Web Services › HTTP Operators: Common Input Parameters › HTTP URL Information

HTTP URL Information

HTTP URL Information includes input parameters that apply to the following operators:

• HTTP Delete
• HTTP Get
• HTTP Head
• HTTP Options
• HTTP Post
• HTTP Post to Form
• HTTP Put
• HTTP Trace

URL

Specifies the URL of the HTTP request. The URL starts with http:// or https://.

Valid SSL Certificate?

Specifies whether a valid SSL certificate is found. This field is relevant when querying an HTTPS URL.

Values

• True - Validates the SSL certificate and fail the operator if the certificate is invalid.
• False - Accepts the SSL certificate even if it is invalid and continue to make the HTTP call.
• Empty - Uses the value set for "Default Validate SSL Certificate?" at the operator category level.

Authentication Type

Select one of the following options.

HTTP Authentication

Specifies whether the HTTP server, at the specified URL, requires authentication. The HTTP operators support Basic HTTP authentication, HTTP Preemptive Authentication, or NTLM authentication. If either type of authentication is needed, set this value to true.

Values

• True - Specifies that the HTTP server requires authentication.
• False - Specifies that the HTTP server does not require authentication.
• Blank - Specifies to use the value set at the operator category level.
• Any other value - Same as false.

Default

Blank - Specifies to use the value set at the operator category level.

Notes

• If HTTP authentication is set to false in the operator, then NTLM Authentication, User name, Password, and Domain name are all disabled.
• If HTTP authentication is not set to false in the operator (true, dataset variable or any other value), then the following are enabled:

  - NTLM authentication

  - User name

  - Password

  - Domain name

HTTP Preemptive Authentication

During the interaction with a Web Service, a CA Process Automation HTTP operator typically acts like a web browser where it first negotiates with the Web service on the authentication scheme to use. This negotiation is done before the operator issues its request to the Web service.

Normally, for Basic HTTP authentication, the Web service specifies during the authentication negotiation, with the CA Process Automation operator, that it requires Basic Authentication. If configured for HTTP Authentication, the CA Process Automation operator then agrees with the Web service to use Basic Authentication.

However, some Web services do not specify during the negotiation that they require Basic Authentication. Instead, they assume that the operator will preemptively send the Basic Authentication. This is typically done to reduce the connection overhead. In this case, the CA Process Automation HTTP operator should be configured to use HTTP Preemptive Authentication (instead of HTTP Authentication), which prompts the operator to send Basic HTTP Authentication to the Web service without negotiation.

NTLM Authentication

Specifies whether the HTTP server at the specified URL requires NTLM authentication. CA Process Automation uses basic HTTP authentication if NTLM authentication is not selected.

Values

• True - Specifies that the HTTP server requires NTLM authentication.
• False - Specifies that the HTTP server does not require NTLM authentication. The server uses basic HTTP authentication
• Blank - Specifies to use the value set at the operator category level.
• Any other value - Same as false.

User name

Specifies the username to use when authenticating against the specified URL.

Password

Specifies the password for the specified User name.

Domain name

Specifies the name of the domain to use when authenticating against the specified URL.

Use the following guidelines:

• Enter the Domain name (required) if the operator uses NTLM authentication.
• Leave blank if the Domain name is not required for authentication. A Domain name may not be required if the operator uses basic HTTP authentication.

Usage Notes for Domain name, User name, and NTLM authentication

A blank Domain name field does not automatically prompt the operator to inherit the Domain name value from the operator category. The Domain name field is tied to the User name field as follows:

• If the Domain name for the operator is specified, the operator uses it.
• If the Domain name of the operator is blank and the user name of the operator is specified (not blank), the operator uses a blank Domain name.

The operator uses the default Domain name from the operator category if the following are blank (not specified):

• The Domain name of the operator.
• The User name for the operator.

A specified Domain name is used as follows:

• If the operator uses NTLM authentication, the Domain name is used as provided without being appended to the user name.
• If the operator uses Basic HTTP authentication, the Domain name is appended to the user name as: User name = user name@domain name