Manage credentials for API pollers, AppOptics integrations, and container monitoring in SAM

The Manage Credentials page serves as a centralized repository where you can work with credentials that are used to:

• Monitor metrics with API pollers in SAM,
  
• Monitor APM services in SAM, and
• Monitor containers in SAM or VMAN.

Starting in SAM 2020.2.6, SolarWinds Tokens replace standard SolarWinds Platform credentials for Container Monitoring. Update all container services added in earlier versions to use SolarWinds Tokens instead of SolarWinds Platform credentials. See the SolarWinds Platform Administrator Guide for details.

To access the Manage Credentials page:

1. Log in to the SolarWinds Platform Web Console with an SolarWinds Platform administrator account.
2. Click Settings > All Settings.

3. Scroll to the Credentials section of the page and click Manage API Poller Credentials.
   The Manage Credential page appears, as shown in this example.

   

Supported credential types include:

• API Key: A random string passed between applications and often used in API poller request URLs and headers.

• Basic Authorization: Also called "Basic Auth," this method passes usernames and passwords in request headers, sent via HTTPS and encoded with Base64 for security. Passwords are required.
  

• Bearer Token: Also called "token authentication," this scheme uses access tokens to authenticate requests, in the form of text strings added to request headers (for example, Authorization: Bearer <Your API Key>).

• OAuth 2.0: Uses access tokens that an API server passes to an authentication server to grant access via public and private keys. To learn more about Grant Type, Tenant ID, and other OAuth terms, see API credentials.

• SolarWinds Cloud Token: An API token generated for an active AppOptics organization that can be used to monitor APM services directly in SAM. See Retrieve a SolarWinds Cloud Token to integrate AppOptics with SAM.

• SolarWinds Token: Starting in SAM 2020.2.6, SolarWinds Tokens replace standard SolarWinds Platform credentials for the Container Monitoring feature. See the SolarWinds Platform Administrator Guide for details.

Note the following details about the Manage Credentials page:

• The SolarWinds Credentials feature uses port 38008, by default.
• Related logs are stored in this default location: ProgramData\SolarWinds\Logs\SolarWinds.Credentials\SolarWinds.Credentials\SolarWinds.Credentials.log
• After adding a credential, you can edit its name later but you cannot edit tokens. Create a new credential instead.
• SAM includes other places where you can work with credentials, such as the Credentials Library for component monitors. For details, see Manage credentials in SAM.

For API pollers created in earlier versions of SAM, add API credentials on the Manage Credentials page, and then edit API pollers to use new credentials.

Add a credential

1. Click Settings > All Settings > Manage API Poller Credentials.
2. When the Manage Credentials page appears, click New.
3. Specify the credential type, such as OAuth 2.0.
4. Add a name for the credential and fill out the remaining fields
5. Click Save.

Edit the name for a credential

1. Select the credentials you want to edit.
2. Click Edit.

3. Modify the credential, as necessary.

   Editing tokens is not supported. Create new tokens instead.

4. Click Save.

Delete credentials

1. Select the credentials you want to delete.

   Credentials currently in use cannot be deleted. For example, if API keys are assigned to an API poller, remove them from the poller first.

2. Click Delete.
3. When prompted, confirm the deletion.

Deleting credentials is permanent.