Before You Connect

Role Assignment

Ensure that the Azure identity has the correct role assignment. The identity is the account that you log in to the browser during AzureAD authentication or the Application itself for AzureServicePrincipal authentication. Please visit the link below for more details:

Configure role-based access control for your Azure Cosmos DB account with Azure AD

You can either assign one of the built-in role definitions:

• CosmosDB Built-in Data Reader
• CosmosDB Built-in Data Contributor

or create your own custom role definitions. You must also set the scope of the role assignment, where "/" means that the identity has access to all the databases.

Connecting to Cosmos DB

Account Key

Log in to the Azure Portal, select Azure Cosmos DB, and select your account.

Set the following to authenticate:

• AccountEndpoint: The Cosmos DB account URL. Set this to the URI value found in the Settings > Keys blade of the Cosmos DB account.
• AccountKey: A master key token or a resource token for connecting to Cosmos DB. Set this to the PRIMARY KEY value found in the Settings > Keys blade of the Cosmos DB account.
• TokenType: (optional). Set this to "master" (the default value) if you are using a Master Token, which is a full permissions token generated during account creation. Otherwise, set this property to "resource" if you are using a Resource Token, which is a custom permissions token generated when a database user is set up.

Azure AD

Azure AD is Microsoft’s multi-tenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service. It is user-based authentication that requires that you set AuthScheme to AzureAD.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.

Before you connect, set the following variables:

• InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken. CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop; that is, in situations where the user is using a local server not connected to the internet.

  You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Cosmos DB console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

• Custom Azure AD applications only:
  • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the adapter opens the Cosmos DB's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The adapter then completes the OAuth process:

1. Extracts the access token from the callback URL and authenticates requests.
2. Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
3. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.

When the access token expires, the adapter refreshes it automatically.

Web Applications

Authenticating via the Web requires you to create and register a custom OAuth application with Cosmos DB, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application. You can then use the adapter to get and manage the OAuth token values.

This section describes how to get the OAuth access token, how to have the driver refresh the OAuth access token automatically, and how to refresh the OAuth access token manually.

Get the OAuth access token:

1. To obtain the OAuthAccessToken, set these connection properties:
   • For authentication using a Client Secret:
     • OAuthClientId: The client Id in your application settings.
     • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in your application settings.
   • For authentication using a Certificate:
     • OAuthClientId: The client Id in your application settings.
     • OAuthJWTCert: The JWT Certificate store.
     • OAuthJWTCertType: The type of the certificate store specified by OAuthJWTCert.
2. Call stored procedures to complete the OAuth exchange:
   • Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB and the CallbackURL to the Redirect URI you specified in your application settings. The stored procedure returns the URL to the OAuth endpoint.
   • Navigate to the URL that the stored procedure returned in Step 1. Log in and authorize the web application. You are redirected back to the callback URL.
   • Call the GetOAuthAccessToken stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB. Set the Verifier input to the code parameter in the query string of the redirect URI.

After you obtain the access and refresh tokens, you can connect to data and refresh the OAuth access token automatically.

Automatic refresh of the OAuth access token:

To have the adapter automatically refresh the OAuth access token, do the following:

1. The first time you connect to data, set these connection parameters:
   • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
   • OAuthClientId: The client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
   • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in your custom OAuth application settings.
   • OAuthAccessToken: The access token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
   • OAuthSettingsLocation: The path where you want the adapter to save the OAuth values, which persist across connections.
2. On subsequent data connections, set:
   • InitiateOAuth
   • OAuthSettingsLocation

Manual refresh of the OAuth access token:

The only value needed to manually refresh the OAUth access token is the OAuth refresh token.

1. To manually refresh the OAuthAccessToken after the ExpiresIn period (returned by GetOAuthAccessToken) has elapsed, call the RefreshOAuthAccessToken stored procedure.
2. Set these connection properties:
   • OAuthClientId: The Client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
   • OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret in your custom OAuth application settings.

3. Call RefreshOAuthAccessToken with OAuthRefreshToken set to the OAuth refresh token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
4. After the new tokens have been retrieved, set the OAuthAccessToken property to the value returned by RefreshOAuthAccessToken. This opens a new connection.

Store the OAuth refresh token so that you can use it to manually refresh the OAuth access token after it has expired.

Headless Machines

If you need to log in to a resource that resides on a headless machine, you must authenticate on another device that has an internet browser. You can do this in either of the following ways:

• Obtain the OAuthVerifier value as described in Obtain and Exchange a Verifier Code, below.
• Install the adapter on another machine and transfer the OAuth authentication values after you authenticate through the usual browser-based flow.

After you execute either of these options, configure the driver to automatically refresh the access token on the headless machine.

Obtaining and Exchanging a Verifier Code

To obtain a verifier code, you must authenticate at the OAuth authorization URL from a machine with an internet browser, and obtain the OAuthVerifier connection property.

1. Choose one of these options:
   • If you are using the Embedded OAuth Application, click Cosmos DB OAuth endpoint to open the endpoint in your browser.
   • If you are using a custom OAuth application, set the following properties to create the Authorization URL:
     • InitiateOAuth: OFF.
     • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
     • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.
     After the Authorization URL is established, call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure with the appropriate CallbackURL. Open the URL returned by the stored procedure in a browser.

2. Log in and grant permissions to the adapter. You are redirected to the callback URL, which contains the verifier code.
3. Save the value of the verifier code. Later you will set this in the OAuthVerifier connection property.

Next, exchange the OAuth verifier code for OAuth refresh and access tokens.

To obtain the OAuth authentication values, set these properties:

• InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
• OAuthVerifier: The verifier code.
• OAuthSettingsLocation: The location of the file where the driver saves the OAuth token values that persist across connections.
• Custom applications only:
  • OAuthClientId: (custom applications only) Set this to the client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
  • OAuthClientSecret: (custom applications only) Set this to the client secret in the custom OAuth application settings.

After the OAuth settings file is generated, re-set the following properties to connect:

• InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
• OAuthSettingsLocation: The location containing the encrypted OAuth authentication values. Make sure this location grants read and write permissions to the adapter to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.
• Custom applications only:
  • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.

Transferring OAuth Settings

Prior to connecting on a headless machine, you must create and install a connection with the driver on a device that supports an internet browser. Set the connection properties as described in "Desktop Applications" above.

After completing the instructions in "Desktop Applications", the resulting authentication values are encrypted and written to the location specified by OAuthSettingsLocation. The default filename is OAuthSettings.txt.

Once you have successfully tested the connection, copy the OAuth settings file to your headless machine.

On the headless machine, set the following connection properties to connect to data:

• InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
• OAuthSettingsLocation: The location of your OAuth settings file. Make sure this location gives read and write permissions to the adapter to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.
• Custom applications only:
  • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.

Azure Service Principal

Azure Service Principal is role-based application-based authentication. This means that authentication is done per application, rather than per user. All tasks taken on by the application are executed without a default user context, but based on the assigned roles. The application access to the resources is controlled through the assigned roles' permissions.

For information about how to set up Azure Service Principal authentication, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.