Nodes for connectivity
IBM® App Connect Enterprise supports direct connections from applications, and can send direct requests to other application endpoints. IBM App Connect Enterprise can also connect to various subsystems including IBM MQ, files, and databases, to read and write existing application data.
You can connect IBM App Connect Enterprise to your applications by adding the appropriate nodes to your message flow. The nodes you use can be tailored to support the protocols and subsystems that your applications already use. IBM App Connect Enterprise supplies nodes to support different protocols and subsystems; you can also create your own nodes to support additional protocols and subsystems if required.
- Nodes are supplied to support the protocols that are described in Connecting client applications; for example, IBM MQ and HTTP.
Within your message flow, you can include the following types of nodes to communicate with your applications. The icons for the nodes in each group described are based on a common appearance, which is shown with that group.
- The input node reads data from a subsystem or input application,
which might be in the form of a message, or a record (for example,
from a file). The input node calls a parser to interpret the data
and create an internal message tree structure. The node can split
the input message into records if required. When the message is ready,
the input node sends it to the rest of the message flow for processing.
Input nodes are represented by icons that conform to this template:
- An output node takes data from the message tree, calls a parser
to serialize the tree into the appropriate message or record format,
and writes out the message or record to one or more specified end
applications or subsystems. If appropriate, you can configure your
message flow to continue processing a message after it has generated
one or more output messages through output nodes.
Output nodes are represented by icons that conform to this template:
- A reply node is a specialized form of an output node. Typically,
the reply node is associated with an input node in the same flow,
and uses context information from that input node to decide where
to send the reply. Depending on the protocol of the input node, the
context information might be created for you by that node; for other
protocols, the context information might be contained within the message
itself.
Reply nodes are represented by icons that conform to this template:
- A get (receive) node reads extra data from a subsystem, and includes
it in the current message tree, during message flow processing.
Get nodes are represented by icons that conform to this template:
- A request node writes a request to an external system, reads the
response, and incorporates some or all that response data into the
current message tree.
Request nodes are represented by icons that conform to this template:
- These two nodes are specialized form of a request node, in which
you can generate a request and handle the response in a second message
flow. Typically, you use these nodes when you are making a request
that might take some time to complete. By using this technique, you
can have several outstanding requests, without suspending flow processing.
Asynchronous request nodes are represented by icons that conform to this template:
Asynchronous response nodes are represented by icons that conform to this template:
You can connect applications that use different protocols by choosing an appropriate mix of input and output nodes. You must also include nodes that can transform the input message into the appropriate output format between the input and output nodes.