Creating the connector definition

To run in the IBM WebSphere business integration system, a connector must be defined in the repository. Pre-defined adapters, which the WebSphere Business Integration Adapters product provides, have predefined connector definitions that are loaded in the repository at installation time. To run a predefined connector, a system administrator need only configure the application and set the connector's configuration properties. However, before the IBM WebSphere business integration system can access a connector that you have developed, you must take the following steps:

Defining the connector

To define the connector within the WebSphere business integration system, you create a connector definition. This connector definition includes the following information to define the connector in the repository:

A tool called Connector Configurator collects this information and stores it in the repository.

WebSphere InterChange Server

When your integration broker is InterChange Server, the repository is a database that InterChange Server communicates with to obtain information about components in the WebSphere business integration system. In this repository, connector definitions reside. These connector definitions include both standard and connector-specific connector configuration properties that the connector controller and the client connector framework require. The connector can also have a local configuration file, which provides configuration information for the connector locally. When a local configuration file exists, it takes precedence over the information in the InterChange Server repository.

You update the connector definitions in the InterChange Server repository with Connector Configurator from within the System Manager tool. You can update the locale configuration file with the standalone version of Connector Configurator, which resides in the bin subdirectory of your product directory.

WebSphere MQ Integrator Broker

When your integration broker is WebSphere MQ Integrator Broker, the repository is a directory of files that the connector framework uses to obtain information about components of the WebSphere business integration system. In this repository, connector definitions for each adapter in the system resides.

You update the connector definitions in the local repository with Connector Configurator, which resides in the bin subdirectory of your product directory.

For information on how to use Connector Configurator, refer to Appendix B. Connector Configurator.

The connector definition name

The connector definition name uniquely identifies the connector within the WebSphere business integration system. By convention, a connector definition name usually takes the following form:

connNameConnector

where connName is the connector name (see Table 109). For more information on the connector name, see Naming the connector. For example, if the connector name is MyConn, the name of its connector definition is MyConnConnector.

Supported business objects and maps

A connector definition must specify the following information about the business objects that the connector supports:

Connector configuration properties

The connector definition also contains the connector configuration properties. To initialize these properties, you must take the following steps:

Connector Configurator provides two tabs for specifying connector configuration properties: Standard Properties and Connector-Specific Properties. For more information on connector configuration properties, see Using connector configuration property values.

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