Article
09/09/2016

Credentials

Updated: May 13, 2016

Applies To: Windows Azure Pack for Windows Server, System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator

An Automation Credential is either a username and password that can be used with Windows PowerShell commands or a certificate that is uploaded to the server. The properties for a credential are stored securely in the Automation database and can be accessed in the runbook with either the Get-AutomationPSCredential or Get-AutomationCertificate activity.

Windows PowerShell Cmdlets

The cmdlets in the following table are used to create and manage credentials with Windows PowerShell in Service Management Automation.

Cmdlets	Description
Get-SmaCertificate	Retrieves an Automation certificate.
Get-SmaCredential	Retrieves an Automation PowerShell credential.
Remove-SmaCertificate	Removes an Automation certificate.
Remove-SmaCredential	Removes an Automation PowerShell credental.
Set-SmaCertificate	Creates a new certificate or sets the properties for an existing certificate including uploading the certificate file and setting the password for a .pfx.
Set-SmaCredential	Creates a new Automation PowerShell credential or sets the properties for an existing credential.

Runbook Activities

The activities in the following table are used to access credentials in a runbook.

Activities	Description
Get-AutomationCertificate	Gets a certificate to use in a runbook.
Get-AutomationPSCredential	Gets a username/password to use in a runbook.

Note

You should avoid using variables in the –Name parameter of Get-AutomationPSCredential and Get-AutomationCertificate since this can complicate discovering dependencies between runbooks and Automation variables.

Creating a new credential

To create a new PowerShell credential with the Management Portal

Select the Automation workspace.
At the top of the window, click Assets.
At the bottom of the window, click Add Setting.
Click Add Credential.
In the Credential Type dropdown, select PowerShell Credential.
Type a name for the credential in the Name box.
Click the right arrow.
Type in values for each property.
Click the check mark to save the credential.

To create a new certificate with the Management Portal

Select the Automation workspace.
At the top of the window, click Assets.
At the bottom of the window, click Add Setting.
Click Add Credential.
In the Credential Type dropdown, select Certificate.
Type a name for the certificate in the Name box.
Click the right arrow.
Click Browse for File and navigate to either a .cer or .pfx file.
If you selected a .pfx file, then provide its password.
Click the check mark to save the certificate.

To create a new PowerShell credential with Windows PowerShell in Service Management Automation

The following sample commands show how to create a new credential.

$webServer = 'https://MyWebServer'  
$port = 9090  
$credName = 'MyCredential'  
$user = 'contoso\MyUser'  
$pwd = ConvertTo-SecureString -String 'P@$$w0rd' -AsPlainText -Force  
$cred = New-Object -TypeName System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -ArgumentList $user,$pwd  
  
Set-SmaCredential -WebServiceEndpoint $webServer -port $port -Name $credName -Value $cred

To create a new PowerShell certificate with Windows PowerShell in Service Management Automation

The following sample commands show how to create a new certificate by importing a certificate file.

$webServer = 'https://MyWebServer'  
$port = 9090  
$certName = 'MyCertificate'  
$path = 'c:\certs\MyCertificate.pfx'  
$certPwd = ConvertTo-SecureString -String 'P@$$w0rd' -AsPlainText -Force  
  
Set-SmaCertificate -WebServiceEndpoint $webServer -port $port -Name $certName –Path $certPath –Password $certPwd

Using a PowerShell Credential in a Runbook

You retrieve a PowerShell Credential in a runbook with the Get-AutomationPSCredential activity. This returns a PSCredential object that you can use in the workflow.

To use a PowerShell credential in a runbook

The following sample commands show how to use a PowerShell credential in a runbook. In this example, the credential is used with an InlineScript activity to run a set of commands using alternate credentials.
```
$myCredential = Get-AutomationPSCredential -Name 'MyCredential'  
InlineScript {  
   <Commands>  
} -PSComputerName $ServerName -PSCredential $myCredential  
```

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