Connection Modes and the Connection Element

Part of configuring the ALIM Web virtual directory involves configuring the connection mode, which determines which AssetWise Information Integrity Server this virtual directory will connect to and which communities users can or will log in to. The connection mode is primarily configured on the Server tab of the Edit Web dialog when you create or edit the ALIM Web virtual directory as documented in the procedure, Configuring a New or Existing Virtual Directory.

You can configure one of three connection modes:

freeform
limited selection
automatic (auto login)

Connection mode settings are stored in the virtual directory's web.config file, within the Connection element, as shown below:

<Connection communityServer="eBappservername.domain.com">
   <AutoLogInAs enabled="false" community="" userPassword="" userName="" />
   <CommunityList />
 </Connection>

Freeform Connection Mode (communityServer Attribute)

In freeform connection mode, all of a particular server's communities are available for users to select from on the ALIM Web log in page.

To configure this mode, the administrator simply connects the ALIM Web virtual directory to a particular AssetWise Information Integrity Server. This is done on the Server tab of the Edit Web dialog as documented in the procedure, Configuring a New or Existing AssetWise ALIM Web Virtual Directory. This populates the communityServer attribute of the Connection element in web.config. If needed, you can also edit this attribute directly in web.config.

<Connection communityServer="eBappservername.domain.com">
   <AutoLogInAs enabled="false" community="" userPassword="" userName="" />
   <CommunityList />
 </Connection>

Attribute	Value	Description
communityServer	Fully qualified domain name of the AssetWise Information Integrity Server	The fully qualified domain name of the AssetWise Information Integrity Server computer that is hosting the communities you want to make available to users on the ALIM Web log in page. This server must be visible to the web server.

Limited Selection Mode (CommunityList Element)

In limited selection connection mode, a predefined subset of a particular server's communities are available for users to select from on the ALIM Web log in page.

To configure this mode, the administrator connects the ALIM Web virtual directory to a particular AssetWise Information Integrity Server and then specifies which of that server's communities to make available to users. This is done on the Server tab of the Edit Web dialog as documented in the procedure, Configuring a New or Existing AssetWise ALIM Web Virtual Directory . This populates the CommunityList element within the Connection element in web.config. If needed, you can also edit this element directly in the web.config file. Each <add> element (within the CommunityList element) defines a new community in the list that users can select from on the ALIM Web log in page.

<Connection communityServer="appservername.domain.com">
   <AutoLogInAs enabled="false" community="" userPassword="" userName="" />
   <CommunityList
      <add applicationServer="appservername.domain.com"
          dsnName="datasourcenameA"
          siteName="sitenameA"
          displayName="communitynameA"
      <add applicationServer="appservername.domain.com"
          dsnName="datasourcenameB"
          siteName="sitenameB"
          displayName="communitynameB"
   />
</Connection>

Attribute	Value	Description
applicationServer	Fully qualified domain name of the AssetWise Information Integrity Server	The fully qualified domain name of the AssetWise Information Integrity Server computer that is hosting the community. This server must be visible to the web server.
dsnName	Datasource name	The name of the community's datasource.
siteName	Name of AssetWise site	The name of the AssetWise site to retrieve media data from. Note: Media files are retrieved through the ALIM Web Server, therefore it is best to select the site that is closest to the ALIM Web Server that is hosting the ALIM Web Applications.
displayName	Name of community	The name users see when selecting a community. You can make this name the same as the datasource, or you can use a more descriptive name.

Automatic Connection Mode (AutoLogInAs Element)

In automatic connection mode, all users who visit this website bypass the ALIM Web log in page and are automatically logged to the specified community using the same user name and password. This lets you set up a portal-style website for casual users who need access to AssetWise data, but who do not need to add or change information. Typically, the AssetWise account you use has view-only access to a portion of the community's data.

Note: The automatic connection mode requires that you also use AssetWise Internal as the authentication mode. It cannot be configured when the virtual directory uses either Windows or Bentley IMS authentication mode.

Configuring automatic connection mode involves two steps: first the administrator connects the ALIM Web virtual directory to a particular AssetWise Information Integrity Server, then specifies which community will be logged into and with what AssetWise user name and password. The first step is done on the Server tab of the Edit Web dialog, and the second step is done on the Authentication tab of the Edit Web dialog, all as documented in the procedure, Configuring a New or Existing AssetWise ALIM Web Virtual Directory. This configures the <AutoLogInAs> element by changing the enabled attribute to "true" and then populating the values for the community, userPassword, and userName attributes in the same element.

  <AutoLogInAs enabled="true" community="Site\datasource" userPassword="password" userName="username" />

Attribute	Value	Description
enabled	true or false	If set to true, automatic login is enabled for AssetWise authentication mode.
community	Site name and datasource name	The community name, or the site and datasource name of the community in the format Site\datasource (for example, Main\Accounts).
userName	Name	The name of the AssetWise user account to use when logging in. This must be a valid user account in the community specified in the community attribute.
userPassword	Password	The password of the user specified in the userName attribute.

Connection Mode vs Authentication Mode

ALIM Web Applications support two authentication modes: AssetWise, and Windows. AssetWise authentication calls the AssetWise Information Integrity Server to identify the user, supplying a user name and a password. Windows authentication uses IIS to identify the user's Windows login account. Authentication modes are different from the connection in that they establish the user's identity, while the connection mode establishes where that identity will be used. For more information, see Authentication Settings in web.config .