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Alibaba Cloud Setup Guide

Use this guide to connect Alibaba Cloud to Cloudaware by using RAM roles (recommended) or access keys.

Before You Begin​

Make sure that:

  • You have access to Admin Console in Cloudaware.
  • You have permission in Alibaba to create users.
note

If you are new to Cloudaware and don’t have the account yet, use the Get Started guide to register a trial.

Add an Alibaba Cloud Account in Cloudaware​

  1. In Cloudaware, go to Admin.
  2. Select Alibaba Cloud.
  3. Click + ADD to add the account.
    • If Alibaba Cloud is already configured, click CONFIGURED → select the Accounts tab and click + ADD ALIBABA CLOUD ACCOUNT.
  4. Enter an account name.
  5. Choose an authentication type:
    • RAM Role (Recommended)
    • Access Keys

In Cloudaware:

  1. Select RAM Role as the authentication type.
  2. Note the Trusted Account value (Cloudaware’s Alibaba account ID) and generate an External ID; keep both for use in the ROS console.
  3. Click TEMPLATE to download the Cloudaware ROS template and open it in a text editor.

In the Alibaba Cloud ROS console:

  1. Go to Templates → My Templates → Create template.
  2. Paste the Cloudaware template content and save the template.
  3. From the saved template, choose Create Stack.
  4. In the stack parameters, provide:
    • The External ID generated in Cloudaware.
    • Any other required parameters (for example, role name).
  5. Create the stack and wait for it to complete.
  6. On the stack Resources tab, locate the created RAM role (for example, CloudAwareRamRole) and copy its Role ARN.

Return to Cloudaware:

  1. Paste the RAM Role ARN into the setup form.
  2. Click CHECK.
  3. Once validation succeeds, click SAVE.
  4. Confirm that the account shows a green status indicator.

Configure Access Keys (Optional)​

If you choose to use a RAM user instead of a RAM role:

  1. In the Alibaba Cloud console, create a dedicated RAM user for Cloudaware (programmatic access).
  2. Attach read‑only collector policies to that user.
  3. Generate an access key ID and secret and store them securely.
  4. In Cloudaware, go to Admin → Alibaba Cloud → + ADD.
  5. Enter an account name.
  6. Choose Access Keys and provide:
    • Access Key ID
    • Access Key Secret
  7. Click CHECK to validate the credentials.
  8. When validation succeeds, click SAVE.

Next Steps​

  • Use Verification to confirm that Alibaba Cloud resources are appearing in Cloudaware CMDB.
  • Review Service Coverage to understand which services and objects are discovered.
  • If any accounts remain unhealthy or empty, consult Troubleshooting or contact Cloudaware Support.