Input Connectivities

To manage the platform input connectivities, you must go to the Configuration menu and click on Input Connectivities. This section of the platform allows you to configure the connectivity for your inbound files.

The configuration for input connectivities is restricted to specific roles. If you do not have access to this part of the platform and you need to manage input connectivities, please contact your administrator.

Input connectivities configuration

To be able to receive financial messages on the platform, you need to connect flows to input connectivities. There are two types of input connectivities: MQ and SFTP.

  • The IBM MQ messaging tool allows the receiving of financial messages through a queue specified in the input connectivity configuration.

  • The SFTP connectivity allows the receiving of financial messages through a server specified in the input connectivity configuration.

Using a specific cron (scheduling job), the platform tries to connect to the inbound connectivity at the specified interval to read any available messages.

Input connectivities list

Input connectivities list

In the input connectivities list screen, you can:

  • Filter the list to view a more restricted list of input connectivities or perform a search.

  • Create a new input connectivity. For more details on how to create new input connectivity, please refer to the sections below for input connectivity creation.

  • Reload the table content by clicking on the Refresh button.

By selecting a specific input connectivity from the list, you can:

  • Display the entire history of the selected input connectivity. All changes made to the input connectivity since its creation are listed with the corresponding dates and the identity of the modifier.

  • View the input connectivity details.

  • Edit the information of the selected input connectivity.

  • Delete the selected input connectivity. You will be prompted to confirm this action. This action is final, please perform it with caution.

Input connectivities details

For each input connectivity to which the user has access, the following information is available:

  • Id: platform identifier.

To access or copy this identifier, click on the copy icon located in the first column: it will be copied to the clipboard. You can use it to document issues for example.

  • Name: name used to identify the input connectivity.

  • Input Type: type of the input connectivity. The user can configure MQ or SFTP input types. Note: You might also see MFT, which is a special type for platform use. You can view and see the history, but you cannot make changes to the MFT type.

  • Flow: the flow associated with the input connectivity.

  • Status: can be either enabled or disabled. The platform will try to connect to the resource (depending on the read interval specified). If the platform receives 3 consecutive connection-denied responses, the status will be set to disable. If this happens, an alert will go to the platform’s operational team and if they are not able to re-enable the connection, they might contact you to let you know that your connection is not available. If your input connectivity is marked disabled, but your resource is now available, you can click on the row for your input connectivity and then click the Enable button.

Input connectivities creation for MQ

Select the organization associated with the input connectivity, click Create, and select MQ.

In the General Information tab, you will see Dispatcher Options. You can select Yes or No. Select No if you only need to specify 1 destination (flow) for where the platform will push the file. Select Yes if you need to specify more than 1 destination (flow). The dispatcher has the logic to determine the correct flow based on the input file.

In the general information steps below, the simple case with no dispatcher is shown first, followed by the more complex dispatcher option. After the General information tab is filled out, the remaining sections are the same.

When creating a new input connectivity, you need to specify the following in each of the sections.

General information step MQ (Without dispatcher)

Create a new MQ input connectivity - General information step with dispatcher set to No

  • Specify the read interval in minutes, hours, or days. This is the frequency at which the platform will try to connect to the resource to retrieve the message (input files).

  • Give a meaningful name to your input connectivity; this is useful for searching.

  • Select the flow from the dropdown list. This specifies where you want the platform to push the file once it is received.

  • Since we are showing the steps with no dispatcher, set Dispatcher to No. The file will be pushed to the flow specified. If you need to specify more than 1 destination (flow), see the “General information step (With dispatcher)” section below for using the dispatcher option.

OR

General information step MQ (With dispatcher)

Create a new MQ input connectivity - General information step with dispatcher set to Yes

  • Specify the read interval in minutes, hours, or days. This is the frequency at which the platform will try to connect to the resource to retrieve the message (input files).

  • Give a meaningful name to your input connectivity; this is useful for searching.

  • Since we are showing the steps with a dispatcher, set Dispatcher to Yes. You will notice that the Flow option is removed and you can specify some additional fields. If you only need to specify 1 destination (flow) for where the platform will push the file, see the “General information step (Without dispatcher)” section above.

  • Select the Network.

  • Select the Ruleset applied to. If the file is selected, then there will be a choice for Format. The format will be from a cartridge of type dispatcher. If the name is selected, the Format field will be removed as an option.

  • Select the Ruleset.

If you do not have a rules or ruleset configured for a dispatcher, see the section “Setting up the Rules and Rule Set for a dispatcher” near the bottom of this page.

Format options step

Create a new MQ input connectivity - Format options step

Fill in the MQ parameters. All fields are mandatory except the password. Contact your MQ administrator for information on what to specify for each field: Queue Name, Queue Manager, Channel, Hostname, Port, Username, and Password.

MQ security step

Create a new MQ input connectivity - MQ security step Create a new MQ input connectivity - MQ security step2 Create a new MQ input connectivity - MQ security step3

  • MQ SSL: Select either SSL or No SSL. If SSL, contact your MQ administrator for information on what to specify for each mandatory field: KDB File, STH File, Certificate Name, and Cipher.

  • Specify an optional File Encryption Transformation Type. This setting is so that the platform can read the file. If the file is encrypted, PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is the most common. If the file encryption transformation type is set to something other than None, fill in any additional options.

When editing pre-existing MQ Connectivities, if it has SSL then a Replace SSL button is shown. If the Replace button is clicked, it disappears and is replaced by the KDB/STH and Certificate Name fields. As such for PGP, if it was configured with PGP as well, the Replace Encryption button will be shown. If the Replace button is clicked, it disappears and is replaced by the Public Key, Sign, and Check Sum Fields.

