Cisco AppDynamics Community

Ryan.Paredez · ‎04-17-2024

Executive Summary

AppDynamics is joining with Cisco to provide user identity (sign-in credentials) capabilities for all SAAS AppDynamics-based products and services. Users whose passwords are verified by the AppDynamics Identity Platform (not user accounts that sign in using their company’s SSO credentials) will be moved to the Cisco Customer Identity platform (id.cisco.com) for verification. This will be a minimal-impact change and should not affect a user’s access to Cisco AppDynamics and Observability Platform products.

Overview

Cisco’s Customer Identity platform and AppDynamics’ Customer Identity both serve customer identity needs. However, AppDynamics Customer Identity is limited to AppDynamics-based products only. To consolidate user accounts and provide a seamless experience with other Cisco products, AppDynamics user identities will be moved to the Cisco Customer Identity platform.

Starting in May 2024, users added to AppDynamics SaaS products via the Accounts Management Portal and Controller will have their identities stored and verified using Cisco Customer Identity. This only affects “local” users —user accounts that are not using their company’s SSO credentials through a federation with AppDynamics.

These new local users will still receive a welcome email with getting started instructions as usual. They will still set up their password and provide user profile data. However, that information will be stored and verified by Cisco’s Customer Identity platform instead of the AppDynamics Customer Identity platform. When these users enter their email on the AppDynamics login page and click Next, they will enter their password on the id.cisco.com login page instead of the login.appdynamics.com login page.

At the same time, we will move existing user identities in the AppDynamics Identity platform over to the Cisco Identity platform. Cisco will then store and verify the user identity information going forward. These existing users will receive an email when their account has moved instructing them to set a new password to continue.

If you sign in using your company’s SSO credentials through a federation, there will be no change to your access to AppDynamics products.

Impact

The following user accounts will be directed to id.cisco.com for their password entry:

AppDynamics SAAS users who currently sign in using the AppDynamics Identity platform using their email address as a username
Cisco Observability Platform and Cisco Cloud Observability (COP and CCO) users who currently sign in using the AppDynamics Identity platform using their email address as a username
Accounts Management Portal users who currently sign in using the AppDynamics Identity platform using their email address as a username

The following user accounts will NOT be impacted by this change:

AppDynamics On-premises users
AppDynamics SAAS users who currently sign in using a legacy “local” user (a user that does not use email address as their username)
AppDynamics SAAS users who sign in to their AppDynamics SaaS tenant using their company credentials (SSO) through federation
Cisco Observability Platform and Cisco Cloud Observability (COP and CCO) users who currently sign in using their company credentials through federation
Accounts Management Portal users who currently sign in using their company credentials through federation.

FAQ:

What do you mean by identity?

Identity is how your user account is verified for use at a service, like when you sign in to AppDynamics. Typically, this is in the form of a set of credentials like username and password. AppDynamics and Cisco use email addresses as usernames. With this change, users whose email and password have been verified by AppDynamics at login.appdynamics.com or login.fso.cisco.com will now be verified by id.cisco.com instead.

How is it changing?

User identities stored within the AppDynamics Identity platform will be moved to the Cisco Identity platform. Existing users will need to set up a new password within the Cisco Identity system – we will send an email with instructions when this is ready to be completed.

When a user accesses AppDynamics or Cisco Observability Platform, they will be prompted to sign in using their email. After clicking Next, they will be directed to Cisco for password verification, then be taken into the requested product.

What will be the impact on my user account?

There are two impacts to your user account:

You will need to set up a new password for your email address.

Your login process will include a stop at id.cisco.com for password entry and verification.

That is really it. Access will remain unchanged. The most important change is where your password lives.

Could I be blocked from access to AppDynamics?

Yes, it is possible if your account is affiliated with embargoed countries. Cisco enforces global trade compliance, so some user accounts may be blocked to comply with regulations. If your user account utilizes email belonging to an embargoed country, your account will be blocked, and product access will be lost.

If you are not part of an embargoed country and in the unlikely event that your account is put on hold, you will receive an email from Cisco with instructions to request a release.

How can I tell if I am affected?

Go to https://login.appdynamics.com and enter your email address as username, then click Next. If you see a password field, your user account is impacted. If you enter your email address, click Next and land in your company sign-in screen, you are not impacted.

You can also check with your company admin to see if your user account is “Authenticated by AppDynamics.” If it is, you will be impacted.

What will I need to do?

Not too much – all you need to do is set up a new password with Cisco Customer Identity. Keep an eye out for an email in May 2024 indicating that your account now utilizes Cisco Identity and follow the instructions to set up a password.

