Add SharePoint Connections to the MashZone NextGen Server

You must add connection information for SharePoint to the MashZone NextGen Server before you can add connection information for the MashZone NextGen Server to SharePoint. To determine what connections you should configure, see Connection Patterns Between MashZone NextGen Servers and SharePoint for examples and more information.

Each SharePoint connection in the MashZone NextGen Server defines the URL and credentials to a specific SharePoint site collection and assigns a connection name. The endpoint for the connection may also be SharePoint Central Adminisration for an entire SharePoint farm.

The credentials you enter for a connection to a SharePoint site collection are known as the service account. The service account creates global MashZone NextGen attributes. Users can also define their own credentials for a SharePoint connections, which create MashZone NextGen attributes for that user.

You configure which set of credentials can be used in mashables or mashups that connect to each SharePoint site collection. This determines what options users have when they register mashables or use SharePoint blocks in mashups. Connections can:

Default to the service account credentials, but users can override this and use their own credentials or use the current user’s credentials.

Name = a name to identify this SharePoint connection.

Note:

Connection names must be unique in the MashZone NextGen Repository.

Endpoint = the URL to connect to the root site in SharePoint for the site collection or Central Administration for a SharePoint farm. If single sign-on is configured for MashZone NextGen Add-On for SharePoint, this is also the SharePoint server that the MashZone NextGen Server works with to validate SSO tokens when users in SharePoint connect to MashZone NextGen.

Note:

If this URL uses HTTPS for secure connections, this uses digital certificates in the default JVM truststore which is typically in the java-install/jre/lib/security/cacerts folder. This may not be the same truststore that has been configured for the MashZone NextGen Server.

Authentication Type = the authentication protocol between the MashZone NextGen Server and SharePoint when mashables and mashups are run. Choose one of:

NTLM: the default authentication protocol. This uses NTLM version 2 with the Windows domain plus basic credentials.

SSO: choose this if SharePoint uses an agent-based single sign-on solution, such as SiteMinder, rather than the built-in, token-based SSO solution for MashZone NextGen Add-On for SharePoint.

Service Account Username = the user name for the global credentials that the MashZone NextGen Server should use to connect to this SharePoint site collection. This is required for NTLM or Basic authentication only.

Note:

The service account credentials may also be the default credentials or the only credentials for this connection, based on the Default and Override options.

Service Account Password = the password for the global credentials that the MashZone NextGen Server should use to connect to this SharePoint site collection. This is required for NTLM or Basic authentication only.

Note:

The service account credentials may also be the default credentials or the only credentials for this connection, based on the Default and Override options.

Domain = this is only required when the authentication type is NTLM. This is the Windows domain for the service account credentials.

SSO Token Server Name = the name that will be passed in requests from SharePoint to the MashZone NextGen Server along with SSO tokens. This name identifies the SharePoint server that should validate SSO tokens for the MashZone NextGen Server.

Note:

This field is used only for the built-in, token-based single sign-on solution for MashZone NextGen Add-On for SharePoint. It applies only to requests from SharePoint to the MashZone NextGen Server and does not affect authentication for mashables or mashups that use SharePoint as an information source.

This name must match the SSO token server name assigned in SharePoint Central Administration for the connection that SharePoint uses to connect to the MashZone NextGen Server.

Note:

Enabling the MOSS Single Sign-On feature in SharePoint 2007 may affect security for SharePoint. Contact your SharePoint administrator or see Microsoft documentation for more information.

5. If users must always have their own SharePoint credentials to connect to this site collection, clear the Default to service account credentials option.

This option is set by default. If the Always use service account credentials option is not set, users can create their own SharePoint credentials in MashZone NextGen when they register mashables SharePoint Lists or use SharePoint blocks in Wires and these credentials override the service account.

6. Set the Always use service account credentials option if the service account must always be used to connect to this SharePoint site collection.

This option is clear by default. This allows users to create their own SharePoint credentials in MashZone NextGen when they register mashables SharePoint Lists or use SharePoint blocks in Wires. If the Default option is also clear, then users are required to supply their SharePoint credentials.

If you have provided credentials, MashZone NextGen validates this connection and adds it to the list of available connections along with an icon indicating the status:

You can also

Edit or

Delete individual SharePoint connections from this list.