One way we can configure user authentication is by using an LDAP server instead of Blackboard's internal credentials.

To use this authentication, first go to Admin Panel > Integrations > Authentication and click Create Provider > LDAP.

On the next screen, fill in the name and set the authentication method to active, as well as specify the user lookup method (username or batch UID).

Finally, select whether this authentication method will be available for any of the available URLs for the environment or only for some, and click Save and Configure. 

At this point, configure authentication with the necessary information. Add the LDAP server URL, including the protocol and corresponding port, and choose the SSL version to use. We recommend using StartTLS.

Configure the rest of the parameters and the timeout, and save to finish.

Remember that if you have more than one LDAP authentication, the system will use them in the order in which they are specified, moving to the next in the list once the one that has been queried times out. The order in which the different authentication methods (internal and LDAP) are used can be modified from the list of existing authentications in Blackboard by clicking Provider order.