Running Mappings with Authentication
Sometimes, mappings created with MapForce need to access external resources that require authentication (for example, a Web service). To address this need, MapForce (and, on the server side, MapForce Server and FlowForce Server) provides support for the following authentication means:
•Username and password. These are typically necessary for calling Web services that require basic HTTP authentication.
•OAuth 2.0 credentials. These are necessary to call Web services where OAuth 2.0 verification is required. Note that, on the server side, OAuth 2.0 credentials are supported in MapForce Server Advanced Edition and FlowForce Server Advanced Edition.
In order to authenticate with the Web service and run the mapping successfully, you have the following options when designing a mapping in MapForce:
•Define a credential. This is the recommended and most flexible approach. A credential object may contain full authentication details or be just a named reference without carrying sensitive data. In the latter case, the actual details (for example, password) will have to be provided at mapping runtime. Optionally, you can save the sensitive details associated with the credential in encrypted form as part of the mapping design file (*.mfd). If you need to run the mapping with MapForce Server in other environments without any manual intervention, you can make the credential portable. The portable credential does not necessarily have to contain the actual username and password (although it can, depending on your choice). You can always set or override these details manually at mapping runtime. For more information, see Credentials.
•Use dynamic authentication, that is, supply the username and password as input parameters to the mapping. In this approach, you will need to supply the parameter values to the mapping each time the mapping runs. Optionally, to be able to preview the mapping in MapForce, you can store the username and password as "design-time" execution values; however, they will be stored in clear text. Note that OAuth credentials cannot be supplied as input parameters to the mapping; this is possible only for the username and password. For more information, see Dynamic Authentication.
•(Legacy approach) Define the username and password in MapForce not as a named credential object, but as standalone username and password. When you save the mapping, the username and password are saved in encrypted form as part of the mapping design file (*.mfd). This approach is supported for backward compatibility of mappings designed in earlier versions of MapForce. For more information, see Stored Username and Password.
The following sections show you how to configure the mapping for each of the scenarios mentioned above.