5.5

Table Of Contents
<LoginUrl>https://vcloud.example.com/api/sessions</LoginUrl>
<MediaTypeMapping>
...
</MediaTypeMapping>
...
</VersionInfo>
<VersionInfo>
<Version>5.5</Version>
<LoginUrl>https://vcloud.example.com/api/sessions</LoginUrl>
<MediaTypeMapping>
...
</MediaTypeMapping>
...
</VersionInfo>
</SupportedVersions>
NOTE You can use the URL in the SchemaLocation element with a GET request to retreive the file in which
that complex type is defined. For example:
GET http://vcloud.example.com/api/v1.5/schema/master.xsd
Create a Login Session Using the Integrated Identity Provider
The vCloud API login mechanism authenticates a user and creates a Session object that contains the URLs
from which that user can begin browsing. Users who authenticate to the integrated identity provider use
basic HTTP authentication.
Prerequisites
NOTE This procedure assumes that you are logging in with credentials managed by the vCloud Director
integrated identity provider. Users whose credentials are managed by a SAML identity provider must
follow a different login workflow.
n
Verify that you know the login URL. See “Retrieve the Login URL and List of Supported API Versions,”
on page 43.
n
Verify that you are logging in as a user whose identity is managed by the vCloud Director integrated
identity provider.
Procedure
1 Use the login URL to authenticate to the cloud.
POST a request to this URL. The request must include your username, organization name, and
password in a MIME Base64 encoding. See “Example: Create a Login Session Using the Integrated
Identity Provider,” on page 45.
2 Examine the response.
The response code indicates whether the request succeeded, or how it failed.
n
If the authentication header is missing, the server returns HTTP response code 403.
n
If the credentials supplied in the authentication header are invalid, the server returns HTTP
response code 401.
n
If the request is successful, the server returns HTTP response code 200 (OK) and headers that
include an authorization header of the form:
x-vcloud-authorization: token
This header must be included in each subsequent vCloud API request.
vCloud API Programming Guide
44 VMware, Inc.