Anypoint Connectors allow Mule to communicate with external systems by receiving or sending messages. There are two types of connectors: endpoint-based connectors follow request-response patterns and are named after protocols like FTP; operation-based connectors perform specific third-party API operations. Connectors can act as message sources, processors, or destinations. Some require global configuration for connection details shared across multiple uses of the same connector type.

1. Anypoint Connectors
Anypoint Connectors receive or send messages between Mule and
one or more external sources, such as files, databases, or Web
services. Connectors can act as message sources by working as
inbound endpoints, they can act as a message processor that
performs an operation in the middle of a flow, or they can be at
the end of a flow and act as the recipient of the final payload data.

2. • Connectors in Mule are either endpoint-
based or operation-based:
• Endpoint-based connectors follow either a one-way or
request-response exchange pattern and are often (but
not always) named and based around a standard data
communication protocol, such as FTP and SMTP.
• Operation-based connectors follow an information
exchange pattern based on the operation that you
select and are often (but not always) named and based
around one or more specific third-party APIs.

3. • Endpoint-Based Connectors
• Endpoint-based connectors are configured as
either inbound or outbound endpoints in a
flow. Inbound endpoints serve as a message
source for a flow. Outbound endpoints can
occur mid-flow or at the end of flows, and
send information to external systems.

4. Endpoint connectors

5. • Operation-Based Connectors
• When you add an operation-based connector
to your flow, you immediately define a specific
operation for that connector to perform.

6. Operation based connectors

7. Global Connector Configuration
• Some connectors require that connection information such as
username, password, and security tokens be configured in a global
element rather than at the level of the message processor within
the flow. Many connectors of the same type in an application can
reference the connector configuration at the global level. For
operation-based connectors, the global connector configuration is
mandatory, but for most endpoint-based connectors it is optional.
• Note that the global element that you configure in Anypoint Studio
is called a Connector Configuration. The corresponding XML tags
are <connectorName>:config for operation-based connectors
and <connectorName>:connector for endpoint-based connectors.
See the examples below.

9. JMS Connector Example
• This example shows an endpoint-based JMS
connector for the JMS transport. You can
configure this connector as an inbound
endpoint in a flow. The JMS endpoint includes
a mandatory reference to a global connector
configuration which contains the connection
parameters.
•