Adapter configuration and enablement overview

After you have installed an adapter and added it to a grid but before you can enable it on a peer on the grid, you must configure it. Then the adapter must be enabled on at least one peer on the grid in order for a workflow or process to use that adapter.

When you install an adapter, the adapter type is added to the repository. You can add custom adapters in the repository by uploading information to define a new adapter type or by uploading a prepackaged adapter in an .aroar file. Custom adapters must be configured and enabled just like any other adapter.

Each adapter requires a name, and most adapters require specific configuration information to enable communications between systems or applications. You configure adapters in Grid Manager by using an XML document or a form to define the connection details and adapter properties. The user guide for the adapter provides details about the required configuration information for that adapter.

If an adapter type is upgraded in the repository, you can upgrade the adapters that you have already configured on the grid and maintain the existing configuration.

Any adapter that will be used in a process must be enabled on at least one peer on a grid. The configuration is referenced when the adapter is called within processes. After you configure the adapter, you use the Grid Manager Peers tab to enable the adapter on a peer on that grid.

When a process makes an adapter request, the adapter request specifies the location of the peer that will handle the request. For the process to execute successfully, the adapter must be enabled on that peer, so the adapter might need to be enabled on multiple peers in the grid. The peer locations are described in the following table. This table provides details about how adapters should be enabled, based on the value for the peer location in the adapter request.

Enabling adapters based on peer location in the adapter request