Starting with the 2.6 release, Launchpad introduces a key validation service that enables you to generate key ID-value pairs which can be used by third-party applications to authenticate into Launchpad Services and communicate through API calls. These key ID-value pairs can be managed using the Key Management service privilege.
Note: Only the Launchpad Services that support a key validation service can be accessed by a third-party application through API calls.
A key ID-value pair is similar to a user name-password combination and can be used to authenticate and communicate with Launchpad Services, but only through API calls. This key ID-value pair cannot be used to access the Launchpad UI.
Similar to a user account, a key can be assigned a profile. Refer to the Profiles section to know more about profiles and the privileges assigned through a profile.
A key comprises the key name, key ID, key value and profile. The key name is a user-defined identifier for the key. The key ID and the key value are system-generated and used by a third party applications for accessing Launchpad Services.
You must have key management privileges to add, edit, delete keys.
Refer to the table in Manage Launchpad Users section for details on editing keys.
The key value is visible only to users that satisfy the following criteria.
User has the same or higher profile than that of the key.
User has equal or higher permissions on the services than the permissions assigned to the key
To view a key value, perform the following steps.
Log on to the Launchpad using your credentials.
Click Admin
and then click the Keys tab.
A list of existing keys appears.
Click the key value to view in the Values column.
When you add a key, it is assigned the Custom profile, by default. After saving the key, you must explicitly assign service privileges to the key. Assigning service privileges on a key is similar to assigning service privileges on a user. Refer to the Manage Service Privileges for User section to know more about assigning service privileges to a key.
Only a user with a higher or same profile than the profile assigned to a key can edit the key. When you edit a key, you can modify only the name of the key and the profile. You cannot change the key ID. You can, however, reset the key value. When you reset the key value, a new auto-generated value is generated. An already active session using the key ID-value pair is not impacted. However, third-party applications that initiate a new session to access Launchpad Services must use the new key ID-value pair.
To add key information, perform the following steps.
Log on to the Launchpad using your credentials.
Click Admin
and then click the Keys tab.
A list of existing keys appears.
Click New Key to add a new key.
Enter the key name and press the Enter key.
You might want to define keys and keep them ready for use, but provide them access to Launchpad Services at a later point. Or, you might want to restrict access to Launchpad Services for keys that are already active. You might also want to block some keys instead of deleting them. In such cases, you can lock the keys to prevent them from accessing Launchpad Services.
You can unlock locked keys at any time. When you lock a key, a padlock icon appears for this key indicating that the key is locked.
To lock or unlock a key, perform the following steps.
Log on to the Launchpad using your credentials.
Click Admin
and then click the Keys tab.
A list of existing keys appears.
Right-click the key row you wish to lock or unlock.
Click the Lock/Unlock option on the pop-up menu.
You can search for keys based on key ID, key name,or profile.
To search a key, perform the following steps.
Log on to the Launchpad using your credentials.
Click Admin and then click the Keys tab.
Type the search keyword in the search keys box at the top-right side.
A list of matching keys appears as you type in the search keyword.
To delete key ID-value pair information, perform the following steps.
Log on to the Launchpad using your credentials.
Click Admin and then click the Keys tab. A list of existing keys appears.
Right-click the key row to delete.
Click the Delete
option from the pop-up menu that appears.
A message prompting you to confirm the deletion appears.
Click Yes to permanently delete the key.
Note: If any problem occurs when deleting service-related data for the key in Launchpad, the key does not get deleted.