Enhancing Grafana Geomap Panel Adding Custom Query Parameters And Authentication

Jul 15, 2025 by gitftunila 81 views

Feature Request Adding Custom Query Parameters and Authentication to Geomap WMS Panel

In the realm of data visualization and mapping within Grafana, the Geomap panel stands as a powerful tool. However, its current limitations in handling secured Web Map Service (WMS) endpoints present significant challenges for users. This article delves into a critical feature request aimed at enhancing the Geomap WMS panel by incorporating support for custom query parameters and authentication mechanisms. By addressing these limitations, Grafana can empower users to seamlessly integrate secured WMS services, unlocking a wealth of geospatial data and insights.

Use Case and Problem Statement

The primary challenge lies in embedding secured WMS-T services, such as Delft-FEWS, into Grafana Cloud's Geomap panel. Currently, the panel's configuration options are limited to:

A base URL, with Grafana automatically appending ?SERVICE=WMS&REQUEST=…
A layer picker.
Display options like opacity, legend, and attribution.

Many WMS endpoints mandate either:

A token=<static-token> query parameter on every request.
HTTP Basic Auth or a Bearer token in the Authorization: header.

Due to the Geomap panel stripping any extra ?… parameters from the base URL and lacking fields for custom headers, the only existing workaround involves setting up an external proxy, such as a Cloudflare Worker. This proxy then re-injects the token and CORS headers. This workaround introduces several drawbacks:

Awkwardness: It adds unnecessary complexity to the setup process.
Brittleness: It introduces an additional point of failure, making the overall system more fragile.
Infrastructure overhead: It forces users to host and maintain additional infrastructure, increasing costs and operational burden.

This feature request directly addresses these pain points by proposing enhancements to the Geomap WMS panel, making it more versatile and user-friendly for integrating secured WMS services. By implementing these changes, Grafana can streamline the process of visualizing geospatial data from secured sources, empowering users to derive valuable insights without the need for complex workarounds.

Proposed Solution: Enhancing Geomap WMS Panel Configuration

To overcome the limitations of the current Geomap WMS panel, the following enhancements are proposed:

1. Custom Query Parameters

Implementing a key/value table within the Geomap panel configuration would allow users to specify custom query parameters. For example, a user could define a token key with a corresponding value like xyz. Grafana would then append these custom parameters to all WMS calls, including GetCapabilities, GetMap, and GetLegendGraphic requests. This approach provides a straightforward and flexible mechanism for incorporating authentication tokens or other required parameters into WMS requests.

Custom query parameters offer a granular level of control over the WMS requests, ensuring that the necessary authentication information is included in every interaction with the service. This eliminates the need for external proxies to inject tokens, simplifying the overall architecture and reducing the risk of misconfiguration. Furthermore, the key/value table format allows users to easily manage and update query parameters as needed, providing a user-friendly interface for configuring WMS connections.

The inclusion of custom query parameters enhances the security posture of the Geomap panel by allowing users to leverage token-based authentication mechanisms provided by WMS services. This is particularly important for organizations that need to protect sensitive geospatial data from unauthorized access. By enabling users to specify authentication tokens directly within the Grafana interface, the Geomap panel becomes a more secure and reliable tool for visualizing and analyzing geospatial information.

2. Custom HTTP Headers

The addition of fields for specifying custom HTTP headers, such as Authorization, would enable direct access to secured WMS services from the browser without relying on CORS workarounds. This feature would allow users to include HTTP Basic Auth credentials or Bearer tokens in the Authorization: header, as well as specify any other necessary headers. This eliminates the need for external proxies to handle authentication and CORS, simplifying the configuration and improving performance.

Custom HTTP headers are crucial for modern web applications that interact with secured services. The ability to set headers like Authorization directly within the Geomap panel streamlines the authentication process and eliminates the need for complex workarounds. This not only simplifies the configuration but also improves the overall security of the system by ensuring that authentication credentials are handled in a secure and standardized manner.

The inclusion of custom HTTP headers in the Geomap panel configuration allows users to leverage a wider range of authentication mechanisms supported by WMS services. This flexibility is essential for organizations that need to integrate with diverse geospatial data sources, each with its own security requirements. By providing a comprehensive set of configuration options, the Geomap panel empowers users to seamlessly connect to and visualize data from any secured WMS service, regardless of its authentication method.

