You can retrieve sessions from the session database by using a refined query, with the basic search method. However, the basic search method has limitations due to match count restraints and pagination methods. If you have to work outside these limitations, you can also retrieve all session metadata stored at a specified moment from the sessions database, with the advanced search method. This method builds on session database snapshots.
Using the advanced search method has the following workflow:
Creating a new session database snapshot
Before you can retrieve all sessions from the session database, you must create a new session database snapshot.
URL
GET https://<IP-address-of-SPS>/api/audit/sessions/_snapshot
Cookies
Cookie name | Description | Required | Values |
---|---|---|---|
session_id | Contains the authentication token of the user | Required |
The value of the session ID cookie received from the REST server in the authentication response, for example, a1f71d030e657634730b9e887cb59a5e56162860. For more information on authentication, see Authenticate to the SPS REST API. NOTE: This session ID refers to the connection between the REST client and the SPS REST API. It is not related to the sessions that SPS records (and which also have a session ID, but in a different format). |
Prerequisites
Before creating a new snapshot, consider the following:
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You must have search rights to create a new snapshot. For more information, see Assigning search privileges in the SPS Administration Guide.
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You can use a cached snapshot for further queries if you included the Remote-Addr and User-Agent parameter values in the header of your request and the snapshot ID is associated with you. You can use a snapshot from the cache until it expires. Snapshots expire in 5 minutes, but all subsequent queries you make in a given snapshot extend its validity by 5 more minutes.
Limitations
Creating a new session database snapshot has the following limitations:
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You can only have one snapshot open at the same time.
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If you want to create a new snapshot, but you already have another snapshot open, you must not query the previously opened snapshot for at least 5 minutes.
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If you do not set the Remote-Addr and the User-Agent parameters in the header, the endpoint creates the snapshot, but it associates the snapshot ID with an unknown user. If several unknown users use the endpoint, the endpoint can provide you a snapshot from the cache that was created by another unknown user.
Cache handling logic
If you create a snapshot, the snapshot ID is stored in an internal cache of the endpoint and the ID is associated with you.
You are identified by the values of the Remote-Addr and User-Agent header parameters.
NOTE: By default, the Remote-Addr and the User-Agent values are not included in the header of your request. Therefore, before sending the request, set the values for the Remote-Addr and the User-Agent parameters so that the endpoint can associate the snapshot ID with you.
If there is a cached snapshot ID associated with you, you can use the cached snapshot for further queries.
If there is no cached snapshot ID associated with you, the endpoint creates a new snapshot.
Sample request
The following example illustrates the sample request for creating a new session database snapshot.
Creating a new session database snapshot
Sample request:
curl --cookie cookies.txt 'https://<IP-address-of-SPS>/api/audit/sessions/_snapshot' \
-H "Remote-Addr: 10.10.10.10" \
-H "User-Agent: Agent-1/1.0"
Where:
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Remote-Addr is your IP address.
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User-Agent is the identifier of the application that you are using.
Sample response
The following example illustrates the sample response for creating a new session database snapshot.
Creating a new session database snapshot
Sample response:
{ "body": { "snapshot": "55cdf68f6d" }, "key": "_snapshot", "meta": { "href": "/api/audit/sessions/_snapshot", "parent": "/api/audit/sessions" } }
HTTP response codes
HTTP response codes comprise of standard or endpoint-specific HTTP status and error codes. The following table lists the endpoint-specific HTTP response codes for creating a snapshot.
Code | Description | Notes |
---|---|---|
200 | Ok |
You have successfully opened the snapshot. |
400 | InvalidSearchClientId |
The search client identifier is invalid. The value you specified in the Remote-Addr request header is too long. Provide a value for the Remote-Addr request header that it is at maximum 45 characters long. |
400 |
InvalidSearchClientId |
The search client identifier is invalid. The value you specified in the User-Agent request header is too long. Provide a value for the User-Agent request header that it is at the maximum 128characters long. |
429 |
AdvancedSearchSnapshotQuotaExceeded "time_to_elapse": 5, |
An open snapshot already exists and you can not open a new one for at least 5 minutes. |
500 | SearchUnavailable |
The search backend is inaccessible. |
500 | DatabaseConsistencyError |
The search database returned an invalid response. |
The standard HTTP response codes for this request are:
-
401 Unauthenticated
-
403 Unauthorized
For more information and a complete list of standard HTTP response codes, see Application level error codes.
Querying the new session database snapshot
After you have created a new session database snapshot, you can start querying it through the /api/audit/sessions endpoint.
NOTE: Before querying the newly created session database snapshot, consider the following:
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Unsupported request parameters for the advanced search method
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The offset parameter is not supported for the advanced search method.
