Managing Azure AD mappings

Azure AD mappings allows you to select the staff and student users that should have memberships created in Backdrop, and determine the student groups that children should be displayed in. 

Once the Microsoft data import has been set up you can move to the mapping process before starting the sync that will bring staff, students and student groups into the Backdrop platform. After the first sync , it will run automatically every 12 hours. Mappings can be updated at anytime from the Azure AD Mappings under Integration Settings in Administration.

Mapping Types:

There are two types of mapping available: people mappings and student group mappings.

People mappings 

These cover staff and children that you want to import into the system. When adding a mapping under these types a membership will be created in Backdrop. There must be people mappings added to successfully sync data.

• User - members of your Azure AD group are added as Staff member user. The Azure AD group is not added by name as a user group containing these users
• Child - members of your Azure AD group are added as Students. These users populate the student side of the system and are the users who are monitored on devices.

Student Group Mapping

This mapping type creates the Backdrop groups that correspond to Azure AD groups as a container and adds members to the Backdrop student groups. There must be people mappings added to successfully sync data.

• Tutor Group - members of this Azure AD group are identified and added to a Tutor Group. These groups are displayed under the Tutor groups section under students/children. The Backdrop group name will correspond to the Azure AD group.
• Teaching Group - members of this Azure AD group are identified and added to a Teaching Group.These groups are displayed under the Teaching groups section under students/children. The Backdrop group name will correspond to the Azure AD group.

It's important to remember:

• Sync are not possible without a minimum of one User mapping and one Child mapping
• Mappings should be added one mapping type at a time
• Multiple Azure AD groups can be selected for that mapping type
• If no Student Group mapping is created then all available groups will be imported from Azure

Select the "Add New Mappings" button.

First you need to select the type of mapping to use. We recommend starting with staff users to ensure they have correct access before adding children and student groups. 

Once you have selected the correct mapping type, choose the groups you want to import with this mapping and click the Done button.

Repeat the above steps to add the additional mapping types to your config. Remember only one mapping type can be added at a time and at least User and Child need to be added.

For large scale mappings, a search field filters groups based on the characters entered and a multi select option to add groups on mass.

Once you are happy with groups you want to import. Click on the "Start Sync" button to begin the import process. This can take several minutes depending on the size of the import.

Deleting Mappings

If you need to change your mapping selections they can be removed using the individual or delete all options. The mapping type being deleted determines the response seen in Backdrop. 

Deleting People mappings 

Removing a people mapping will not have impact on the Backdrop groups but only the users.

• User - staff membership will be updated to inactive, preventing login
• Child - student membership will be updated to Leavers and no longer be available in the Student Groups UI

Deleting Student Group mappings 

Removing a student group mapping will not effect the membership of the students in Backdrop. To update student membership status you need to remove the Child Mapping containing the relevant students. 

• Tutor Group - removes the container for the Azure AD group which will no longer display in the student group UI but student membership will not be disrupted
• Teaching Group - removes the container for the Azure AD group which will no longer display in the student group UI but student membership will not be disrupted

Depending on how many mappings there are to delete this may happen instantly or it is sent to a backend queuing system which aims to complete the deletion within 24 hours.