Template:Service Authentication RESTful

Service Authentication

The HTTP request must have Basic Authentication credentials included. We strongly recommend that all web service requests be made over SSL (HTTPS).

More information on HTTP Basic Authentication can be found at the following resources:

• Wikipedia: HTTP Basic Authentication
• HTTP Authentication: Basic and Digest Access Authentication

TrackAbout will provide you with a dedicated user account to use when making web service requests.

Troubleshooting Service Authentication/Authorization Issues

When calling a web service, TrackAbout will return a "403 Access Denied" error if there are any issues authenticating the request. These errors can occur under one or more of the following circumstances:

1. The authentication header is missing or not formatted correctly. To correct this, review the links on HTTP Basic Authentication above and ensure that the application you are using to call the web service is building the authorization header correctly.
2. The username and/or password specified in the authentication header is incorrect or the user does not have the permissions needed invoke web services. If you have both a production and test instance of TrackAbout it's important to remember that they each have a distinct set of users and login credentials; a username and password that works in the production environment will not necessarily work in the client test environment and vice-versa. To verify and/or correct this:
   1. Login to the TrackAbout website for the environment against which you are trying to invoke the web service and go to the "Internal Users" page. Verify that the username you are using exists.
   2. If the username does not yet exist in the environment that you are trying to use, contact TrackAbout support to have a new web service user created for that environment.
   3. If the username does exist in that environment, verify that it has 'Web Service' (or something similar) listed in its Roles. The TrackAbout support team can assist in verifying whether or not the user in question has the needed web service permissions.
   4. If the username exists in that environment and the it has the needed web service permissions, then it's likely that the password being provided is not correct. You can use the Internal Users page to edit the user in question and set a new password for it. Note: If you change the password for a web service user, you could end up causing issues for other automated processes you're using to make web service calls using that same user. If you're storing the credentials for that user in any external applications that make automated calls into TrackAbout web services you'll need to update the password that those applications are using accordingly.