The offset parameter is not supported for the advanced search method. Instead, you can iterate between search results by specifying the search_after and tiebreaker parameters in your query. Also, One Identity recommends that you do not include the offset parameter in your configuration. If you do include it, you must set the value of offset to 0.
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Shortcuts in the "meta" field of your response
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When querying the session database snapshot, the value of the first, last, and previous fields in the response meta will always be null, as they cannot be computed. The "next" field in the response data, however, will always contain a link to the next search result set if there is more session data that can be retrieved.
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Using search_after
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The search_after parameter must have at least one sort key-value pair and exactly one tiebreaker key-value pair, in this exact order.
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The tiebreaker key-value pair is required for the search_after parameter.
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When used in the search_after parameter, the order of fields in the sort parameter and the keys in the search_after parameter must be exactly the same.
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Within the search_after parameter, you cannot specify the same key twice.
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The fields you specify in search_after must be specified in sort as well, in the exact same order (except for tiebreaker).
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You must use colons (:) as separator values for the key-value pairs within search_after.
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You must specify the value of date type fields within the search_after parameter in Epoch seconds.
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Using sort
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You can use the sort parameter with the same functions as for the basic search method.
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Consistency of contents: search_after and sort
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The fields specified in the sort parameter are reference points for the tiebreaker key-value pair.
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The number and order of the fields specified in the sort parameter must match those specified in search_after (with the exception of tiebreaker, which is an additional required key-value pair element for the search_after parameter only).
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Specifying these parameters incorrectly results in errors while querying the /api/audit/sessions endpoint. For more information, see the specific HTTP response codes.
URL
GET https://<IP-address-of-SPS>/api/audit/sessions
Cookies
Cookie name | Description | Required | Values |
---|---|---|---|
session_id | Contains the authentication token of the user | Required |
The value of the session ID cookie received from the REST server in the authentication response, for example, a1f71d030e657634730b9e887cb59a5e56162860. For more information on authentication, see Authenticate to the SPS REST API. NOTE: This session ID refers to the connection between the REST client and the SPS REST API. It is not related to the sessions that SPS records (and which also have a session ID, but in a different format). |
Prerequisites
Querying the new session database snapshot has the following prerequisites:
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For querying the session database snapshot, you must create a new session database snapshot first.
Limitations
Querying the new session database snapshot has the following limitations:
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Displaying your query results in CSV format is possible with the basic search method, but not supported with the advanced search method. As a result, when using the advanced search method, you can only set your format parameter to display your query results in JSON format.
Use case scenarios with the advanced search method
The following examples illustrate the possible use case scenarios with the advanced search method, and their corresponding sample requests and responses:
Querying the session count
Using the _count endpoint, you can query the number of sessions in a snapshot if you include the snapshot ID in the request.
Using the _count endpoint, you can check the number of sessions without having to download the data or to browse through it page by page.
Querying the session count
Sample request:
curl --cookie cookies.txt --request GET https://<IP-address-of-SPS>/api/audit/sessions/_count?snapshot=55cdf68f6d
Querying the session count
Sample response:
{ "count": 4, "meta": { "href": "/api/audit/sessions/_count", "parent": "/api/audit/sessions" } }
Using the _count endpoint and defining a snapshot ID and a filter in your query, you can query the number of sessions that match the filter criteria.
Using the _count endpoint, you can check the number of sessions without having to download the data or to browse through it page by page.
Querying the session count using a filter
Sample request:
curl --cookie cookies.txt --request GET https://<IP-address-of-SPS>/api/audit/sessions/_count?snapshot=55cdf68f6d&q=protocol%3ASSH
Querying the session count using a filter
Sample response:
{ "count": 2, "meta": { "href": "/api/audit/sessions/_count", "parent": "/api/audit/sessions" } }
HTTP response codes
HTTP response codes comprise of standard or endpoint-specific HTTP status and error codes. The following table lists the endpoint-specific HTTP response codes for creating a snapshot.
Code | Description | Notes |
---|---|---|
400 | InvalidAdvancedSearchCountQuery |
The filter may be invalid. The backend of the sessions endpoint returned an error. Make sure that you enter a valid filter query. The snapshot ID should be the same you received in the response of the _snapshot endpoint. For more information on correct query syntax, see Searching in the session database with the basic search method. |
400 | InvalidSearchClientId |
The search client identifier is invalid. The value you specified in the Remote-Addr request header is too long. Provide a value for the Remote-Addr request header that it is at maximum 45 characters long. |
400 |
InvalidSearchClientId |
The search client identifier is invalid. The value you specified in the User-Agent request header is too long. Provide a value for the User-Agent request header that it is at the maximum 128 characters long. |
404 |
CountQuerySnapshotNotFound |
Your count query is invalid. The snapshot you specified in the snapshot request parameter does not exist or has expired. For more information on how to create a valid request to retrieve the exact number of sessions matching a search query, see the REST API Reference Guide. |
For more information and a complete list of standard HTTP response codes, see Application level error codes.