If you already have a Cisco Identity that you use with other Cisco products, then you will just start using that identity (the same password!) when signing in to AppDynamics products.

What if I use a password manager?

Do you already have a Cisco user account to sign in at id.cisco.com? If yes, then your password manager will work if you have stored your Cisco password, and you will not need to set up a new password.

However, if you do not have a Cisco account, and since password managers typically work based on the sign in domain, it will not be able to recall a password for id.cisco.com. You will want to use your password manager features when you set your new password for id.cisco.com.

How is this better?

AppDynamics services, such as Community, University (Now Cisco U.), and Support have either already moved to Cisco equivalents or will be moving this year. All these services require a Cisco account. This move will ensure that you can access AppDynamics SAAS products, Cisco Observability Platform products, and all these services with the same email and password. You will have single sign-on to all these capabilities, as well as any other Cisco products you use that are part of the Cisco Identity platform.

Do I have a choice?

No, for ongoing security and convenience, these identities will be moving as Cisco is the new home for all such identities.

Will I still have SSO between various AppDynamics Product and Services?

Yes, you can still move between AppDynamics SaaS tenants, Cisco Observability Platform tenants, and Accounts Management Portal using SSO. In fact, you will also gain SSO into Cisco products and services as well.

Why do I need to reset my password?

Your password will not be moved to the Cisco Identity platform from the AppDynamics identity platform. Passwords are secure when they are stored at both Cisco and AppDynamics, protecting them such that they can’t be preserved in a usable way between systems. The first time you try to sign in after being notified that your account is now authenticated by Cisco, you will need to simply use the Forgot Password? Flow to set a new one.

How do I set a new password for my account?

There are two ways:

Use https://id.cisco.com directly.
Start with signing in to AppDynamics.

1. Using id.cisco.com directly:

Using your browser, navigate to https://id.cisco.com. Enter your email address and click Next. At the bottom of the password page, you will see the Forgot password? link (see figure 1 below). Follow the instructions and complete the process. Upon completion, you will be logged in to Cisco and be presented with your Cisco profile page.

2. Start with signing in to AppDynamics:

Using your browser, navigate to an AppDynamics product, like your Cisco Observability Platform tenant or your AppDynamics CSaaS tenant, or even https://accounts.appdynamics.com. Enter your email address and click Next. You will be redirected to the id.cisco.com password page. At the bottom of the password page, you will see the “Forgot password?” link (see figure 1, below). Follow the instructions and complete the process. Upon completion, you will be logged in to both Cisco and AppDynamics and be presented with the original AppDynamics product you were trying to sign in to.

Figure 1, Cisco password page

Why do I see the AppDynamics password page and not the Cisco password page?

If you still see the AppDynamics password page (see figure 2 below) when you enter your email address at login.appdynamics.com and click Next, it is because we have not yet moved your account to Cisco. You can continue to login using your existing AppDynamics password until you receive a notification that we have transitioned your account to Cisco.

Figure 2, AppDynamics password page

I do not see a “Forgot password?” link, only a “Reset Password” link. Why?

If you see the “Reset Password” link after entering your email and clicking next (see Figure 2, above), you are still on the AppDynamics sign in screen. This is because we have not yet moved your account to Cisco. You can continue to sign in using your existing AppDynamics password until you receive a notification that we have transitioned your account to Cisco.

What if I am a user of AppDynamics support?

It happens that AppDynamics Support is moving to Cisco Support at or around the same time as the user migration. Once the support process changes, your only means of logging into support will be through Cisco identity. This identity change will facilitate your use of Cisco based support tools later. One change will be that your user profile will be required to include a physical address. On signing in to the support system, you will be prompted to establish an address in your personal profile. A separate email will be sent to Support users with more information about this change.

What if I sign in using my company’s SSO credentials today?

You will continue to use your company’s SSO credentials to access AppDynamics products. However, services like University (Cisco U.), and Support will require a Cisco identity. As part of our migration, we will create accounts for you in Cisco and they will be waiting for you to use. Simply go to https://id.cisco.com, enter your email and use the "Forgot password?” link to set a password. If your company admin has federated with Cisco directly, then your company credentials will work there as well.

What if I am only an AppDynamics On-Premises product user?

Your product access to AppDynamics On-Premises will remain unchanged, signing in with whatever credentials you use today. However, to have used AppDynamics University, AppDynamics Community, or AppDynamics Support in the past, you would have had an account that was part of our AppDynamics Identity provider. This user account is being moved to Cisco and will be impacted by this change.