Running Designer in App Connect Enterprise 13.0.1.0

This blog post will cover the new capabilities exposed in App Connect Enterprise 13.0.1.0, which allow users to author App Connect Designer flows using the new dedicated user interface. This update brings a new powerful experience focused on ease of use when designing integrations and flow-driven APIs.

Getting Started

There are several ways to launch Designer, depending on which platform in use and the level of control required over specific parameters.

Starting Designer via Shortcuts

On Windows, users can start Designer through a shortcut located in the Start Menu, titled IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer 13.0.1.0, as seen below.

On MacOS, a menu item has been added to the Toolkit that enables users to start the tool with just a click.

Starting Designer via the Command Line Console

Alternatively, Designer can be launched on any platform via the command line by opening an Integration Console and running the following command:

$ Designer

This will start the tool and automatically open a browser pointing at its URL. The default web address is https://localhost:7500.

There are several options available to customise the server's behaviour:

• --designer-directory Specifies the custom location for configuration and artefacts. By default, these are saved in <user's Home directory>/IBM/ACEDesigner13
• --vault-key Automatically attempts to unlock or create a vault at startup. If this option is not provided, a dedicated login page will appear in the web interface,

Launching Designer using the shortcuts will apply the default configurations.

Designer Directory Structure

The designer directory contains two folders: config and data. 

• The config directory contains all components that define the configuration for the tool's internal configuration, with designer.conf.yaml serving as the central file for modifying properties such as listener settings.
• The data directory stores assets related to flow authoring and execution. These are divided into policies, vault, and flows. 

Using Designer

Unlocking the Vault via the Web Interface

If Designer was launched using a shortcut or, alternatively, the --vault-key option was not provided, the user will be redirected to the Login page to unlock the vault.

For the first-time setup in a specific Designer Directory, the user will be prompted to create a new vault by entering the vault key twice. For subsequent uses, the key will need to be entered once, and users will have the option to reset the vault if the key has been forgotten.

Homepage

Once the tool is running and the vault is unlocked, users are directed to the homepage. Here, they can begin creating flows by selecting from the available tiles.

Managing Flows

Flows can be created both in the Homepage or the Designer page. The Designer page also allows users to manage existing flows, such as renaming, deleting, starting, and stopping them.

In the Designer page, clicking on the New dropdown provides options to import existing flows or create new event-driven flows or flows for an API. 

Event-driven Flows

Event-driven flows are triggered by an event from SaaS services such as Slack or Salesforce, or based on a schedule. Authoring these flows is done in the Flow Editor page, where a visual canvas lets users link connectors to create workflows. 

The first step is to configure the trigger. Clicking the first + will open the applications panel where a wide selection of applications with events is available to choose from.

After setting up the trigger, subsequent nodes can be configured to perform various actions. JSONata mapping is a powerful feature that allows users to set up actions based on the output of any previous node.

Each node can be tested with sample data by clicking the Test action button. This feature runs the connector against the real endpoint and displays the results in a user-friendly format.

Once the flow is ready for full testing, users can select Test flow > Using real data to deploy it locally. The Activity Log tab will then be enabled, displaying logs and event entries from the flow.

Flows for an API

Flows for an API allows users to create an OpenAPI model and configure flows triggered by supported operations.

To begin, users declare a model in the Properties tab by specifying the data sent to and received from the API.

The Operations tab enables users to define the API's supported operations and implement flows for each one. Pre-made options are available, as well as the ability to create custom operations.

Building an API flow is similar to an event-driven flow. However, instead of a trigger node, the flow starts with a Request node, which captures data received from a REST request. The mappings available are based on the API's model. The flow concludes with a Response node, where users set the output returned by the API by either specifying static values or mapping data from previous nodes.

After configuring all the necessary API operations, users can test them locally by clicking the Test API. 

Importing Flows

Flows can be imported by uploading a .yaml file previously exported by another Designer instance. After import, users will be directed to the Flow Editor, in order to fine-tune the flow and connect to any required accounts.

Exporting Flows

Flows can be exported to be shared for development or to be deployed to production. Clicking on the 3-dot menu for a flow's tile provides the option to export as either YAML (for development), or BAR (for deployment). The exported file will be saved to the browser's default download directory.

Managing Accounts

Accounts for external services can be configured in two ways: within the Flow Editor or via the Catalog page.

The Catalog page lists all available connectors and their supported actions and events. It allows users to manage previously set-up accounts.

When an application is selected, users are presented with the option to connect to the service. Accounts are split into two parts:

• Policy properties: For example, an service's endpoint URL. Saved into the policies directory.
• Credentials: API keys or other sensitive data. These are encrypted and saved in the vault.

Users can also rename, update, or delete accounts via the 3-dot menu next to each one.

Logs

In addition to the Activity and Event Logs available per flow, the Logs page provides an overview of all flows and the Designer process itself. This is useful for debugging and monitoring the overall health of integrations.

Conclusion

The new Designer capability in App Connect Enterprise 13.0.1.0 offers a robust, intuitive way to build powerful flows and APIs. With its visual interface and comprehensive features, it enables developers to quickly create and manage integrations, while providing an on-premise experience similar to the cloud-based offerings.

Further Resources

If you would like to learn more, check out the following videos made by the team putting all these concepts into practice.

Creating an Event-driven Flow

Creating an API