Iterating through query results
To retrieve all sessions from the session database snapshot, you have to iterate through the results until your response meta contains a null value for the "next" field.
To iterate through query results
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Send a GET request to the /api/audit/sessions endpoint.
Sample request:
curl --cookie cookies.txt 'https://<IP-address-of-SPS>/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&sort=start_time&snapshot=55cdf68f6d'
Sample response:
{ "items": [ { "key": "sid1", "meta": { "href": "/api/audit/sessions/sid1" } }, { "key": "sid2", "meta": { "href": "/api/audit/sessions/sid2" } } ], "meta": { "fields": [], "first": null, "href": "/api/audit/sessions", "last": null, "limit": 2, "next": "/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&sort=start_time&snapshot=55cdf68f6d&search_after=start_time:1643677200,tiebreaker:4294967296", "parent": "/api/audit", "previous": null, "search_after": "start_time:1643677200,tiebreaker:4294967296" } }
The link in the "next": "/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&sort=start_time&snapshot=55cdf68f6d&search_after=start_time:1643677200,tiebreaker:4294967296" key-value pair is required for the next step in iterating.
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Iterate through your query results using the next link URL from your previous query result.
Sample request:
curl --cookie cookies.txt 'https://<IP-address-of-SPS><NEXT-LINK-FROM-PREVIOUS-RESPONSE>'
Continue iterating your query results until your response contains a null value as a "next" link.
Sample response:
{ "items": [], "meta": { "fields": [], "first": null, "href": "/api/audit/sessions", "last": null, "limit": 2, "next": null, "parent": "/api/audit", "previous": null, "search_after": null } }
Retrieving sessions' metadata with start-end time filter
With the advanced search method, you can retrieve sessions' metadata with start-end time filter.
Sample request:
curl --cookie cookies.txt 'https://<IP-address-of-SPS>/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&sort=start_time&start=2022-01-15T00%3A00%3A00%2B00%3A00&end=2022-05-15T00%3A00%3A00%2B00%3A00&snapshot=55cdf68f6d'
Sample response:
{ "items": [ {"key": "sid2", "meta": {"href": "/api/audit/sessions/sid2"}}, {"key": "sid3", "meta": {"href": "/api/audit/sessions/sid3"}} ], "meta": { "end": "2022-05-15T00:00:00+00:00", "fields": [], "first": null, "href": "/api/audit/sessions", "last": null, "limit": 2, "next": "/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&sort=start_time&start=2022-01-15T00%3A00%3A00%2B00%3A00&end=2022-05-15T00%3A00%3A00%2B00%3A00&snapshot=55cdf68f6d&search_after=start_time:1646096400,tiebreaker:4294967297", "parent": "/api/audit", "previous": null, "search_after": "start_time:1646096400,tiebreaker:4294967297", "start": "2022-01-15T00:00:00+00:00" } }
Retrieving specific metadata from sessions with query filter
With the advanced search method, you can retrieve specific metadata from your sessions with query filter.
Sample request:
curl --cookie cookies.txt 'https://<IP-address-of-SPS>/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&sort=start_time&fields=protocol,verdict&q=protocol%3A%20SSH&snapshot=55cdf68f6d'
Sample response:
{ "items": [ { "body": { "protocol": "SSH", "verdict": "ACCEPT" }, "key": "sid1", "meta": { "href": "/api/audit/sessions/sid1" } }, { "body": { "protocol": "SSH", "verdict": "ACCEPT" }, "key": "sid4", "meta": { "href": "/api/audit/sessions/sid4" } } ], "meta": { "fields": [ "protocol", "verdict" ], "first": null, "href": "/api/audit/sessions", "last": null, "limit": 2, "next": "/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&fields=protocol,verdict&q=protocol%3A%20SSH&sort=start_time&snapshot=55cdf68f6d&search_after=start_time:1648774800,tiebreaker:0", "parent": "/api/audit", "previous": null, "search_after": "start_time:1648774800,tiebreaker:0" } }
Retrieving sessions' metadata with modified sort order
With the advanced search method, you can retrieve sessions' metadata with modified sort order.
Sample request:
curl --cookie cookies.txt 'https://<IP-address-of-SPS>/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&sort=-start_time&start=2022-02-15T00%3A00%3A00%2B00%3A00&snapshot=55cdf68f6d'
Sample response:
{ "items": [ {"key": "sid6", "meta": {"href": "/api/audit/sessions/sid6"}}, {"key": "sid5", "meta": {"href": "/api/audit/sessions/sid5"}} ], "meta": { "fields": [], "first": null, "href": "/api/audit/sessions", "last": null, "limit": 2, "next": "/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&sort=-start_time&start=2022-02-15T00%3A00%3A00%2B00%3A00&snapshot=55cdf68f6d&search_after=start_time:1651366800,tiebreaker:12884901888", "parent": "/api/audit", "previous": null, "search_after": "start_time:1651366800,tiebreaker:12884901888", "start": "2022-02-15T00:00:00+00:00" } }
Retrieving sessions' metadata with multiple sort fields
With the advanced search method, you can retrieve sessions' metadata with multiple sort fields.
