How to Install Exalate for ServiceNow on Exalate Cloud

Introduction

Install Exalate for ServiceNow on Exalate cloud
- Request an evaluation instance of Exalate for ServiceNow
- Deploy the Exalate Bridge app
  - Set up Exalate in your ServiceNow instance using an update set
  - Next steps to install Exalate for ServiceNow
- Configure Exalate for ServiceNow
Install Exalate for ServiceNow on your own server
- Install Exalate for ServiceNow on Docker
- Verify your Exalate for ServiceNow

Install Exalate for ServiceNow on Exalate Cloud

This section describes how to request a ServiceNow integration for Exalate.

Request an Evaluation Instance of Exalate for ServiceNow

1. Go to the Exalate Integrations page: https://exalate.com/integrations/

2. Select ServiceNow

3. Enter your info

4. Press Submit

After you submit a request you will get the following email:

Deploy the Exalate Bridge app

Dev environments cannot install applications from the ServiceNow store - follow the next steps to deploy the Exalate bridge using an XML-based update set
Set up Exalate in your ServiceNow instance using an update set

What is the Bridge App?

The Exalate bridge app is a ServiceNow-certified app that allows connecting your ServiceNow environment with the Exalate app.

This bridge app is meant to simplify access to the Exalate for ServiceNow service. When deployed it will

Create 2 Roles
- x_idnv_exa_bridge.admin
- x_idnv_exa_bridge.integration
Creates 3 ACL on the sync_journal_field table
- read, create, write
Add a link to the console in the exalate bridge application menu

To know more about the further steps visit the Deploy Exalate for ServiceNow guide.

Configure Exalate for ServiceNow

Once you've configured the Exalate app in the ServiceNow instance, you can proceed with the app configuration.

Step 1: Set up a proxy user on ServiceNow

A proxy user is a ServiceNow service account that is responsible for accessing the information stored on your instance and applying any incoming changes.

Create a service account on your ServiceNow environment. This service account will require a number of permissions as documented here

To simplify this step, you can also use an update package which will automatically configure the necessary settings. Details of deploying this updated package are available here

Step 2: Accept the EULA

By using this product we require an explicit approval of the end user license agreement, which can be found here

Step 3: Connect the Exalate for ServiceNow to your instance

In the second step, you will need to connect the Exalate for ServiceNow with your instance.

You will need

The URL of your ServiceNow instance. This URL must be accessible from this application.
The details of the proxy user: The username and either the password, or an OAuth token. (More information on retrieving the OAuth token are documented here
The license The evaluation or production license which unlocks the functionality of the application.

You will get notified if something fails

Step 4: Access the Exalate Console

The Exalate console is where integrations are configured. To access the console you will need a ServiceNow account with administration permissions.

Prepare your admin username and either the password or an OAuth token

Step 5: Configure General Settings

You need to specify your ServiceNow instance URL, the proxy user access details, and the evaluation license key.

The proxy user is a dedicated user in your ServiceNow instance. The proxy user must have permission to Create/Read/Update entities on ServiceNow. If you want to Create/Read/Update Incidents, Cases, Problems, or Change Requests in ServiceNow, the user needs to have roles for that.

In ServiceNow, proxy users can sync tables or attributes based on the access from their user role. Check Exalate for ServiceNow: Proxy user permissions for more information.

Note: In ServiceNow, proxy users can sync tables or attributes based on the access from their user role. Please see Exalate for ServiceNow: Proxy user permissions for more information.

You can find the license key in the email along with your Exalate app URL.

6. Save the Configuration

You will be redirected to the log-in screen.

7. Log in to the Exalate Admin Console

Basic Auth

Use your ServiceNow instance admin access credentials.

We do not store ServiceNow instance access credentials. Exalate only checks if the admin user is valid.

OAuth Token

You need to have a ServiceNow endpoint to log in with an OAuth token.

Set Up OAuth Tokens in Exalate for ServiceNow

Here is the detailed procedure to set up the login with OAuth tokens in Exalate for ServiceNow.

Install Exalate for ServiceNow on Your Own Server

You can host Exalate for Servicenow on your own server. To do so, you need to install Exalate on Docker.

Check out Docker documentation for details on how to install Docker.

Here is a glimpse of the steps to do that.

How to install Exalate for ServiceNow
- Preview
- 1. Create or download the docker-compose.yml
- 2. Ensure that a correct database is a setup using a createdb.sh
- 3. Set environment variables if necessary
- 4. Start the application
Troubleshooting

Check the detailed procedure in our Install Exalate for ServiceNow on your own server guide.

Configuring Proxy User Permissions

To change the proxy user in Exalate for ServiceNow:

Log in to the Exalate admin console.
Navigate to General Settings.
Input details:
- Servicenow instance URL.
- Proxy user name.
- Proxy user password.

Users and permissions

Note: For security reasons, it is better to create a separate role with specific permissions for a proxy user instead of giving him an administrator role.

To integrate Exalate with ServiceNow you need 2 ServiceNow user accounts:

Proxy User: The ServiceNow user account that fetches information from the ServiceNow instance and updates the ServiceNow entities with incoming changes.
The proxy user can integrate various tables or attributes depending on the permissions defined by his user role in ServiceNow.
Exalate Console User: The ServiceNow user is authorized to configure the Exalate app for ServiceNow. The Exalate console user must be an admin in your ServiceNow instance or the proxy user.

Exalate uses REST API to communicate with the ServiceNow issue tracker. By default, ServiceNow REST APIs use basic authentication or OAuth to authorize user access to REST APIs/endpoints. Therefore, the Exalate console users must have access to the ServiceNow instance admin configuration.

IMPORTANT: Role Management V2 REST API plugin must be installed and activated on your ServiceNow instance.

Starting from the New York version this plugin is included by default. But if you've recently updated your ServiceNow instance to the latest version you need to activate Role Management V2 REST API plugin manually. ServiceNow contextual security.

Configuring access on ServiceNow

You can access the ServiceNow instance in one of these ways:

Basic Login: In order to log in you use a Username and a Password. Exalate will not store the password in the database, but use the rest connection to attempt to log in to the ServiceNow node.
OAuth Token: Authentication with a Username and an OAuth token. Exalate will store the token and use it to access it. The token is refreshed every time the lifespan ends.