External System Configurations

An external system configuration does not contain the actual connection to a system. It only contains connection-related information like username/password/certificates. It is also a configuration point for mapping grid application requests to access users’ external credentials for external systems.

The minimum configuration needed for an external system is a name for it (only used within the grid) and a description (also only used within the Configuration Manager). The name of an external system is used for application access mapping and for external credentials mapping. The description is used for user self-service, where users can provide their own external credentials.

An external system configuration contains information about the kind of user credentials that are needed for this external system. For now, the only available credentials type is USERNAME_PASSWORD. Future releases may contain the ability to provide certificates or other means of authentication.

Providing a username and password for the external system is optional. These credentials can be used (similarly to a bind user) by an application for initial access to a system, or for access to a system that doesn’t have separate credentials for different users.

It is possible to add a private key by uploading a keystore (JKS type only). Grid applications can then use the private key in the keystore to access the external system. This keystore is only used to access the system itself – not for specific user logon to the system. Specific user credentials are configured as external credentials.