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Provider connections for private providers for Foundation APIs
Published On Oct 11, 2024 - 8:21 AM

Provider connections for private providers for Foundation APIs

Provides information about creating providers and connections for providers that are not supported with Terraform. These procedures are only valid for the Foundation APIs.
The following procedures provide the for connection with the Foundation APIs for providers that do not use Terraform. The procedures cover creating the provider offerings that can then be used by the users to create connections to those providers.
These procedures are for the Foundation APIs model only. For the prior authorization model, see Private cloud integration.

Required roles

To create a provider template, the Catalog Administrator role is needed. To create a provider connection from a template, the Viewer role is required. In both cases, a user might be restricted in what connections are visible based on what tags they have privileges to view.
Catalog Administrators can create provider connections that they are not able to view based on the tags that they have privileges for.

Creating provider offerings

Before users can create connections to a provider, you must set up a form that will allow them to enter the information that they need to connect with the provider. To do so, complete these steps:
  1. Navigate to the
    Provider Management
     page. To learn more about navigating to the different services from each tenant, refer to Landing page navigation or Kyndryl Bridge Landing page navigation.
  2. Click
    Add Provider
     on the
    Add Provider
     card.
  3. On the
    Add Provider Details
     tab, enter the following parameters and then click
    Next
    :
    1. Provider Code:
       You can either accept the system-generated code, or you can overwrite it. This is the code that the system uses to identify the provider.
    2. Provider Name:
      Enter a reader-friendly name for the provider. This is the name that will be displayed to the users.
    3. Documentation URL:
       (optional) Provide a URL that links to the official documentation for the provider.
    4. Version:
       Set a version for the provider offering. Note that this is independent of any provider version, although you can make them identical if desire The version must be in the format N.N.N.N.
    5. Select Technology Category:
       Select either
      Cloud Provider
       (providers of cloud services) or
      Content Provider
       (providers of any other types of services).
    6. Description:
       (optional) Provide a more detailed description of the provider offering.
    7. Configuration Parameters:
       (optional) In this section, you create fields that the user must fill in when they create a connection to this provider. These fields will vary depending on the needs of the provider. For each parameter that you want, enter the following information and then click
      Add Configuration Parameter
      . If you make an error, you can click
      Delete
       for that parameter. You are not required to create any parameters.
      1. Field Type:
         Select the kind of field that you want. The options are
        Text Field
        ,
        Password
        ,
        Text Area
        , and
        Toggle
        .
      2. Key:
         The parameter name from the provider that is being entered in the field.
      3. Field Label:
         Set the label that will be displayed for the field when the user is filling out the form.
      4. Description:
         (optional) Add a more detailed explanation of the field. This can be used for instructions for filling in the field.
      5. Required:
         Set whether the field must be filled in before the user can proceed.
      6. Advance:
         Fields that are tagged with this toggle will be separated into an Advanced Settings section in the provider form.
  4. On the
    Configure Authentication
     tab, you prompt the user to enter any required authentication credentials for the provider. These will vary based on the provider. For each credential, enter the following information and then click
    Add Credential Parameter
    . If you make a mistake, you can click
    Delete
     next to the credential you want to get rid of. You must create at least one credential, and one credential must be set as
    Required
    .
    1. Field Type:
       Select the kind of field that you want. The options are
      Text Field
      ,
      Password
      ,
      Text Area
      , and
      Toggle
      .
    2. Key:
       The parameter name for the provider credential that is being entered in the field.
    3. Field Label:
       Set the label that will be displayed for the field when the user is filling out the form.
    4. Description:
       (optional) Add a more detailed explanation of the field. This can be used for instructions for filling in the field.
    5. Required:
       Set whether the field must be filled in before the user can proceed.
  5. Check over the sample form displayed on the
    Review
     tab. If everything is okay, click
    Save
    . Otherwise click
    Back
     and make any corrections.

Managing provider offerings

Provider offerings can be managed after they are created. On the
Provider Management
 page, scroll down to the
Non Terraform Providers
 section and find the card for the provider offering. You can filter by
Technology
 and by
Status
. Click the
Actions
 icon for the card and select from these choices:
  • View:
     Open the provider offering to view the details. From the details page you can
    De-activate
     the provider offering if it is active.
  • Activate
     or
    De-activate:
     Make the provider offering available to the users to create connections with, or hide it from them. If you de-activate a provider which has connections, then the connections will not be displayed. If you reactivate the provider then the linked connections will be shown again.
  • Delete:
     Permanently delete the provider offering. The provider offering must be deactivated before it can be deleted. If a provider is deleted, any connections created based on that provider are deleted as well.

Creating provider connections

Users can use provider offerings to create individual accounts with that provider. These accounts are called connections to that provider. To create a new connection, complete these steps:
  1. Navigate to the
    Connections
     page. To learn more about navigating to the different services from each tenant, refer to Landing page navigation or Kyndryl Bridge Landing page navigation.
  2. Enter the following information for the connection:
    1. Connection Name:
       Enter the name that you want to display for the connection.
    2. Select Tags:
       Select the appropriate tags for the connection. Tags are used in Enterprise Marketplace to determine who can view and access the connection. It is possible for a user to create a connection that they cannot access by selecting tags that they do not have privileges for.
    3. Description:
       (optional) Add a more detailed explanation of the connection, such as the intended use of the connection or the types of services available.
    4. Select Technology Category:
       Select either
      Cloud Provider
       (providers of cloud services) or
      Content Provider
       (providers of any other types of services).
    5. Select Connection Type:
      Select the provider offering that you want to us Only provider offerings for the technology category that you selected will be displayed.
  3. After you select the connection type, any fields associated with that provider offering will be displayed. These fields will vary depending on what the administrator programmed into the provider offering, and therefore cannot be described here.
  4. Click
    Save
    .

Managing provider connections

After connections have been created, they can be managed on the
Connections
 page. Click the
Actions
 icon for the connection and select from these choices:
  • View Details:
     Open the connection to view the details. From the details page you can
    Edit
     the provider offering. For more information about the parameters, see Creating provider connections.
  • Delete:
     Permanently delete the connection.
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