Create Active Directory-Connected Enterprise Applications in OutSystems

OutSystems is a low-code platform which provides the tools for companies to developer, deploy, and manage omnichannel enterprise applications. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Active Directory data for business applications. This article shows how to create a virtual database for Active Directory in Connect Cloud and build a simple app from Active Directory data in OutSystems.

The CData Connect Cloud provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Active Directory, allowing you to build reports from live Active Directory data in OutSystems — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you create applications to work with data, OutSystems generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to Active Directory, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested Active Directory data.

Configure Active Directory Connectivity for OutSystems

Connectivity to Active Directory from OutSystems is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Active Directory data from OutSystems, we start by creating and configuring a Active Directory connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Active Directory" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Active Directory.

   To establish a connection, set the following properties:

   • Valid User and Password credentials (e.g., Domain\BobF or cn=Bob F,ou=Employees,dc=Domain).
   • Server information, including the IP or host name of the Server, as well as the Port.

   • BaseDN: This will limit the scope of LDAP searches to the height of the distinguished name provided.

     Note: Specifying a narrow BaseDN may greatly increase performance; for example, cn=users,dc=domain will only return results contained within cn=users and its children.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Active Directory Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Active Directory data from OutSystems.

Connect to Active Directory from OutSystems

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from OutSystems to create a new Active Directory database connection.

1. Open OutSystems Service Studio
2. Click the gear icon to open Environment Management in the Service Center
3. Click Administration and select "Database Connections"
4. Click "New Database Connection"
5. Configure the database connection:
   • Name: name the connection (e.g. CData Connect Cloud Active Directory)
   • DBMS: SQL Server / Azure SQL
   • Username: a Connect Cloud user (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
   • Password: the PAT for the Connect Cloud user
   • Server: tds.cdata.com,14333
   • Schema: the name of your Active Directory connection (e.g. ActiveDirectory1)
6. Click "Test Connection"
7. Click "Create"

Map Active Directory Tables or Views to Entities in an Extension Module

Once you create the database connection for Active Directory, you can create an extension that maps the tables or views to OutSystems entities. If you have not already done so, create an Application in Service Studio.

1. Open the Service Studio and open the existing Application
2. Click "Add Module," set the "Module Name" (e.g. activedirectory_db_extension), set "Module Type" to "Extension," and click "Create Module"
3. In Integration Studio, connect to your environment
4. Right-click "Entities" in the extension tree and select "Connect to External Table or View..."
5. Follow the steps in the wizard, selecting the tables and views you wish to work with
6. In the Integration Studio, click "1-Click Publish"
7. In the "1-Click Publish" wizard, click "Configure" when the process completes
   • In the Service Center, associate the logical database name of the extension to the database connection that the extension will use and click "Apply"
8. In your application, click "Manage Dependencies..."
9. Add a dependency to the Extension and select the Entities that you will use in your application

At this point, you can access and work with Active Directory data just like you would with the standard OutSystems entities.

More Information & Free Trial

With Connect Cloud and OutSystems, you can easily build Active Directory-connected applications. Request a free trial of Connect Cloud and start working with Active Directory data in OutSystems today.