Creating a Connector

Creating a Connector involves deciding where the Connector is to reside, and which initial parameters to assign to it.

Decide upon where the Connector should reside; this is in either of two places:

1. Connectors meant for re-use and resource sharing reside under the <workspace>/Resources/Connectors directory. This is generally the best place to create and maintain your Connectors. Connectors defined this way are added to AssemblyLines by dragging them into the appropriate place.

   After this, we can alter those few settings of the Connector such that it plays its designated role in the AssemblyLine, but leaving the majority of the settings inherited, and therefore unchanged from their definitions in the Resources section.

2. We can also create a Connector directly in an AssemblyLine; Connectors defined this way are ad-hoc definitions that are only valid in the context of that particular AssemblyLine.

Connectors form the backbone of any solution created with Security Directory Integrator, they establish the connection to the systems we wish to exchange data with.

Create a Connector

1. Select...
   Workspace (Right-click) > Resources > Connectors > New Connector

   ...or select...

   File > New > Connector

2. Navigate to the location where you want the new Connector, and name the new Connector.
   1. The recommended location is <workspace>/Resources/Connectors.

   2. Alternatively, we can create the new Connector directly in the AssemblyLine. Navigate to the location in the target AssemblyLine; either the Feed section for Iterator and Server mode Connectors, or Flow for all other modes.

3. Click Finish to create the Connector.

4. In the Connection tab, set the mode of the new Connector to your desired mode.

5. Set the connection parameters for this Connector in the Connection tab; required parameters are marked with an asterisk (*). Some Connectors require you to configure a Parser as well in the Parser tab.

6. Go to theAttribute Map window in the Connector configuration window to discover or define the schema for this data source: click Discover Attributes to get the schema for the datasource. Some Connectors or Connector-Parser combinations have pre-defined schemas. Those that do not, prompt you to read a sample entry from the data source and examine it to discover attributes.

What to do next

Once the Connector has been defined, you are ready to set up which pieces of information known as Attributes are to flow to and from the AssemblyLine. This process is called Attribute Mapping, and the point of view is from the AssemblyLine. Hence, the definition of mapping Attributes from the connected system, through the input Connector to the Work entry in the AssemblyLine is done in the Input Attribute Map; and the reverse, mapping Attributes from the Work entry, through the output Connector to the connected system is done in the Output Attribute Map.

Parent topic:

The Connector Editor