Getting started with connectors
Connectors are integration components that you use to connect and integrate applications and data sources. Connectors available with BMC Helix iPaaS provide out-of-the-box connectivity to popular cloud and enterprise applications, and databases. Connectors are developed for BMC Helix and third-party applications. Use the connectors to configure integrations between BMC Helix and third-party applications to share data and perform multiple activities for data transformation.
BMC Helix iPaaS supports the following integration combinations by using connectors:
The available integration options are described in the image below:
BMC Helix iPaaS connectors are available on two leading integration technology platforms, Jitterbit Harmony and MuleSoft Anypoint platform.
For more details, see the following topics:
Jitterbit connector types
Jitterbit connectors are classified into the following types:
| Connector type | Description |
|---|---|
| Applications | Used for different types of applications. These connectors are further classified into:
|
| API | Used with a Jitterbit custom API and are preconfigured endpoints whose associated activities include Request and Response activities. |
| Service based | Used with a service that provides the metadata needed for the connection and associated activities. |
| Short-term storage | Typically used to store files temporarily for use in a downstream operation. Associated activities include Read and Write activities. |
| Long-term storage | Typically used for long-term or permanent storage of files. Associated activities include Read and Write activities. |
Connector configuration
To implement an integration, you must configure the connectors for the applications involved in the integration. The connector configuration typically includes the authentication details for the application. After the connector is configured, add related connector operations within a workflow and configure them to provide data to an operation or as a target to consume data in an operation. Together, a specific connection and its activities are referred to as an endpoint.
After you configure the connector, you get access to the activities associated to the connector. Then create operation workflows by using connector activities and transformation actions. An integration can include multiple workflow operations to define flow of data between the applications. `
A typical operation workflow includes:
| Connector activity | Includes multiple activities that can be configured for managing application data. For example, a Create activity is used to get the required information from the source application to create a new object in the target application. |
|---|---|
| Transformation operation | Used to define data mapping between the two applications. For example, if you are integrating BMC Helix ITSM with Jira, the transformation operation is used to define the field mappings between the BMC Helix ITSM incident and Jira issue fields. |
| Operation logging scripts | Define the data to be written in the source application. |
Jitterbit connector configuration and operation workflow
The following images show the Jitterbit Harmony connector configuration screen and the associated connector activities displayed after the connector is configured:
Jitterbit connector configuration
The following image displays a typical workflow defined in Jitterbit Harmony for a Create activity:
Jitterbit Create operation workflow
MuleSoft connector configuration and create operation workflow
The following images show the MuleSoft Anypoint connector configuration screen and the associated connector activities displayed after the connector is configured:
MuleSoft Create operation workflow
MuleSoft Anypoint Create operation workflow
The following image displays a typical workflow defined in MuleSoft Anypoint Studio, for a Create activity.
Before developing custom integrations, take a look at the integration templates provided by BMC Helix iPaaS. Integration templates include integration workflows for specific integrations. You can use the out-of-the-box integration templates to implement your application integrations.
For a complete list of integration templates available, see:
Where to go from here
For more information about developing workflows, see
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