Configure connection groups and URL groups

Configure API Gateway to connect to multiple external servers in a connection group, or multiple URLs in a URL group, on a round-robin basis.

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Connection groups

A connection group consists of a number of external servers that API Gateway connects to (for example, RSA Access Manager servers for authorization).

API Gateway attempts to connect to all the servers in the group in a round-robin fashion, therefore providing a high degree of failover. If one or more servers are unavailable, API Gateway can still connect to an alternative server. API Gateway attempts to connect to the listed servers according to the priorities assigned to them.

For example, assume there are two high-priority servers, one medium-priority server, and one low-priority server configured. Assuming API Gateway can successfully connect to the two high-priority servers, it alternates requests only between these two servers in a round-robin fashion. The other group servers are not used. However, if both high-priority servers become unavailable, API Gateway then tries to use the medium-priority server. Only if this fails is the low-priority server used.

Connection groups are available in the Policy Studio tree under the Environment Configuration > External Connections > Connection Sets node according to the filter from which they are available.

Configure a connection group

You can configure a connection group using the Connection Group dialog. The external servers are listed in order of priority in the table on the Connection Group dialog.

API Gateway attempts to connect to the server at the top of the list first. If this server is not available, a connection attempt is made to the second server, and so on until an available server is found. If none of the listed servers are available, the client is not authorized, and a SOAP fault is returned to the client.

You can increase or decrease the priorities of the listed external servers using the Up and Down buttons. You can add, edit, and delete connections in the group using the Add, Edit, and Remove buttons.

Configure a connection

You can configure a connection within a connection group using the Connection Configuration dialog. Perform the following steps:

  1. Enter the name or IP address of the machine hosting the selected Access Manager server in the Location field.
  2. Enter the Port on which the specified Access Manager server is listening.
  3. Select a suitable Timeout in seconds for connections to this server.
  4. Select the appropriate Connection Type for API Gateway to use when connecting to the specified Access Manager server. The available connections types are clear, over Anonymous SSL, or Mutual SSL Authentication (two-way SSL).
  5. If you select SSL Authentication, you must also select an SSL mutual authentication certificate. This certificate is then used to authenticate to the Access Manager server.

URL groups

The API Gateway can make connections on a round-robin basis to the URLs listed in a URL group, thus enabling a high degree of failover to external servers (for example, Entrust GetAccess, SAML PDP, or XKMS). The API Gateway attempts to connect to the listed servers according to the priorities assigned to them.

For example, assume there are two High priority URLs, one Medium URL, and one Low URL configured. Assuming the API Gateway can successfully connect to the two High priority URLs, it alternates requests between these two URLs only in a round-robin fashion. The other group URLs are not used. However, if both of the High priority URLs become unavailable, the API Gateway then tries to use the Medium priority URL, and only if this fails is the Low priority URL used.

URL groups are available in the Policy Studio tree under the Environment Configuration > External Connections > URL Connection Sets node.

Configure a URL group

Configure the following fields:

URL Group Name: Enter a name for the URL group.

To add URLs to the group, click the Add button and complete the following fields:

  • URL: Enter the full URL of the external server.
  • Timeout (secs): Specify the timeout in seconds for connections to the specified server.
  • Retry After (secs): Whenever the server becomes unavailable for whatever reason (for example, maintenance), no attempt is made to connect to that server until the time specified here has elapsed. In other words, when a connection failure is detected, the next connection to that URL is after this amount of time.
  • SSL mutual authentication certificate: If the specified server requires clients to authenticate to it over two-way SSL, click the Signing Key button to select an SSL certificate from the Certificate Store for authentication.
  • Host/IP: If the specified server sits behind a proxy server, you must enter the host name or IP address of the proxy server.
  • Port: Enter the port on which the proxy is listening.

To edit or delete a URL, select the URL from the table, and click the Edit or Delete buttons.

In general, the API Gateway attempts to round-robin requests over URLs of the same priority, but uses higher priority URLs before lower priority ones. When a new URL is added to the group, it is automatically given the highest priority. You can change priorities by selecting the URL in the table, and clicking the Up or Down buttons.