API & Integration - ConnectWise Installation Guide

This guide describes how to implement Mimecast Connectwise.

Requirements

This integration requires you to have delegate access to each managed customer account. See the following guides on how to set this up:

• Delegating Access in the Administration Console
• Managing Partner Administrators

Additionally, the following frameworks are required to run the integration: 

• Node.js v6.12.0
• .Net Core SDK v2.0.2

Pre-Installation Steps

Before installing Mimecast ConnectWise, there are some pre-installation steps that must be performed. These differ depending on the platform being used. Use the links below to access to steps for your platform.

• Windows
• Linux

Windows Pre-Installation Steps

The installation steps have been tested on Windows 10, although Windows 7 and Windows 2012 are also supported.

1. Download Node.js and .Net Core using the links below.

• • Node.js  
  • .Net Core

2. Install them using the default options in the installation wizard.

Linux Pre-Installation Steps

The installation steps have been tested on Ubuntu 16.04. Other Ubuntu versions may not support the same set of commands.

Node.js

To install node.js:

1. Add Node.js 6.x repository:

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_6.x | sudo -E bash –

2. Update the repository:

sudo apt update

3. Install the node.js node:

sudo apt install -y nodejs

4. Check node.js is working by getting its version:

node -v

.Net Core SDK

To install the .net core SDK:

1. Add the Microsoft trusted key:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > /tmp/microsoft.gpg

2. Move the Microsoft trusted key to store:

sudo mv /tmp/microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/microsoft.gpg

3. Add Microsoft .Net Core repo:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/microsoft-ubuntu-xenial-prod xenial main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dotnetdev.list'

4. Update repo:

sudo apt update

5. Install the .Net Core SDK:

sudo apt install dotnet-sdk-2.0.2

6. Check .Net Core SDK is working by getting its version:dotnet -version

dotnet -version

Mimecast ConnectWise Installation

To install Mimecast ConnectWise you must:

1. Download and Extract the installation files
2. Install ConnectWise
3. Configure ConnectWise

Downloading / Extracting the Installation Files

1. Download the Mimecast ConnectWise Integration installation files using the following link:
   Mimecast ConnectWise Integration Implementation Files
2. Extract the downloaded archive to a new folder.

The path to this folder will be referred to as integration_location.

Installing ConnectWise

To install ConnectWise:

1. Navigate to "integration_location \drop\MimecastConnectWiseIntegration" folder: 
2. Open a Command Prompt or Terminal.
3. Start the application by running the following command:

dotnet MimecastConnectWiseIntegration.dll

If the application has started correctly, the command prompt window or terminal should display information similar to the image below:

To access the application's UI, open Internet Explorer and navigate to http://localhost:5000.

Configuring ConnectWise

The application's configuration is stored in a file in the application's root folder:

extracted_location\drop\MimecastConnectWiseIntegration\appsettings.json

After changing the configuration, the application must be restarted for the new configuration to take effect.

Parameters

The configurable parameters are:

• HistoryCleanupOlderThan: Specifies the number of days for which history data should be available. 
  Every record older than this parameter is deleted on the start of any automatic trigger.
• AutomaticModeTimeTriggers: Configure the automatic timer for the automatic trigger of all features except Service Alerts. Values must be in the format HH:mm:ss. The default trigger value is 00:00:00.
• ServiceAlertTimeTriggers: Configure the automatic timer for the automatic trigger of all service alert features. Values must be in the format HH:mm:ss. The default trigger value is every 30 minutes.

Log Files

Log files for the application are kept for seven days and are located at:

integration_location\drop\MimecastConnectWiseIntegration\log

Log file names are:

• Full log: nlog-all-YEAR-MONTH-DAY.log 
• Partial log (automatic triggers): nlog-own-YEAR-MONTH-DAY.log 

Various aspects of logging can be configured. The configuration is managed in the NLog.config file is located in the application's root folder. Key parameters you may wish to change are: 

• fileName
• archiveFileName
• archiveEvery
• archiveNumbering
• maxArchiveFiles

API Configuration

This section outlines the steps required to configure each of the subsections below:

• Mimecast APIs
• ConnectWise Manager API

Mimecast API Configuration

To get both the access and secret keys, a script must be run. The script prompts for the email address and password of the user with access to all managed accounts via the External Administrator feature. 

After the user has been provided access to all managed accounts, 

1. Download the script from the below link and extract to a location. This location will be referred to as the script_extraction_path:

Mimecast_ConnectWise_Integraton_Scripts_v.0.1.zip

The python script currently supports python 2.7.

2. Open a command prompt, terminal, or PowerShell console.

• For Python version of the script, the following libraries need to be available on the local machine: 
• •  base64
  • json
  • datetime
  • sys
  • requests
  • getpass
  • time

3. Once all the referenced libraries have been installed, execute the script using the below command, replacing python_path and script_extraction_path with real directory paths:

python_path/python.exe" “script_extraction_location/Mimecast ConnectWise Integration.py

4. Run the appropriate script supported by the interface being used.
5. Provide the appropriate input when prompted.
6. Once successfully authenticated as the user, values for Secret Key, Access Key, Email Address and API URL are provided as part of the scripts output.

ConnectWise API Configuration

To configure API Access to ConnectWise Manger:

1. Create an API Member:

For information on how to  add a new member with API access see the following page in the ConnectWise documentation:
https://documentation.n-able.com/remote-management/userguide/Content/cwmanage_api.htm  

2. Log on to the Web Console.
3. Navigate to System | Members.
4. Click on the API Members tab.
5. Add a new member and assign an appropriate role.
6. Generate the Public and Private API keys in the API Keys tab that is displayed once the new member is created:
   1. Click on the new member created in step 1.
   2. Click on the API Keys tab.
   3. Click on the New Item icon.
   4. Provide a description for the API Key.
   5. Click on the ‘Save’ icon. The Public and Private API keys are displayed.

The private key is only available at the time the key is created. Make a note of it.The API Public and Private keys need to be provided in the appropriate fields within the integrations UI.