Vendor Onboarding Process

There are a number of steps to take prior to getting started with WISEdata Ed-Fi Integration.

1- Evaluate your current status as a vendor

• If you performed testing in the WISEdata UAT sandbox before,  your API credentials (keys and secrets) should still be active and you can proceed to step 3.

• If you are new to WISEdata,  go to step 2

2- Obtain a Wisconsin Web Access Management (WAMS) ID for the UAT ‘sandbox’ environment.  Follow the self-registration process on this page Wisconsin Web Access Management System  

• After you obtain a WAMS ID, fill out this access request form.

3- Obtain OAuth credentials.  The Ed-Fi API is a service secured via OAuth 2.0.  OAuth credentials (keys and secrets) will be generated by DPI and are needed to make REST calls.

• If you have a test education agency in the sandbox environment, you can continue to use the same education agency. 

• If you have a test education agency but need a new education agency added to your sandbox,  let the WISEdata team know (email WISEdataVendorHelp@dpi.wi.gov).   The new education agency will not have any data.  

• If you need test data created (in the case you are a specialized vendor that doesn’t create enrollment, roster, discipline, etc., records), let the WISEdata team know (email WISEdataVendorHelp@dpi.wi.gov).

4- Access your API credentials (keys and secrets), education agency ID, and school IDs,  you will need to log into the Ed-Fi Credential Application with your WAMS ID and password.

AUTHENTICATION 

• A REST client is required to make REST calls to the Ed-Fi API.

  • The client that will publish data to the Ed-Fi API should be the Vendor software. The Vendor implementation will likely be based on the Ed-Fi REST client.

  • A client that can be used in the testing phase is called Swagger UI [Ed-Fi ODS / API Documentation ]

  • The URL for a call to authentication via native code:  https://uaapps.dpi.wi.gov/edfiwebapi/oauth/token 

• A client key and secret is required to connect

  • Use the WAMS ID and password you created in the prior section to login to the Ed-Fi Credential app in the UAT ‘sandbox’ environment [https://uawisedata.dpi.wi.gov/EdFiCredential/]

  • The Ed-Fi Credential application is your source for your API credentials (keys and secrets) for all education agencies that subscribe to you as a vendor. In Production,  you will receive an email when an education agency subscribes to your product. 

NOTE:  The URL and your log-in credentials for the Ed-Fi Credential application will be different in Production than UAT ‘sandbox’.  You will have to Obtain a Wisconsin Web Access Management (WAMS) ID for the production environment [Wisconsin Web Access Management System ], then fill out this access request form:  https://dpi.wi.gov/wisedata/vendors/contact  

• To better understand ‘authentication’, read this first: Authentication - Ed-Fi ODS / API for Suite 3 v5.2 - Ed-Fi Confluence    

AUTHORIZATION 

• The Ed-Fi API uses the API credentials to authorize requests.  With each request made to the API, the token is obtained from the authentication process.  The Ed-Fi API uses this token to identify the caller and determine the permissions that apply to each of the accessible API resources.

• The API credentials are tied to a claim set.  Wisconsin DPI restricts resources in the Ed-Fi API by linking the vendor's API key to a claim set.

• The API credentials (key and secret) are tied to an education agency.  For many resources/endpoints, a relationship-based strategy will be used. For example, a SIS vendor will be provided with an API key that is associated with a specific education agency.

• For more information about Ed-Fi OAuth 2 authorization see: Authorization - Ed-Fi ODS / API for Suite 3 v5.2 - Ed-Fi Confluence

• A REST client which can authenticate via OAuth 2:  there are many free and paid REST clients that you can use for testing. The two clients that we use are listed below. Both are free.

  • SoapUI (version 4.6.4): The World's Most Popular API Testing Tool | SoapUI  

  • RestClient 2: RESTClient, a debugger for RESTful web services.  

• Swagger:  can be to monitor API transactions: Ed-Fi ODS / API Documentation  

• A web traffic tracer/debugger: the REST clients above (SoapUI or RestClient2) will show web traffic when you make a request. The web debuggers can be useful when creating requests via the DPI-provided WISEdata Ed-Fi REST SDK or a proprietary Ed-Fi REST client. 

  • Fiddler is free and one of the more popular web debuggers Web Debugging Proxy and Troubleshooting Tools | Fiddler

  • Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer: Wireshark · Go Deep  

• Deleting data from your UAT sandbox. Sometimes you need to clear data and re-publish during testing. The WISEdata team has integrated a cleanup tool into the Ed-Fi Credential application. This Data Clean-up tool enables vendors to delete data for a specific education agency in the sandbox. To use the Data Clean-up tool, follow these instructions.

• Troubleshooting. If you are receiving API errors, check the Ed-Fi Tech Docs for common API errors and resolutions.