Overview

When importing data via HTTP, you sometimes need to provide authentication to an external site.

You can do this by storing the username and password

• as plain text the HTTP datasource instance. This is not secure.
• encrypted within a PhixFlow local secret as 2 key-value pairs, as described below.
• encrypted within a keystore, where the key is generated by PhixFlow and the same key+value is stored in the keystore.

Store Authentication in Plain Text

Step 1: Store the credentials:

1. Open a HTTP datasource properties
2. in the HTTP Datasource Instances section add a new instance
3. In the instance, enter the details for the Name, Username and Password properties
4. Save the properties.

Step 2: Use the credentials:

In an analysis models, the HTTP datasource must have a HTTP collector or HTTP exporter connected to it. Expressions within the HTTP collector and exporter can use the following variables to reference the username and password.

Store Authentication Encrypted in PhixFlow

To store a username and password encrypted in PhixFlow, configure a key/value pair using the secret key.

You can use the secret key name to refer to the encrypted value in:

• HTTP collectors and exporters → URL Expression or Statement Expression fields in
• HTTP Headers Properties → Basic Settings → Value.

by specifying ${_datasource.key}  where key is the Name of the secret key.                                                                                                                                                         

When you run analysis, PhixFlow uses the secret key Name to find the key, which finds the encrypted secret. It then provides the de-encrypted value to authenticate to the external site.

To create a key/value pair, in an HTTP datasource properties → Secret Key Details section, click  Insert excerpt_add_addnopaneltrue to create a new secret keyThere are several options for how to store and then reference the username and password; see Authenticating for an API. One option is to use the Secret Key section to create a key associated with the username or password, which is encrypted and stored in the PhixFlow database.

For Private Secret Keys, see Private Secrets.

Secret

Key

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Basic Settings

Local Secret 

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value value

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Basic Settings

The name is what you refer to in an expression. Internally tables

You can have key without a secret

GUI presents it as a name a flag and a secret.

in the properties Name - key, secret

Store Authentication Encrypted in the Keystore

todo-fiona

Define a local key secret and enter keynames

Internal IDs

If you dont put in a local secret

it will look in the keystore

If you have configured a Java keystore Configure a Keystore and Aliases and Adding Data to a Keystore  you can use this to store secure credentials instead of using a Local Secret. 

If you want to you can use a keystore.

32 digits.password key

32 digits = datasource

Datasource and HTTP Datasource modelling objects have properties → Advanced → Internal ID.

This is a read-only field that provides the database identifier for the datasource. 

You can supply a key-value pair to the keystore. However, the username and password key or value requires the datasource ID.

EG. Datasource needs a username XYZ and password ABC 

Key datasource1-username - internalIDXYZ

Key datasource1-pw - internalIABC

Why its there is to help with debugging complex issues as requested by support...

Datasource 

1. Store the username key-value pair in the keystore.
2. Store the password key-value pair in the keystore.
3. To reference them, in the expressions, use ${_datasource.key}  where key is the key. 

External Secret (Keystore)

Secret values such as passwords can be held in the Java Keystore used as part of your PhixFlow installation. This enables a single instance of the secret to exist outside off PhixFlow.

Setup

1. In PhixFlow, open the Properties of the HTTP of Database Datasource where the secret value will be used.
2. In the Advanced section, record the 32 character Internal ID.
3. Create an entry on the server Keystore with the naming convention datasourceInternalID.KeyName. Where the KeyName should be unique from any other secret name used in PhixFlow.

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      title Example
      b813b1bc5554e1259cc8cbd1087ca4ab.password

      
      

4. The Datasource can now reference the secret using the syntax, _datasource.KeyName

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      Info
      _datasource.

      
      

5. PhixFlow will now use the Keystore value secret.
   1. Note, PhixFlow checks for a local secret with the KeyName first and if one exists it will be used. If one is not found PhixFlow checks the keystore for the value and uses it where found. All names are case-sensitive.

Using a Secret

For HTTP objects connected to the HTTP datasource, and HTTP Action nodes you can reference a secret key in:

• HTTP Collectors and HTTP Exporters → URL Expression or Statement Expression 
• HTTP Headers Properties → Basic Settings → Value.
• HTTP Action → Headers