Batch Merge Connector

Version 23.4.8841


Batch Merge Connector


Overview

In CData Arc, data travels through flows as Messages that consist of a body and metadata headers. For example, if one connector passes a file to another, the file is transmitted as a Message that contains the file in the body and metadata about the file and associated connectors as headers. Messages can be grouped together in Batch Groups, which allow multiple messages to travel together as a single unit. Some uses for Batch Groups include moving data between systems and processing multiple purchase orders at once. When a Message is part of a Batch Group, it is referred to as a Batch Message.

The Batch Merge connector accepts a Batch Group that arrives in the Send folder (the Input tab of the connector settings pane) and merges the Batch Messages in the Batch Group into a single Message. The output Message passes down the flow through the Output tab, and it can be processed by other connectors as needed.

Note: The Batch Merge connector can only accept Batch Groups as inputs. If the connector receives an individual message as an input, it throws an error message.

Connector Configuration

This section contains all of the configurable connector properties.

Settings Tab

Configuration

Settings that determine how the connector can be accessed.

  • Connector Id The static, unique identifier for the connector.
  • Connector Type Displays the connector name and a description of what it does.
  • Connector Description An optional field to provide a free-form description of the connector and its role in the flow.
  • XPath Which repeated XML element to use when merging Batch Messages. See XPath Usage Example for more details.
  • Local File Scheme A scheme for assigning filenames to messages that are output by the connector. You can use macros in your filenames dynamically to include information such as identifiers and timestamps. For more information, see Macros.

Message

  • Save to Sent Folder Check this to copy files processed by the connector to the Sent folder for the connector.
  • Sent Folder Scheme Instructs the connector to group messages in the Sent folder according to the selected interval. For example, the Weekly option instructs the connector to create a new subfolder each week and store all messages for the week in that folder. The blank setting tells the connector to save all messages directly in the Sent folder. For connectors that process many messages, using subfolders helps keep messsages organized and improves performance.

Logging

  • Log Level The verbosity of logs generated by the connector. When you request support, set this to Debug.
  • Log Subfolder Scheme Instructs the connector to group files in the Logs folder according to the selected interval. For example, the Weekly option instructs the connector to create a new subfolder each week and store all logs for the week in that folder. The blank setting tells the connector to save all logs directly in the Logs folder. For connectors that process many transactions, using subfolders helps keep logs organized and improves performance.
  • Log Messages Check this to have the log entry for a processed file include a copy of the file itself. If you disable this, you might not be able to download a copy of the file from the Input or Output tabs.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous settings are for specific use cases.

  • Other Settings Enables you to configure hidden connector settings in a semicolon-separated list (for example, setting1=value1;setting2=value2). Normal connector use cases and functionality should not require the use of these settings.

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

  • Send When checked, the connector automatically merges Batch Groups as soon as they arrive in the Send folder (Input tab). If you uncheck this, you must manually instruct the connector to merge Batch Groups.

Performance

Settings related to the allocation of resources to the connector.

  • Max Workers The maximum number of worker threads consumed from the threadpool to process files on this connector. If set, this overrides the default setting on the Settings > Automation page.
  • Max Files The maximum number of files sent by each thread assigned to the connector. If set, this overrides the default setting on the Settings > Automation page.

アラートタブ

アラートとサービスレベル(SLA)の設定に関連する設定.

コネクタのE メール設定

サービスレベル(SLA)を実行する前に、通知用のE メールアラートを設定する必要があります。アラートを設定をクリックすると、新しいブラウザウィンドウで設定ページが開き、システム全体のアラートを設定することができます。詳しくは、アラートを参照してください。

サービスレベル(SLA)の設定

サービスレベルでは、フロー内のコネクタが送受信すると予想される処理量を設定し、その量が満たされると予想される時間枠を設定できます。CData Arc は、サービスレベルが満たされていない場合にユーザーに警告するE メールを送信し、SLA を At Risk(危険) としてマークします。これは、サービスレベルがすぐに満たされない場合に Violated(違反) としてマークされることを意味します。これにより、ユーザーはサービスレベルが満たされていない理由を特定し、適切な措置を講じることができます。At Risk の期間内にサービスレベルが満たされなかった場合、SLA はViolated としてマークされ、ユーザーに再度通知されます。

