copyright | lastupdated | ||
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2018-08-03 |
{:shortdesc: .shortdesc} {:new_window: target="_blank"} {:tip: .tip} {:pre: .pre} {:codeblock: .codeblock} {:screen: .screen} {:javascript: .ph data-hd-programlang='javascript'} {:java: .ph data-hd-programlang='java'} {:python: .ph data-hd-programlang='python'} {:swift: .ph data-hd-programlang='swift'}
{: #services-information}
The assistant is a hosted service that is managed by IBM Cloud, which means you do not need to worry about maintaining the infrastructure to support the service; it is taken care of for you. {: shortdesc}
{: #service-details}
Explore the {{site.data.keyword.conversationshort}} service plan options {: new_window}.
{: #limits}
For information about artifact limits per plan, see these topics:
{: #api-limits}
The number of API calls allowed per instance depends on your service plan. See your plan description for details.
If you have a Lite plan and reach your API call limit, but the logs show that you have made fewer calls than expected, remember that the Lite plan stores log information for only 7 days.
If you want to upgrade from one plan to another, see Upgrading.
{: #regions}
IBM Cloud has a network of global data centers that provide performance benefits to its cloud services. See IBM Cloud global data centers {: new_window} for more details.
{{site.data.keyword.cloud_notm}} is migrating from managing user access with Cloud Foundry to using token-based Identity and Access Management (IAM) authentication. IAM is being rolled out in different locations at different times.
You can create {{site.data.keyword.conversationshort}} service instances that are hosted in the following data center locations:
Location | Location code | Authentication type | IAM adoption date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sydney | syd | IAM | 7 May 2018 | Instances created before May 7 were syndicated to the US South data center |
Germany | eu-de | Cloud Foundry | Planned for August 2018 | N/A |
United Kingdom | eu-gb | N/A | N/A | Instances are syndicated to US South |
US East | us-east | IAM | 14 June 2018 | N/A |
US South | us-south | Cloud Foundry | Planned for August 2018 | N/A |
{: caption="Data center locations" caption-side="top"} |
{: #authenticate-api-calls}
The authentication mechanism used by your service instance impacts how you must provide credentials when making an API call.
-
Get the service credentials.
-
Click the service instance on the Dashboard {: new_window}.
-
Click to open your service instance, click Service credentials, and then click View credentials.
Cloud Foundry credentials
IAM credentials
-
-
Use these credentials in your API call.
Cloud Foundry API call
Provide your username and password credentials.
curl -X GET \ --user {username}:{password} \ 'https://gateway.watson.net/assistant/api/v1/workspaces?version=2017-05-26'
{: codeblock}
IAM API call
-
The base url must include the location. Use the syntax
gateway-<location>.watsonplatform.net
to specify the location in which you created the service instance. The location codes are listed in the Data center locations table. -
Provide the appropriate type of token in the header. You can pass either a bearer token or an API key.
-
Tokens support authenticated requests without embedding service credentials in every call. The following example shows a bearer token being used.
curl -X GET \ 'https://gateway-syd.watsonplatform.net/assistant/api/v1/workspaces?version=2017-05-26' \ --header 'Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUz......sgrKIi8hdFs'
{: codeblock}
-
API keys use basic authentication. The following example shows an apikey being used.
curl -X GET -u "apikey:3Df... ...Y7Pc9" \ 'https://gateway-us-east.watsonplatform.net/assistant/api/v1/workspaces?version=2017-05-26' \
{: codeblock}
Note: When you use any of the Watson SDKs, you can pass the API key and let the SDK manage the lifecycle of the tokens.
IAM resources cannot be managed with the Cloud Foundry Command Line Interface (CLI). For example, Cloud Foundry CLI commands (beginning with
cf
) that create or manage service instances do not work with instances hosted in locations using IAM. Instead, you must use the IBM Cloud CLI and its associated commands. See Commands for managing resource groups and resources for more details.See Authenticating with IAM tokens {: new_window} for more information.
-
For examples, see Authentication {: new_window} for your language in the API reference.
-
For information about the data centers in which other IBM Cloud services are hosted, see Services by region {: new_window}.
{: #terms}
To learn more about service terms and data security, read the following information:
- Service terms {: new_window}
- Data security and privacy {: new_window}
- Information security
See Platform overview {: new_window} for more information about IBM Cloud.