Connection Data Type

A Connection is a type of Node Property that contains properties defining an endpoint and a credential that will be used to access a third party service.

Connections usually contain sensitive information so they are securely stored in an Azure KeyVault dedicated to the tenant.

When a Node defines a Connection Property, it is also possible to route the invoke of that Node to a DropPoint.

A Connection is normally assigned to a Node from the Design Canvas by selecting it in the Connection Property dropdown.

Dynamically assigning a Connection

It is also possible to dynamically assign a Connection because the Connection Property contains an Input Data Flow Socket. This technique allows a single Workflow to be used to iterate over a number of Connections. See Repeating an integration with Dynamic Connections for more information on this topic.

Flowgear supports injecting either the Key (GUID) of a Connection or an XML document that includes the Properties of the Connection. Here is an example of how the Connection XML for a SQL Query Node might look:

<root>
	<Server>(local)</Server>
	<Database>database</Database>
	<UserId>sa</UserId>
	<Password>password</Password>
	<UseWinAuth>0</UseWinAuth>
	<DropPointId>00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000</DropPointId>
</root>

Note that when a Connection is assigned from an XML Connection string, certain additional Properties such as the Timeout and DropPoint Offline Timeout can't be specified. To work around this, create a stub Connection where you have set the desired Timeout and DropPoint Offline Timeout Properties. Assign that Connection to the Node on the Workflow Design. The values for these Properties will be retained when an XML Connection string is assigned at runtime.