Authentication with ArcGIS Server Identity

Question

Just getting back into ArcGIS for .NET again after about 2 years of doing the training course.

I have a question about the "Add ArcGIS Identity" that you choose in Visual Studio - it doesn't seem to matter what combination of username/password I think of, it always says I have an invalid username/password (by the way I am using accounts that are in the agsadmin group) on the AGS server. Yet, if I copy a ciphered identity tag from the web.config of some random AGS application I made via ArcGIS Manager - it works, i.e. the web app loads up the map services and I can see a map in my application.

Now, I can't decipher this identity tag as you can probably guess - but does anyone know what I might be doing wrong or what I need to look, or check for in order to get the correct credentials right. I just can't rest until I have this figured out - instead of doing this hack.

UPDATE - Answer

I made sure my dev PC had the ArcGISWebServices user set with the same password as the AGS physical server - so the "impersonation" was consistent between the two machines and accounts. I replaced out the ciphered details in the web.config and replaced with the ArcGISWebServices one and it works fine. I also tried doing it via the "Add ArcGIS Identity" and now it works but make sure you put the machine name (i.e. the name of your dev pc) in the "Domain or Machine Name" textbox.

Answer 1

The user you specify when making the connection must be a member of the 'agsusers' (or 'agsadmin') group on the target ArcGIS Server.

An application you create with the manager likely uses (and encodes!) the identity of the ArcGISWebServices user, who's in the agsusers group by default.

Try adding yourself to the agsusers group, and then use your credentials. Or, create a new user, make them a member of agsusers, and add them. If you have restricted access to the service, then also ensure that your user has access to the service!

Answer 2

I set up an arcgislocalconnection user in agsadmin and use that user for any of the local connections i need to make.

A local connection so you can edit is the only reason you would need the ArcGIS server Identity.