サービスレベルを定義するには、予想処理量の条件を追加をクリックします。

  • コネクタに個別の送信アクションと受信アクションがある場合は、ラジオボタンを使用してSLA に関連する方向を指定します。
  • 検知基準(最小)を、処理が予想されるトランザクションの最小値(量)に設定し、フィールドを使用して期間を指定します。
  • デフォルトでは、SLA は毎日有効です。これを変更するには、毎日のチェックをOFF にし、希望する曜日のチェックをON にします。
  • 期間終了前にステータスを’At Risk’ に設定するタイミングを使用して、SLA がAt Risk としてマークされるようにします。
  • デフォルトでは、通知はSLA が違反のステータスになるまで送信されません。これを変更するには、‘At Risk’ 通知を送信のチェックをON にします。

次の例は、月曜日から金曜日まで毎日1000ファイルを受信すると予想されるコネクタに対して構成されたSLA を示しています。1000ファイルが受信されていない場合、期間終了の1時間前にAt Risk 通知が送信されます。

XPath Usage Example

The example below shows a simple XML tree of a Batch Message:

<Orders>
    <Shipping>
        <Item>Paper</Item>
        <Quantity>100</Quantity>
        <Recurring>Yes</Recurring>
    </Shipping>
    <Shipping>
        <Item>Eraser Bulk</Item>
        <Quantity>20</Quantity>
        <Recurring>No</Recurring>
    </Shipping>
</Orders>

The example below shows a similar, separate Batch Message in the same Batch Group:

<Orders>
    <Shipping>
        <Item>Pencil, Box 100</Item>
        <Quantity>10</Quantity>
        <Recurring>Yes</Recurring>
    </Shipping>
</Orders>

If you set the value for XPath to /Orders/Shipping, the output message would merge like this:

<Orders>
    <Shipping>
        <Item>Paper</Item>
        <Quantity>100</Quantity>
        <Recurring>Yes</Recurring>
    </Shipping>
    <Shipping>
        <Item>Eraser Bulk</Item>
        <Quantity>20</Quantity>
        <Recurring>No</Recurring>
    </Shipping>
    <Shipping>
        <Item>Pencil, Box 100</Item>
        <Quantity>10</Quantity>
        <Recurring>Yes</Recurring>
    </Shipping>
</Orders>

Macros

Using macros in file naming strategies can enhance organizational efficiency and contextual understanding of data. By incorporating macros into filenames, you can dynamically include relevant information such as identifiers, timestamps, and header information, providing valuable context to each file. This helps ensure that filenames reflect details important to your organization.

CData Arc supports these macros, which all use the following syntax: %Macro%.

Macro Description
ConnectorID Evaluates to the ConnectorID of the connector.
Ext Evaluates to the file extension of the file currently being processed by the connector.
Filename Evaluates to the filename (extension included) of the file currently being processed by the connector.
FilenameNoExt Evaluates to the filename (without the extension) of the file currently being processed by the connector.
MessageId Evaluates to the MessageId of the message being output by the connector.
RegexFilename:pattern Applies a RegEx pattern to the filename of the file currently being processed by the connector.
Header:headername Evaluates to the value of a targeted header (headername) on the current message being processed by the connector.
LongDate Evaluates to the current datetime of the system in long-handed format (for example, Wednesday, January 24, 2024).
ShortDate Evaluates to the current datetime of the system in a yyyy-MM-dd format (for example, 2024-01-24).
DateFormat:format Evaluates to the current datetime of the system in the specified format (format). See サンプル日付フォーマット for the available datetime formats
Vault:vaultitem Evaluates to the value of the specified vault item.

Examples

Some macros, such as %Ext% and %ShortDate%, do not require an argument, but others do. All macros that take an argument use the following syntax: %Macro:argument%

Here are some examples of the macros that take an argument:

  • %Header:headername%: Where headername is the name of a header on a message.
  • %Header:mycustomheader% resolves to the value of the mycustomheader header set on the input message.
  • %Header:ponum% resolves to the value of the ponum header set on the input message.
  • %RegexFilename:pattern%: Where pattern is a regex pattern. For example, %RegexFilename:^([\w][A-Za-z]+)% matches and resolves to the first word in the filename and is case insensitive (test_file.xml resolves to test).
  • %Vault:vaultitem%: Where vaultitem is the name of an item in the vault. For example, %Vault:companyname% resolves to the value of the companyname item stored in the vault.
  • %DateFormat:format%: Where format is an accepted date format (see サンプル日付フォーマット for details). For example, %DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff% resolves to the date and timestamp on the file.

You can also create more sophisticated macros, as shown in the following examples:

  • Combining multiple macros in one filename: %DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff%%EXT%
  • Including text outside of the macro: MyFile_%DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff%
  • Including text within the macro: %DateFormat:'DateProcessed-'yyyy-MM-dd_'TimeProcessed-'HH-mm-ss%