Specifying passwords for automation scripts

Automation scripts need a user name and password to connect to the services. If the script is targeting an agent running in secured mode, then the script also needs the user name and password to connect to the secured agent. These credentials might be the same in both cases, or they might be different, it depends on the details of how your environment is configured.

When you specify a password, you have the option of specifying it in clear text, or in an obscured way called obfuscation. Obfuscation should not be confused with encryption, obfuscated information can be decoded, so take this into consideration. It is recommended that you create users that are limited in power to be used with automation scripts.

There are two primary obfuscation methods supported, Jetty OBF and Base64.

To generate the OBF form of a password, there is a script named OBFPassword provided in the service installation directory. Simply run the script, specifying the password as an argument, then use the text beginning with "OBF:"

"OBF:1hu01myu1klc1j6x1lz31lz31j851kla1myg1hti" in the example below) as the password you specify for the automation script.

Example:

$ OBFPassword.bat MYPASSWORD
 MYPASSWORD
 OBF:1hu01myu1klc1j6x1lz31lz31j851kla1myg1hti
 MD5:e0fac2dd2c00ffe30f27a6d14568cb4f

To generate the Base64 form of a password, you must have the base64 utility installed on a machine that you have access to, it is not included in the product. In the example below, it is important to use the –n option to the echo command; if you omit this option, the obfuscated password text includes the line ending characters, and so does not work. Prefix the output with the text "B64:" and use that as the password you specify for the automation script. In the example below, you would use "B64:TVlQQVNTV09SRA==" as the password.

Example from a Linux system:

$ echo -n MYPASSWORD | base64
 TVlQQVNTV09SRA==