2638506 - SuccessFactors API: How to provide API Credentials to Cloud Support (ODATA & SFAPI)

The following document has been created to demonstrate:

• What API credentials are
• What types of issue they are required for 
• What they are used for when provided by the customer
• How to provide them to cloud product support
    

 "Image/data in this KBA is from SAP internal systems, sample data, or demo systems. Any resemblance to real data is purely coincidental."

• SuccessFactors BizX
• OData API 
• SFAPI

You have reported an API issue (or API related issue) to cloud product support.

Issues of this nature can include (but are not limited to):

• Direct API: 
  You are encountering issues with a direct API request via a REST / SOAP client
  i.e. unexpected / no response, error codes, navigation issues, missing fields / records, authentication / authorization problems with technical API users 
    
• Integration Center:
  You are encountering issues in a new or existing Integration Center job
  i.e. missing records, lack of data, inability to access some objects / fields
    
• Standard Integration Content: 
  You are encountering an issue with data extracted from SuccessFactors
  i.e. some of the data is incorrect or data is missing from destination / target system
    
• Custom Integration Content:
  You are encountering an API-specific issue with a custom integration interface deployed on an SAP-supported middleware (these are treated in the same way as direct API issues)
  i.e. incorrect / missing data from SuccessFactors API, error codes, authentication / authorization problems with technical API users 

In all above cases it may be necessary to provide API Credentials for the affected SuccessFactors system to progress and resolve the issue:

1. The majority of the data transfer for the standard (and custom) SuccessFactors integrations involves API web services,
   API credentials provide cloud support engineers with the ability to fully reproduce and further test your reported API issue.
    
2. When API credentials are provided - full reproduction data can be gathered from your system, on your behalf by cloud support (with your approval to do so)
   The basic details needed for support to proceed with this action is - 1) The problematic API request, 2) Example of the issue happening in the response & 3) API credentials to reproduce and test
     
3. In the case of Standard / Custom Integration Content (both current & past issues)
   API credentials are needed to re-create / simulate the conditions of the integration at the time of the issue (the same request, with same parameters, and same filter criteria e.g. last_modified_on, effective_end_date)

Basic Authentication is the most simple and common form of authentication used currently and this is generally the format requested by support:

API Credentials comprise of 3 pieces of information used to authenticate against the SuccessFactors APIs:

1. API User:
   The username of a user within your system who possesses / is granted all API permissions 
     
2. Password:
   The password of the API user is needed as we are authenticating against the API via a REST / SOAP client
   (not via the traditional access methods which are used by support to access the customer's Front-end Application / User Interface) 
    
3. Company ID:
   The last piece of data which makes up the API Credentials for Basic Authentication is the Company ID (i.e. the affected system)

If you are reporting an API-related issue and there are not / cannot be provided, the following information is needed:

• API Request / Response Headers
• API Request / Response Payloads
• Session IDs
• Request IDs
• Timestamps

If you have 'API Login Exceptions' set for the API User in your system, you will needed to update these for the purposes of the investigation.

Please include the IP Address / IP Address Range provided to you by support as per the below KBA (these can be removed again directly after testing):

• 2253200 - How to add in allow list an IP for API access in SuccessFactors OData or SFAPI

You are able to safely provide the credentials of the API user in an case using the Secure Area.

API Error Codes: 2524436 - Q32017 (1708) Enhancement & Features for API-7426

API, ODATA, SFAPI, credentials, query, request, response, basic authentication , KBA , LOD-SF-INT-ODATA , OData API Framework , LOD-SF-INT , Integrations , LOD-SF-INT-API , API & Adhoc API Framework , LOD-SF-RCM-INT , Integration Center & Intelligent Services , How To