Version 23.4.8839

• Overview
• Connector Configuration
  • Settings Tab
    • Configuration
    • Advanced Settings
    • Message
    • Logging
    • Miscellaneous
  • Automation Tab
  • Automation Settings
  • Performance
  • Alerts Tab
    • Connector Email Settings
    • Service Level Agreement (SLA) Settings
• Correlation Id Header Example

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 Create connector produces Batch Groups based on Messages that arrive in the Send folder (the Input tab of the connector settings pane). When a Batch Group is created, it is passed down the flow through the Output tab, where it can be processed by other connectors as needed.

Note: The Batch Create connector can only accept individual messages as inputs. If the connector receives an existing Batch Group 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.

Advanced Settings

Settings that specify Batch Grouping options.

• Correlation Id Header The connector looks for headers that match the header name you enter, then groups messages according to the values they have assigned to that header. See Correlation Id Header Example for details.
• Max Batch Size The maximum number of messages to include in a Batch Group. Any messages in excess of this number wait until the next sending interval. For example, if this is set to 5, and seven messages arrive in the send folder, the connector creates one Batch Group of five messages and adds the final two to the next scheduled Batch Group.
• Min Batch Size The minimum number of messages that must be present to create a Batch Group. For example, if this is set to five, and three messages arrive in the Send folder, the connector does not create a Batch Group from those messages (even if the specified sending interval passes) until at least two more messages arrive.

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

Settings related to the creation and sending of Batch Groups.

• Enable automation If selected, the connector automatically creates Batch Groups following the settings below. If cleared, the connector does not create Batch Groups until you manually trigger it.
• Send If selected, the connector automatically creates Batch Groups from messages as soon as they arrive in the Send folder (Input tab) as long as other set criteria are met.
• Scheduled Send If selected, the connector uses a scheduled interval to create Batch Groups from messages that arrive in the Send folder.
• Send Interval The interval at which to create Batch Groups. Only available if Scheduled Send is enabled.
• Minutes Past the Hour The minutes offset for an hourly schedule. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Hourly. For example, if this value is set to 5, the automation service downloads at 1:05, 2:05, 3:05, etc.
• Time The time of day that the attempt should occur. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.
• Day The day on which the attempt should occur. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Weekly or Monthly.
• Minutes The number of minutes to wait before attempting the download. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Minute.
• Cron Expression A five-position string representing a cron expression that determines when the attempt should occur. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Advanced.

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.

Alerts Tab

Settings related to configuring alerts and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

Connector Email Settings

Before you can execute SLAs, you need to set up email alerts for notifications. Clicking Configure Alerts opens a new browser window to the Settings page where you can set up system-wide alerts. See Alerts for more information.

Service Level Agreement (SLA) Settings

SLAs enable you to configure the volume you expect connectors in your flow to send or receive, and to set the time frame in which you expect that volume to be met. CData Arc sends emails to warn the user when an SLA is not met, and marks the SLA as At Risk, which means that if the SLA is not met soon, it will be marked as Violated. This gives the user an opportunity to step in and determine the reasons the SLA is not being met, and to take appropriate actions. If the SLA is still not met at the end of the at-risk time period, the SLA is marked as violated, and the user is notified again.

To define an SLA, click Add Expected Volume Criteria.

• If your connector has separate send and receive actions, use the radio buttons to specify which direction the SLA pertains to.
• Set Expect at least to the minimum number of transactions (the volume) you expect to be processed, then use the Every fields to specify the time frame.
• By default, the SLA is in effect every day. To change that, uncheck Everyday then check the boxes for the days of the week you want.
• Use And set status to ‘At Risk’ to indicate when the SLA should be marked as at risk.
• By default, notifications are not sent until an SLA is in violation. To change that, check Send an ‘At Risk’ notification.

The following example shows an SLA configured for a connector that expects to receive 1000 files every day Monday-Friday. An at-risk notification is sent 1 hour before the end of the time period if the 1000 files have not been received.

Correlation Id Header Example

When you enter a header name in the Correlation Id Header field, the connector looks for headers that match the name you enter, then groups messages according to the values they have assigned to that header. For example, the following table displays six incoming messages:

MessageId	Filename	Header	Header Value
1	test1.txt	Batch-Correlation-Id	001
2	test2.txt	Batch-Correlation-Id	001
3	test3.txt	Batch-Correlation-Id	002
4	test4.txt	Batch-Correlation-Id	002
5	test5.txt
6	test6.txt

If you enter Batch-Correlation-Id in the Correlation Id Header field, the connector creates three Batch Groups of these messages:

• The first batch group contains the messages with MessageId 1 and 2, since they both have the value 001 for the Batch-Correlation-Id header.
• The second batch group contains messages with MessageId 3 and 4, since they both have the value 002 for the header.
• The third batch group contains messages 5 and 6, since neither of them has the Batch-Correlation-Id header.