this guide, and we look forward to supporting your success with Dizzion Frame.

Yangzhi Zhao
Yangzhi 'Z' Zhao is the VP of Product at Dizzion responsible for product management, product marketing, product enablement, and GTM strategy. With over 15 years in the end-user computing (EUC) industry, Z started his career at Citrix. There, within the consulting service organization, he supported hundreds of clients with their Citrix deployments as a Field Architect. After leaving Citrix, Z served as SVP of Business Development at Cloud Nine, a NYC-based consulting firm specializing in EUC. Prior to joining Dizzion in June 2023 (as part of the acquisition and merger with Frame), he was the Director of Product for Frame at Nutanix. An alumnus of the University of Michigan, Z currently lives in the Metro Detroit area with his wife and son.