Adapter Configuration Overview

Adapter services send data to and receive data from your business process. Data can come, for example, from an application such as PeopleSoft, SAP R/3, and so on, from a legacy source, from a database, or from the Internet. The following service types are supported:

  • Adapter publisher service—Sends data from the source application to the business process.

  • Adapter subscriber service—Receives data in the source application from the business process.

  • Adapter client service—Acts as a client in a request-response interaction.

  • Adapter server service—Acts as a server in a request-response interaction.

When designing and implementing the integration project, you must identify the adapter services precisely. This includes connection parameters such as the names of the host application, their location, and so on.

You then configure a service with the appropriate adapter and save it as part of your project. To configure an adapter first provide connection information. A Design-Time Adapter (DTA) allows you to access the metadata provided by the adapter at design time. Each type of adapter has its own DTA. Only one DTA needs to run in a network, even if several users access different adapter instances of that adapter type. With configuration complete, you save the adapter service configuration. The adapter service can then be used by the activities in your business process and later be invoked at runtime. For example, a Publish to Adapter activity expects an adapter subscriber service that receives the data being published.

For more information, see Phase 3: Services Configuration. The User’s Guide for each adapter contains detailed set-up information for that adapter.