Building a Novell Data Synchronizer Connector: A Developer's Guide

Building a Novell Data ® Synchronizer Connector A Developer's Guide Tim Draper Kevin Wood Developer - Novell Developer - Novacoast tdraper@novell.com kwood@novacoast.com

Product Introduction Data Synchronizer is a bi-directional and many-to-many sync solution that connects disparate collaboration software Features and benefits include: – Real-time, event-driven sync – Connection to multiple applications – Many pre-configured connectors – Customizable connectors 3 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Connector Architecture Overview Here is an overview of the connector architecture Sync Engine Connects to Multiple Apps SYNC ENGINE CONNECTOR APPLICATION • GroupWise OUTPUT NODE SOURCE FILTERS FILTERS SINK • SharePoint • SugarCRM • SalesForce CACHE APPLICATION INTERFACE • Documentum INPUT • Teaming SINK FILTERS FILTERS SOURCE • And Others... NODE = Incoming Event = Outgoing Event 6 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Scalable Architecture Here is an overview of WEB INTERFACE the scalable architecture. SERVER Single interface for administration for CONFIGURATION multiple engines and ENGINE SERVER multiple connectors. CONNECTOR CONNECTOR CONNECTOR CONNECTOR SYNC ENGINE SYNC ENGINE SYNC ENGINE SERVER “A” SERVER “B” SERVER “...n” CONNECTOR CONNECTOR 7 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Web Administration • LDAP-based authentication and user management • Supports no LDAP scenario • Administrators can configure users, groups, connectors, engines, and caching • User can log in and manage their connector-specific settings 8 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Associating Users to Applications • User names different between applications • App username vs engine username (DN) – LDAP DN is globally unique and authoritative 9 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Demo Login to DataSync Add a user to the GroupWise connector

Filters and Policies using XSLT • Schema manipulation – Transforms one XML form to another – Change <surname> → <lastName> • Dropping unwanted Events – Drop a contact 13 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Flat File Connector – Demo Schema manipulation Dropping unwanted Events

Connector Design Considerations • Common Sync Engine Schema • Connector A has no knowledge of connector B • Does application provide real time events? – Yes: Connector can listen for events – No: Connector polls and tracks application state • User settings • Customizable connector policies on a per-site basis 16 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Connector Basics • Connector core logic – Application Interface • Connector Factory – Connector definitions in XML – Connector settings – Filter set • Starting up a connector – Connector Manager – Starting a connector on the command line 17 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Connector Basics – Web UI • The User Interface is separate from settings – Connector Settings > connector.xml – User Interface > connector.tpl • Not all settings need to have UI 18 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Data Flow in Logs • /var/log/datasync • Web admin log • Config engine log • Connector manager log • Connector pipeline “dot-log” • Connector AppInterface log • Per-User or Group log • GroupWise POA Log ® 20 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Administration API - SOAP • Sync Engines – start, stop, list, query status, purge cache, get and set settings • Configuration Engine – get and set settings • Connectors – start, stop, create, delete, purge cache, get and set setting – List connectors? 21 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Administration API • Users and Groups – add, remove, list, set application name, purge cache, get and set settings • Profiles – create, delete, list, get and set settings • XSLT Policies – List get and set settings • Miscellaneous – authenticate, LDAP search, DN lookups, ping, relay direct query 22 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Connector API - SOAP • Configuration Notifications – Connector start/stop – Connector settings change – User/Group is added or removed – Target application name or setting change • Data Event Notifications – Event Received – Direct Query Received • Calls to Sync Engine – Send Event/DQ to engine – User/Group lookups, LDAP calls, cache, attachments, etc. 23 © Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Connector Demo

Unpublished Work of Novell, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This work is an unpublished work and contains confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information of Novell, Inc. Access to this work is restricted to Novell employees who have a need to know to perform tasks within the scope of their assignments. No part of this work may be practiced, performed, copied, distributed, revised, modified, translated, abridged, condensed, expanded, collected, or adapted without the prior written consent of Novell, Inc. Any use or exploitation of this work without authorization could subject the perpetrator to criminal and civil liability. General Disclaimer This document is not to be construed as a promise by any participating company to develop, deliver, or market a product. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. Novell, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents of this document, and specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. The development, release, and timing of features or functionality described for Novell products remains at the sole discretion of Novell. Further, Novell, Inc. reserves the right to revise this document and to make changes to its content, at any time, without obligation to notify any person or entity of such revisions or changes. All Novell marks referenced in this presentation are trademarks or registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Building a Novell Data Synchronizer Connector: A Developer's Guide

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