Connections

To allow Connect iPaaS to listen to trigger events and/or perform actions in your applications, you will need to grant permission to Connect iPaaS so that it can access the right information for your workflows to operate smoothly. Every cloud application has a different way of authenticating third-party applications to access data on behalf of their users.

Connect iPaaS supports the following types of connections OAuth, Token, Database, LDAP, IoT, API Key, Basic Auth, RAS Key, and SFTP Basic Authentication. Read the short introductions of each type of connection and a few examples on how to set up certain types of connections on Connect iPaaS.

OAuth

OAuth 2.0 is supported on Connect iPaaS based on the requirement of the applications. Setting up OAuth connections is a very simple process. As an example of an OAuth connection, we have setup a Microsoft Dynamics 365 event trigger where we will give Connect iPaaS an access to Dynamics 365 data:

Step 1. When creating a connection for the first time, you will need to provide your Microsoft Dynamics 365 URL, then click on the Link account button.

Figure 1. RoboMQ Connect OAuth Connection Page

Step 2. Authenticate yourself with your username and password to Microsoft O365, then click login

Figure 2. Dynamics 365 OAuth login page

Step 3. Once you have successfully logged in, you will see options in your trigger entities that will unique to your Dynamics 365 instance.

Figure 3. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS Accessing Dynamics 365 Data

Now your workflow can access Microsoft Dynamics 365 using the privileges given by the OAuth token granted by the authentication server. The periodic refresh token renewal will be taken care of by Connect iPaaS behind the scenes. Other OAuth supporting applications will have a similar but not the exact experience when setting up an OAuth connection.

You may refer to the Connect iPaaS connection setup guide for that specific application.

API Key

API Keys allow Connect iPaaS to access your data in your end application using token-based authentication. Some applications provide role-based access using API Keys. In this scenario, the permission granted to Connect iPaaS will be the same as the permission granted to the API Key or the associated role. In some applications, you may be allowed to use the master key which will give Connect iPaaS full access to your application data. As the best practice, it is recommended that you try to limit the permissions granted to the API key.

As an example of an API Key connection, we have set up a Coupa event trigger where a Coupa API Key will give Connect iPaaS access to the Coupa Data.

Step 1. When creating a connection for the first time, you will need to provide your Coupa instance URL and the Integration API Key.

Figure 1. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS API Key Connection Page

Step 2. Once you have successfully linked your Coupa Instance with Connect iPaaS, you will see event triggers that you can choose from Coupa.

Figure 2. RoboMQ Connect Accessing Coupa Event Triggers

By following the above steps, your workflow can access Coupa with your API key. Other applications may have a similar if not exact experience when setting up a connection using API Key. You may refer to the Connect iPaaS connection setup guide for that specific application for more details.

Token

One of the simpler ways of giving Connect iPaaS access to your cloud application is to use a Token or Auth Token-based authentication. When setting up Token-based authentication, first you will need to create a token in your end application. It is the best security practice to either have an expiration date on your tokens or to manually rotate your tokens frequently. When rotating your tokens, you will need to update it to Connect iPaaS for your workflows to continue to work smoothly.

To illustrate a simple example of Token authentication, we have set up a Twilio event trigger where Connect iPaaS will use a token to connect to Twilio.

Step 1. As a first step, you will need to get the API token from your Twilio admin dashboard.

Figure 1. Getting your Token Authentication from your Twilio Account

Step 2. Once you get the String Identifier (SID) and token for your account, you can enter them in the connection window on Connect iPaaS.

Figure 2. RoboMQ Connect Twilio Connection Page

Step 3. Once you click on the Link Account button, Connect iPaaS will connect to your Twilio account using your SID and Token and retrieve a virtual phone number that you have rented.

Figure 3. RoboMQ Connect Accessing Twilio Data

Now your workflow can access your Twilio account with token authentication. Other applications supporting token-based authentication may have a similar but not exact experience as Twilio. You may refer to the Connect iPaaS connection setup guide for that specific application.

Basic Authentication

Basic Authentication is the simple and most straight-forward way of granting Connect iPaaS access to your application. Many applications have more modern authentication options as discussed above but some still offer this as an additional way of authenticating third-party applications. One SaaS application that offers basic authentication along with OAuth is ServiceNow (Privileged).

In the example below, we have set up a ServiceNow (Privileged) event trigger using Basic Auth.

Step 1. When creating a connection for the first time, you need to provide your ServiceNow instance URL, Username, and Password, then click on the Link account button.

Figure 1. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS Basic Authentication Connection Page

Step 2. Once you have successfully linked your ServiceNow Instance with Connect iPaaS, you will see event triggers you can choose from ServiceNow.

Figure 2. RoboMQ Connect Accessing ServiceNow Event Triggers

By following the steps mentioned above, your workflow can access ServiceNow with basic authentication. Other applications may have a similar while, not exact experience when setting up a basic authentication connection. You may refer to the Connect iPaaS connection setup guide for that specific application for more details.

Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)

SFTP stands for Secure File Transfer Protocol or SSH File Transfer Protocol. Some of the applications that use SFTP to allow secure file-based access to Connect iPaaS use an SFTP authentication. One application connector that uses an SFTP connection on Connect iPaaS is the MFT connector. SFTP protocol supports both basic authentication using a username and password and a more secure RSA key-based authentication. The following two examples will cover both of these authentication mechanisms for secure file-based access.

SFTP Basic Authentication

SFTP Basic Authentication uses a username and password for authentication. In the example below, we have set up an MFT connector event trigger on Connect iPaaS using SFTP basic authentication.

Step 1. When creating a basic SFTP connection for the first time, you will need to provide your SFTP host address, port, username, and password.

Figure 1. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS SFTP Basic Authentication Connection Page

Note: Both IP and DNS are supported as hostnames

Step 2. Once you have successfully linked your SFTP server with Connect iPaaS using SFTP basic authentication, you will be able to see folders on the SFTP server.

Figure 2. RoboMQ Connect accessing SFTP Connection Page

RSA Key Authentication

While supporting the basic SFTP Authentication for your file server, Connect iPaaS can also support a more secure asymmetric RSA key authentication. It is recommended to use RSA Key-based authentication for SFTP wherever possible.

In this example below, you can set up the same MFT connector using the RSA key authentication.

Step 1. When creating an encrypted connection for the first time, you will need to provide your SFTP host address, port, username, and RSA key.

Figure 1. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS SFTP RSA Key Authentication Connection Page

Note: Both IP and DNS are supported as hostnames

Step 2. Once you have successfully linked your SFTP server with Connect iPaaS using an encrypted RSA Key connection, you will be able to see the folders on your SFTP server.

Figure 2. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS Accessing SFTP Connection Page

Database

To set up access and connection for database applications, you can use a database connection to connect with Connect iPaaS. To illustrate a simple example of a database connection, we have set up a MySQL database action that will be used to access data from your MySQL database.

Step 1. When creating a database connection for the first time, you will need to provide your hostname, username, password, and database schema. Then click on the Link account button.

Figure 1. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS MySQL Connection Page

Step 2. Once you click on the Link account button, you will see that Connect iPaaS can access data from your database.

Figure 2. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS Accessing MySQL Data

Note: Both IP and DNS are supported as hostnames.

Now your workflow can access data from your database. Other databases will follow a similar but not the exact steps. Please refer to your specific database's connection guide for more details.

LDAP

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is an open and vendor-neutral protocol to access and maintain Directory Services. The LDAP protocol can be used to make a connection to many directory services such as Active Directory or Azure AD.

To illustrate an example of an LDAP connection, we have set up an Active Directory event trigger where the LDAP connection will grant Connect iPaaS access to read some of the Organizational Units (OU) in the Active Directory (AD).

Step 1. When creating an LDAP connection for the first time, you need to provide your host address, domain, username, password, and base domain name.

Figure 1. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS Active Directory Connection Page

Step 2. Once you have successfully linked your Active Directory server with Connect iPaaS using the LDAP authentication, you will see Organizational Units (OU) from your Active Directory.

Figure 2. RoboMQ Connect Accessing Active Directory Data

Note: Both IP and DNS are supported as hostnames.

By following the above-mentioned steps, you should have set up a connection with your Directory Service. Some applications that support this connection might require more or less than what has been shown. If you have questions, please refer to the respective application's connection guide.

IoT

Creating a connection with an IoT application is a relatively an easy way of allowing Connect iPaaS to access your IoT telemetry data. Some of the IoT applications take advantage of Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles defined in their platforms. Before you start setting up the connection, make sure you have these roles and permissions set and associated with the account that you choose to connect with.

As an example of an IoT connection, we have set up an AWS IoT event trigger which will give Connect iPaaS access to listen to the IoT telemetry data through the IoT connection.

Step 1. When creating an AWS IoT connection for the first time, you need to provide your Access Key, Secret Access Key, Access Key Name, and AWS IoT Endpoint.

Figure 1. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS AWS IoT Connection Page

Step 2. Once you have successfully linked your AWS IoT Core with Connect iPaaS using IoT authentication, you will see your IoT sensors in the dropdown.

Figure 2. RoboMQ Connect Accessing AWS IoT Core Data

By following the above steps, you can set up a connection to your IoT application's data. Other IoT applications may have a similar but not the exact connection experience as the above example of the AWS IoT. You may refer to the Connect iPaaS connection setup guide for that specific IoT application.

If you are hosting your own IoT messaging solution like MQTT, you can follow similar steps as the example of Database Connection above, except that you will not need to provide a schema. More connection information about the MQTT Connection can be found on the MQTT connection guide.

Messaging Broker

By creating connection with your message broker you can give Connect iPaaS access to your broker data. Make sure the user credentials that you provide has required roles and permissions on the account. As an example of an Messaging Broker connection, we have set up an RabbitMQ event trigger which will give Connect iPaaS access to read data published on RabbitMQ exchanges.

Step 1. When creating an RabbitMQ connection for the first time, you need to provide your Host, Port, Vhost, Username and Password.

Figure 1. RoboMQ Connect iPaaS RabbitMQ Connection Page

Other messaging brokers have a similar connection mechanism, for specific instructions you can visit the Connection page of the specific broker application.