Benefits of Implementing the Proposed Features

Implementing these features would yield significant benefits for Grafana users:

Simplified Configuration: Users can directly configure authentication and custom parameters within the Geomap panel, eliminating the need for external proxies and complex workarounds. This simplifies the setup process and reduces the risk of errors.
Enhanced Security: Supporting custom query parameters and HTTP headers allows users to leverage the security mechanisms provided by WMS services, such as token-based authentication and HTTP Basic Auth. This enhances the security of the system and protects sensitive geospatial data from unauthorized access.
Improved Performance: Eliminating the need for external proxies reduces latency and improves the performance of WMS requests. This results in a faster and more responsive user experience.
Increased Flexibility: The ability to specify custom query parameters and HTTP headers provides users with greater flexibility in connecting to and configuring WMS services. This allows them to integrate with a wider range of geospatial data sources, regardless of their security requirements.
Reduced Infrastructure Costs: By eliminating the need for external proxies, organizations can reduce their infrastructure costs and simplify their deployments. This results in a more cost-effective and efficient solution for visualizing geospatial data.

By incorporating custom query parameters and custom HTTP headers, the Geomap WMS panel will become a more robust, secure, and user-friendly tool for visualizing geospatial data. These enhancements will empower users to seamlessly integrate with secured WMS services, unlocking a wealth of geospatial information and enabling them to derive valuable insights without the need for complex workarounds.

Detailed Use Cases and Scenarios

To further illustrate the importance and applicability of these proposed features, let's explore some detailed use cases and scenarios:

1. Integrating with Token-Based WMS Services

Many WMS services, particularly those providing access to sensitive or proprietary data, require a token-based authentication mechanism. This involves including a unique token in each request to verify the user's identity and authorization. With the current Geomap panel, users are unable to directly specify these tokens, necessitating the use of external proxies.

Consider a scenario where an organization needs to visualize real-time weather data from a secured WMS service. This service requires a token to be included in the query string of each request. Without the ability to specify custom query parameters, the organization would need to set up a proxy server to inject the token into the requests. This adds complexity and introduces a potential point of failure.

With the proposed feature, users could simply add a key-value pair in the Geomap panel configuration, such as token: <your_token>, and Grafana would automatically append this parameter to all WMS requests. This eliminates the need for a proxy server, simplifying the setup and ensuring that the token is always included in the requests.

2. Utilizing HTTP Basic Authentication

Some WMS services employ HTTP Basic Authentication, which requires including a username and password in the Authorization header of each request. The current Geomap panel lacks the ability to specify custom HTTP headers, making it impossible to directly connect to these services.

Imagine a scenario where a municipality needs to visualize infrastructure data from a WMS service that uses HTTP Basic Authentication. The username and password for the service are stored securely, but without the ability to set the Authorization header, the Geomap panel cannot access the data. This forces the municipality to either expose the service publicly or set up a complex proxy solution.

By adding support for custom HTTP headers, users could specify the Authorization header directly in the Geomap panel configuration. This allows Grafana to automatically include the necessary credentials in each request, providing secure and seamless access to the WMS service. This not only simplifies the configuration but also ensures that the authentication process is handled in a secure and standardized manner.

3. Accessing Services with Custom Header Requirements

In some cases, WMS services may require custom headers beyond authentication, such as those related to content negotiation, request identification, or API versioning. The current Geomap panel's limitations prevent users from specifying these headers, potentially hindering integration with such services.

Consider a scenario where a research institution needs to visualize environmental data from a WMS service that requires a custom header to specify the desired data format. Without the ability to set custom HTTP headers, the Geomap panel may be unable to retrieve the data in the correct format, rendering it useless.

By implementing the proposed feature, users could add the necessary custom header to the Geomap panel configuration, ensuring that the WMS service receives the request in the expected format. This enhances the flexibility of the Geomap panel and allows users to integrate with a wider range of WMS services, regardless of their specific requirements.

Conclusion

The feature request to add support for custom query parameters and authentication in the Geomap WMS panel is a critical step towards enhancing Grafana's capabilities in visualizing geospatial data from secured sources. By implementing these enhancements, Grafana can empower users to seamlessly integrate with a broader range of WMS services, unlock valuable insights, and streamline their workflows. The proposed solutions address the existing limitations of the panel, simplify configuration, improve security, and reduce infrastructure costs. Ultimately, this will make Grafana an even more powerful and versatile tool for data visualization and analysis in the geospatial domain.

By enabling custom query parameters and custom HTTP headers, Grafana will not only address the immediate needs of users struggling with secured WMS services but also lay the foundation for future integrations and enhancements in the realm of geospatial data visualization. This feature request is a significant investment in the long-term capabilities of Grafana and its commitment to providing a comprehensive and user-friendly data visualization platform.