ARCON credential retrieval use cases - ARCON key vault integration is supported for these use cases.

Use case: Retrieve Control Room system credentials for ARCON key vault

1. Set up Active Directory credentials:

   After you complete the initial installation of Automation 360 and configure ARCON key vault as the external key vault, you can set up the authentication type for Automation 360 Control Room users in the initial setup as shown below (this occurs directly after the initial installation completes).

   1. From the Authentication type for Control Room users dialog box, click Active Directory.
   2. You can optionally configure the Active Directory integration credential (this is the credential that the Control Room uses to authenticate users with Active Directory) to be retrieved from ARCON key vault. Select External Key vault with label ARCON key vault.
   3. Enter the Server IP, Target type, ARCON username, Open for hours, and Hostname(optional).
   4. Click Discover connections or Manually add connections to fetch Active Directory credential from external vault. Once connection is successful, Next button is enabled.
   5. Click Next and configure Owners, Managers, Participants, and Consumers for the locker.
   The Control Room will attempt to retrieve the credential from the ARCON key vault and then authenticate to the Domain Controller. If this fails, cause might be one of the following:

   • There is no secret with that name in the ARCON key vault
   • There is a secret with that name, but it does not contain a username and password that is authorized for authentication with Active Directory

   You can now log in to the Control Room as admin and add users and roles.

   To change the Active Directory settings,

   1. Log in to the Automation 360 Control Room.
   2. Navigate to: Administration > Settings > Active Directory.
   3. Click External key vault and select ARCON key vault.
   4. Enter the Server IP, Target type, ARCON username, Open for hours, and Hostname(optional) to get the Active Directory credentials.
2. Set up SMTP credentials:
   1. To set up email, log in to the Automation 360 Control Room as the Administrator.
   2. Navigate to: Administration > Settings > Email.
   3. Click External key vault and select ARCON key vault as the external key vault.
   4. Enter the Server IP, Target type, ARCON username, Open for hours, and Hostname(optional) to get the Active Directory credentials.

Use case: Retrieve auto-login credentials

Auto-login credentials are used to authenticate to an Automation 360 Bot Agent device and start an active Windows Server session. This requires an active Windows Server session to function. Auto-login occurs before automation is launched from a remote Bot Agent device.

To enable auto-login, each automation runtime user must be mapped to a target device. This requires mapping of the Control Room username with the secret names so that during runtime, the Bot Runner user can retrieve the device credentials from the key vault.

Option A: Auto-login under Manage

1. Log in to the Automation 360 Control Room with View external vault and Manage external vault permission.
2. Navigate to Manage > External Vault > Auto Login.
3. Click Add Auto login, Add or + icon.
4. From the Select vault drop-down list, choose one of your vault connections of ARCON provider.
5. Under Auto login, Enabled is selected by default. Click Disabled if you want to disable auto login for this vault connection.
   Note: If an user account with unattended Bot Runner license is mapped to an external vault connection and this connection has auto-login disabled, then credentials are retrieved using the device Credential Vault and its stored credentials instead.
6. Click Next to open the Secret mapping page.
7. You can manage secret mappings in two ways - single entry or bulk entries.

   Single entry: Use this method to add a mapping directly in the custom secrets mapping table, without needing a CSV upload.

   1. Click + icon on top of the Secret mappings table.

      

   2. Enter the details specified on the screen.
   3. Click Add.
      Note: The system validates whether the entered username exists in the Control Room. If the username does not exist, an error is displayed and the entry is not saved.

   Bulk entries: Use this method to add multiple mappings at once by importing a .CSV template file containing username and secret names mapping entries into the Control Room. You can also use this method for single-entry updates.

   1. Download the .CSV template and add the entries in the format specified and save it locally. To map the Control Room usernames with the secret names, you must import this .CSV template file which contains the following entries into the Control Room. Except for the Hostname (optional) field, other fields are mandatory.
      • ARCON username: If the ARCON username is in domain\username format, specify the username in this field in the same format.
      • Server IP address: The unique numerical identifier assigned to a server within a network, allowing devices to locate and communicate with it.
      • Target type: The specific type of device or system that is the target of the auto-login request.
      • Open for hours (numeric): The time duration or configuration related to ARCON system, where the auto-login credential retrieval request is accessible or open for a set number of hours, expressed numerically.
      • (Optional) Hostname: The hostname of the target device.
   2. Click Import .csv.

      

   3. Click Browse to upload the .CSV template file.
   4. Click Import and save. The custom secrets mapping table is populated with the updated entries.
   5. Click Close to return to the list of auto-logins created.

Option B: Auto-login under Settings

Task 1: Map the Control Room username with the secret name

1. Log in to the Automation 360 Control Room with View external vault and Manage external vault permission.
2. Navigate to Administration > Settings > External key vault > Device auto login.
3. Click Edit.
4. Under Configure secrets name, select one of the following: Automation 360 defined secrets naming or Custom secrets naming.
   Automation 360 defined secrets naming: If you've selected this option, click Save changes and skip the below steps for importing the CSV file. The system automatically looks up secrets based on the Automation 360 naming convention. See External key vault naming conventions.

   Note: You can optionally complete the secret mapping steps given below under the Custom secrets naming option if you plan to switch to the Custom secrets naming convention in the future.
   Custom secrets naming: If you've selected this option, do the following:

   1. Select Manage custom secrets mappings.
   2. Download the .CSV template and add the entries in the format specified and save it locally. To map the Control Room usernames with the secret names, you must import this .CSV template file which contains the following entries into the Control Room. Except for the Hostname (optional) field, other fields are mandatory.
      • ARCON username: If the ARCON username is in domain\username format, specify the username in this field in the same format.
      • Server IP address: The unique numerical identifier assigned to a server within a network, allowing devices to locate and communicate with it.
      • Target type: The specific type of device or system that is the target of the auto-login request.
      • Open for hours (numeric): The time duration or configuration related to ARCON system, where the auto-login credential retrieval request is accessible or open for a set number of hours, expressed numerically.
      • (Optional) Hostname: The hostname of the target device.
   3. Click Import .CSV and browse to upload the .CSV template file.
   4. Click Import and save. The custom secrets mapping table is populated with the updated entries.

1. Navigate to Administration > Settings > External key vault > Device auto login.
2. Click Edit.
3. Click Enabled to retrieve the auto-login credentials from that external key vault.
4. Click Save changes to save the configuration.

Use case: Retrieve Agent automation credentials

Automation credentials are variables that developers use in automation (bot) actions. The automation uses these credentials to perform activities such as logging into applications, opening encrypted files using a password, and other activities. During runtime, the Automation 360 Bot Agent retrieves the required automation credentials. This use case demonstrates how an automation (bot) retrieves credentials (secrets stored in the ARCON key vault) and uses them during runtime to authenticate with the applications being automated.

To set up automation credentials retrieval and connect with the ARCON key vault, you first need to create a locker and then create credentials.