Installation Considerations › Connector Installation

Connector Installation

Connectors are the links between CA SOI and the domain managers it monitors. They gather information from their domain manager about services, resources, topology, and status. Connector policy transforms gathered data to the standard CA SOI format (USM). Each integrated product has its own connector, and you can create custom integrations using the Universal connector and a connector SDK.

CA SOI ships with the following connectors:

• Universal connector
• Sample connector
• Domain connector (for tiered CA SOI deployments)
• Mid-tier connector

You can download the CA Catalyst connectors from the CA SOI product page on CA Support Online.

Consider the following before installing connectors:

• r3.2 connector installations that are provided on the installation image no longer look in the Merge_Modules folder for the IFW merge modules. The installation looks in the same folder in which the installer resides. The connector installations prior to r3.2 look under the Merge_Modules folder.
• For information about where to install connectors, see the Implementation Guide and the Connector Guide.
• Install the SA Manager before installing connectors.
• All connectors must be installed from a local image or DVD or from a network share. Installers for the connectors do not support the use of UNC shares.
• The CA Catalyst connectors require you to first install the IFW on the system (unless installing on the SA Manager) and download and extract connector files in a specific folder structure. For more information, see the Connector Guide.
• The connectors that are provided directly on the CA SOI image do not require the IFW installation. You can install them from their folder on the image.
• When installing CA Spectrum connector on the SA Manager, the only tested/supported version of the connector is published as RO61839 (connector version 2.0.0.133).

  If the connector is installed on a standalone server with the CA SOI Integration Services (the recommended installation) it can be other version (as perhaps required for the installed version of CA Spectrum).

• The CA Catalyst connectors may reference the old product name CA Spectrum Service Assurance and the previous version number r2.5 in several places, such as the installer, connector-specific documentation, and the installed Start menu shortcut. However, these connectors do work with CA SOI r3.2. If you installed CA Catalyst connectors with CA Spectrum SA r2.5, r3.0, or r3.1, upgrade the IFW for them to work with r3.2.
• Each CA Catalyst connector comes with a product-specific Connector Guide and Readme. Reference these documents for information about the connector functionality, installation, and configuration.
• CA Catalyst r3.2 connectors support an updated version (r3.2) of the CA Catalyst infrastructure that is not embedded in the SA Manager. For CA SOI to integrate properly with CA Catalyst r3.2 connectors, install the CA Catalyst r3.2 Container and the IFW Proxy to facilitate the connector communication with the IFW. For more information, see the Implementation Guide.