Sample request:
curl --cookie cookies.txt 'https://<IP-address-of-SPS>/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&sort=-protocol,-start_time&snapshot=55cdf68f6d'
Sample response:
{ "items": [ {"key": "sid6", "meta": {"href": "/api/audit/sessions/sid6"}}, {"key": "sid4", "meta": {"href": "/api/audit/sessions/sid4"}} ], "meta": { "fields": [], "first": null, "href": "/api/audit/sessions", "last": null,"limit": 2, "next": "/api/audit/sessions?limit=2&sort=-protocol,-start_time&snapshot=55cdf68f6d&search_after=protocol:SSH,start_time:1648774800,tiebreaker:0", "parent": "/api/audit", "previous": null, "search_after": "protocol:SSH,start_time:1648774800,tiebreaker:0" } }
HTTP response codes
HTTP response codes comprise of standard or endpoint-specific HTTP status and error codes. The following table lists the HTTP response codes specifically for querying the sessions database snapshot.
NOTE: For more information about why you may encounter these HTTP response codes, see the rules and limitations of querying the session database snapshot with the advanced search method.
Code | Description | Notes |
---|---|---|
400 | MissingSearchAfterSnapshot |
The snapshot ID is missing from your query. |
400 | MissingSearchAfterSort |
The sort parameter is missing from your query. |
400 | InvalidSearchAfterKeyValue |
Possible scenario: The value of one or more keys in the search_after parameter is not valid. Enter valid values for the keys in the search_after parameter. The following request results in a 400 InvalidSearchAfterKeyValue error: GET /api/audit/sessions?snapshot="55cdf68f6d"&sort=start_time&search_after=client.ip:<not-a-valid-ip-address>,tiebreaker:42348 |
400 | DuplicatedSearchAfterKey |
The search_after parameter contains one or more duplicated key-value pairs. Enter only one key-value pair for a key in the search_after parameter. The following request results in a 400 DuplicatedSearchAfterKey error: GET /api/audit/sessions?snapshot="55cdf68f6d"&sort=start_time&search_after=start_time:1666335341,start_time:1666335342,tiebreaker:42348 |
400 | MissingSearchAfterTiebreaker |
You have not specified the tiebreaker key-value pair in your search_after parameter. Specify the tiebreaker key-value parameter for your query. |
400 |
InvalidSearchAfterKeyValueFormat |
The format of your search_after parameter is not a valid key-value format. Specify key-value pairs for the search_after parameter by using a <key>:<value> format. |
400 |
InconsistentSearchAfterParameters |
Your search_after query is not valid. The number of the sort values is inconsistent with the number of the search_after key-value pairs. |
400 |
MissingSearchAfterKeyValue |
There are one or more key-value pairs missing from the search_after parameter. Enter key-value pairs in the search_after parameter for the fields specified in the sort parameter. The following request results in a 400 MissingSearchAfterKeyValue error: GET /api/audit/sessions?snapshot="55cdf68f6d"&sort=start_time,protocol&search_after=start_time:1666335341,tiebreaker:42348 |
400 |
InconsistentSearchAfterOrder |
Your search_after query is not valid. The order of the fields in the sort parameter must be the same as the order of the keys in the search_after parameter. |
400 |
InvalidSearchAfterOffset |
You have specified the value of offset to a number other than 0. |
400 |
InvalidSearchAfterResponseFormat |
You have requested an unsupported response format (for example, the unsupported csv format) for displaying your query results. |
400 |
InvalidSearchAfterQuery |
Possible scenarios:
|
400 | InvalidSearchClientId |
The search client identifier is invalid. The value you specified in the Remote-Addr request header is too long. Provide a value for the Remote-Addr request header that it is at maximum 45 characters long. |
400 |
InvalidSearchClientId |
The search client identifier is invalid. The value you specified in the User-Agent request header is too long. Provide a value for the User-Agent request header that it is at the maximum 128 characters long. |
404 |
SearchQuerySnapshotNotFound |
Your advanced search query is invalid. The snapshot you specified in the snapshot request parameter does not exist or has expired. For more information on how to create a valid request to query all session data, see the REST API Reference Guide. |
The standard HTTP response codes for this request are:
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401 Unauthenticated
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403 Unauthorized
For more information and a complete list of standard HTTP response codes, see Application level error codes.