Writing Connector Policy › Connector Policy Overview › Policy Types › Inbound to Connector Policy Considerations

Inbound to Connector Policy Considerations

Inbound to connector policy transforms data from the USM format to the format of the source domain manager for inbound to connector operations. Inbound to connector policy is not required and only works under the following circumstances:

• The inbound to connector policy file must contain an <EventClass> definition of SiloDataFilter. Inbound policy transforms data before passing it to the methods that invoke synchronization. The delete() method specifically uses SiloDataFilter as the top level class, so this class must exist in the inbound policy file for the delete operation to work. Include this event class as follows:

  <EventClass name='SiloDataFilter' >
      <!-- properties are as follows (with example below): -->
      <!-- + id (xs:string) -->
      <!-- + updatedAfter (xs:dateTime) -->
      <!-- + entitytype (xs:string) Item, Relationship, or Alert -->
      <!-- + itemtype (xs:string) -->
      <!-- + recursive (xs:boolean) -->
      <!-- Format>
         <Field output='mdrelementid' input='id' format='{0}' />
      </Format-->
      <Write>
        <Field type='file' name='outfile' properties='*' />
        <Field type='publishcache' properties='id,updatedAfter,
        entitytype,itemtype,recursive' />
      </Write>
  </EventClass>
  

• The connector must support inbound to connector operations.

  Note: For information about whether a specific connector supports inbound to connector operations, see the Connector Guide for that connector.

  Even if a connector does support inbound to connector operations and already contains an inbound to connector policy file that you want to customize, the connector may only support inbound operations for specific types. Find supported inbound to connector CI types on the connector detail page in the Administration UI. The InboundToConnectorTypes field in the Connector Type Data table contains all supported CI types for inbound to connector operations.

  If you are writing new policy for a custom connector, you must include the appropriate methods for inbound to connector operations when building the connector.

• The connector configuration file must include the appropriate file name for the inbound to connector policy file in the sbpolicy attribute.

  Each connector has a configuration file located at SOI_HOME\resources\Configurations.

  The following example shows the Sample connector policy file definition in its configuration file:

  <ImplementationClass descriptorClass="com.ca.usm.ucf.utils.USMBaseConnectorDescriptor"
  name="com.ca.usm.ucf.SampleConnector" policy="sampleconnector_policy.xml"
  sbpolicy="sampleconnector_policySB.xml"/>
  

  The connector configuration file assumes a connector policy file location of SOI_HOME\resources\Core\Catalogpolicy.

• The connector must have inbound to connector operations enabled.

  The isRemotable control defines whether inbound to connector operations are enabled for a connector. Verify that this control is enabled on the connector detail page in the Connector Controls table. The isRemotable control is enabled by default for most connectors.

• The CA Catalyst Synchronizer must be enabled.

  The CA Catalyst Synchronizer determines when synchronization is required and pushes required changes to the connectors. The Synchronizer is disabled by default, and you must enable it for any inbound to connector operations to occur.

  Note: For information about synchronization and enabling the Synchronizer, see the Administration Guide.

Important! CA SOI supports only specific synchronization use cases. You should not enable the Synchronizer except as part of a supported use case. Connectors can support inbound to connector operations and contain inbound to connector policy, but support for the operations and policy may depend on whether they are part of a supported synchronization use case. For more information about synchronization and supported use cases, see the Administration Guide. For the most current information about synchronization support, see the Readme and Release Notes on CA Support Online.