Review step MQ

Review your input connectivity and click the Create button if no changes are needed.

Input connectivities creation for SFTP

Select the organization associated with the input connectivity, click Create, and select SFTP.

In the General Information tab, you will see Dispatcher Options. You can select Yes or No. Select No if you only need to specify 1 destination (flow) for where the platform will push the file. Select Yes if you need to specify more than 1 destination (flow). The dispatcher has the logic to determine the correct flow based on the input file.

In the general information steps below, the simple case with no dispatcher is shown first, followed by the more complex dispatcher option. After the General information tab is filled out, the remaining sections are the same.

When creating a new input connectivity, you need to specify the following in each of the sections.

General information step SFTP (Without dispatcher)

Create a new SFTP input connectivity - General information step with dispatcher set to No

  • Specify the read interval in minutes, hours, or days. This is the frequency at which the platform will try to connect to the resource to retrieve the message (input files).

  • Give a meaningful name to your input connectivity; this is useful for searching.

  • Select the flow from the dropdown list. This specifies where you want the platform to push the file once it is received.

  • Since we are showing the steps with no dispatcher, set Dispatcher to No. The file will be pushed to the flow specified. If you need to specify more than 1 destination (flow), see the “General information step (With dispatcher)” section below for using the dispatcher option.

OR

General information step SFTP (With dispatcher)

Create a new SFTP input connectivity - General information step with dispatcher set to Yes

  • Specify the read interval in minutes, hours, or days. This is the frequency at which the platform will try to connect to the resource to retrieve the message (input files).

  • Give a meaningful name to your input connectivity; this is useful for searching.

  • Since we are showing the steps with a dispatcher, set Dispatcher to Yes. You will notice that the Flow option is removed and you can specify some additional fields. If you only need to specify 1 destination (flow) for where the platform will push the file, see the “General information step (Without dispatcher)” section above.

  • Select the Network.

  • Select the Ruleset applied to. If the file is selected, then there will be a choice for Format. The format will be from a cartridge of type dispatcher. If the name is selected, the Format field will be removed as an option.

  • Select the Ruleset.

If you do not have a rules or ruleset configured for a dispatcher, see the section “Setting up the Rules and Rule Set for a dispatcher” near the bottom of this page.

SFTP Configuration step

Create a new SFTP input connectivity - SFTP Configuration Create a new SFTP input connectivity - SFTP Configuration2 Create a new SFTP input connectivity - SFTP Configuration3

Fill in the SFTP parameters. All fields are mandatory except where noted. Contact your SFTP administrator for information on what to specify for each field.

  • Hostname

  • Port

  • Username

  • Authentication Type: either Password or Private Key

    • Depending on the authentication type selected: Password or Private Key File and optional Passphrase

  • Path

  • Specify an optional File Encryption Transformation Type. This setting is so that the platform can read the file. If the file is encrypted, PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is the most common. If the file encryption transformation type is set to something other than None, fill in any additional options.

When editing pre-existing SFTP Connectivities, if it was using a Private Key then a Replace Private Key button is shown. If the Replace button is clicked, it disappears and is replaced by the Private Key File and Passphrase fields. As such for PGP, if it was configured with PGP as well, the Replace Encryption button will be shown. If the Replace button is clicked, it disappears and is replaced by the Public Key, Sign, and Check Sum Fields.

Review step SFTP

Review your input connectivity and click the Create button if no changes are needed.

Setting up the Rules and Rule Set for a dispatcher

See the Rules and Rule Set sections for general information. This section will describe how to set up the Rules and Rule Set needed for the dispatcher option so that the dispatcher logic can determine the correct flow based on an input file.

Setting up the Rules for a dispatcher

  • Go to the Configuration menu and click on Rules.

  • Select the organization associated with the input connectivity rule and click the Create button.

Setting up the Rules for a dispatcher - Create a rule: General Information Setting up the Rules for a dispatcher - Create a rule: Rule Trigger(s) Setting up the Rules for a dispatcher - Create a rule: Rule Consequence(s)

  • On the General Information tab:

    • Give a meaningful Name for your rule and an optional Description.

    • Set the Type to Dispatch and click Next.

  • On the Rule Trigger(s) tab:

    • Choose the Parameter Type, Parameter, Comparator, and any other fields like Value. Click Next. In this example, the rule will trigger when the file name contains the string "MT103" somewhere in the file name. You could also select a parameter type like Creditor and a parameter like Name and a comparator to look for specific matches within the file. You can add multiple conditions using the Add Condition button and they can be either And or Or conditions using the AND/OR toggle button.

  • On the Rule Consequence tab:

    • Select the Flow to use when the rule is triggered.

Setting up the Rule Set for a dispatcher

  • Go to the Configuration menu and click on Rule Set.

  • Select the organization associated with the input connectivity rule set.

  • Click on Input connectivity rulesets at the top and click the Create button.

Setting up the Rule Set for a dispatcher - Create a rule: General Information Setting up the Rule Set for a dispatcher - Create a rule: Rule Trigger(s) Setting up the Rule Set for a dispatcher - Create a rule: Rule Consequence(s). Setting up the Rule Set for a dispatcher - Create a rule: Review

  • On the General Information tab:

    • Give a meaningful Name for your rule and a Description and click Next.

  • On the Dispatch tab:

    • Select (double-click) the rules that you want to apply from the Available active Rules. The selected rules will move to the Selected Rules section. Click Next.

  • On the Review tab:

    • Review the input connectivity rule set and click the Create button.