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SCRIBE WHITE PAPER

HOW SCRIBE ONLINE WORKS

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WHITE PAPER : HOW SCRIBE ONLINE WORKS

Introduction Scribe Online is a leading integration platform as a service (iPaaS) from Scribe

Software. It has a multi-tenant architecture that scales by distributing workloads

across agents that belong to each tenant. The cloud handles administrative

tasks such as user management, connection management, integration design,

scheduling and monitoring. Agents carry out instructions they receive from the

cloud and report results back to the cloud.

Scribe OnlineUser Interface

Third PartySaaS

Application

Tenant Specific Components

Connections SolutionsMaps ExecutionHistory

ScribeOnlineCloud

Customer Site

On-premiseAgents

Applications

Cloud AgentsScribe Ecosystem

Shared Components

APIConnectorsConnectorDevelopment

Kit

Scribe Ecosystem



The platform uses connectors to communicate with specific applications,

databases and file systems. Connectors address the specifics of each type of

endpoint, including authentication, discovery of metadata, query formation and

target operations. They interact with the platform through an open interface that

allows anyone with a Scribe Online account to create a connector.

A comprehensive security model encompasses all aspects of the platform. The

user interface, agents, and third-party applications communicate with the cloud

through secure channels. Connectors use secure protocols to communicate

with the APIs for the respective applications. Credentials are stored in encrypted

containers, and IP safe lists restrict access to specific tenants.

The functionality of the platform is available through a modern REST API, which

allows partners to embed the platform’s capabilities into their applications.

Continue reading to learn the details of how the components work.



Organizations and Users

Each tenant in the Scribe Online cloud service is called an organization. It

represents the company using the service, and there are three types:

1. A normal organization stands alone and represents a company that buys

the Scribe Online service directly from Scribe or through a reseller. Normal

organizations often begin with a trial subscription initiated through the

Scribe website.

2. A parent organization belongs to a company that purchases the Scribe

Online iPaaS on a wholesale basis with the ability to create and manage child

organizations for its customers.

3. A child organization falls under a specific parent organization and

represents a company that is a customer of the owner of the

parent organization.

Most cloud applications restrict each user to a single organization. Scribe

Online allows users to belong to more than one organization. The user interface

provides users who belong to more than one organization with a picklist to

switch from one organization to another.

An administrator in an organization can invite other users to that organization

and remove users from the organization. Child organizations automatically

inherit the users of the parent organization. Each child organization can also

have its own users in addition to the users from the parent organization.

Each organization has one or more subscriptions to Scribe Online services.



Services

Scribe Online offers three different services:

1. The Integration Service performs bidirectional integration between

two or more endpoints with scheduling, support for complex logic and

transformations, and the ability to recognize records that are new or

changed since the last integration job ran.

2. The Replication Service creates and maintains a copy of the data in a

cloud application such as Salesforce.com or Microsoft Dynamics CRM in a

database. The database can be on premise or in the cloud.

3. The Migration Service enables Scribe partners to migrate data from

one application to another. It offers most of the features of the Integration

Service, with the exception of scheduling and detection of changed records.

The Migration Service is only available as a wholesale service that the partner

manages through a parent organization.

Each service is available in multiple tiers with different features and options.



Connectors

A connector links an application, database or file system to the Scribe Online

platform. Most connectors support two-way communication, and they have several

basic functions, including:

• Authentication with a set of user credentials

• Discovery of metadata, often including custom objects and custom fields

• Sending queries, usually with filters, and receiving the results for processing

• Accepting inbound messages for processing

• Translation of Scribe Online platform operations such as Create, Lookup, Update/

Upsert and Delete into specific API calls that the application understands

Connectors have the ability to process large datasets using paging, batches or bulk

loads. They can process hundreds or even thousands of records at a time in one API

call, improving performance and reducing the number of API hits.

The Scribe Online user interface includes a Marketplace of connectors. Through the

Marketplace, users enable the connectors they need in their organizations. Scribe

provides many of the connectors, and third parties have created many others.



Connections

Once a connector is enabled in a Scribe Online organization, it can be used

to make a connection to a specific instance of an application, database or file

system. In most cases, a connection includes user credentials for the application

or database and a URL or other location of the application.

Scribe Online tests the credentials before creating the connection and stores

the connection details in an encrypted container for later use when running

maps. Connections are reusable -- an existing connection can be used again

and again in different maps.



Agents

The Scribe Online architecture includes separate design and run-time

components. The cloud platform handles administration, design and monitoring,

while delegating execution of replication and integration jobs to its agents. The

agent retrieves its commands from the cloud through Microsoft’s Azure Service

Bus, carries out the instructions and reports the results to the cloud.

Scribe Online offers two types of agents:

• Cloud agents handle integrations between cloud-based endpoints such as

SaaS applications, cloud databases and cloud filesystems like Dropbox. For

example, a cloud agent can be used to integrate leads between Marketo and

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Scribe hosts the agents in its private cloud.

• On-premise agents handle integrations where one or more endpoints exist

behind a firewall, inaccessible to a cloud agent. Users install an on-premise

agent behind the firewall where the agent can communicate with the local

endpoint as well as any cloud endpoints. For example, one would use an on-

premise agent to replicate Salesforce.com data to a local database.

All agents run on the same codebase and operate semi-autonomously, increas-

ing the resilience and availability of the overall system. Even if an agent loses

communication with the cloud, it continues to run the latest compiled versions

of its maps according to the schedule. Once connectivity is reestablished, it

reports the results to the cloud. This means agents continue to run even during

scheduled maintenance of the cloud platform.



When Scribe releases a new version of Scribe Online or a connector, the agent

finishes any work it is doing, then downloads and runs the new code. This

ensures that new software does not interrupt integration jobs.

Maps

The Scribe Online cloud provides a graphical design environment where users

create and maintain integration maps. Each map begins with one or more

connections from the set defined in an organization.

Scribe Online offers three types of maps:

1. Query maps use one of the connections associated with the map to get data

for processing. The query can include filters to restrict the results. In most

cases, this will include a net change filter, which Scribe Online uses to retrieve

only records that are new or changed since the last time the map ran.

2. Message maps allow a cloud application like Salesforce.com to push

messages to the map. Each message map has a unique URL. Users configure

the cloud application to deliver records to the URL. When records arrive,

the agent executes the map and uses one of the connections in the map to

interpret the message payload. Message maps process asynchronously.

3. Request/Reply maps allow an external application to send records to a

map in JSON format through a REST API. Like message maps, each request/

reply map has its own unique URL. Unlike the other two map types, the

application sending the request does not need a connection in Scribe Online.

As the agent executes the map, it builds a response, which it sends back to

the calling application. Request/reply maps process synchronously.



The Scribe Online user builds the map with the visual designer by dragging

blocks onto a canvas to define a logic sequence. Control blocks direct the logic

flow. The main control block, For Each Result, creates a loop that executes once

for each record the query produces. Others provide if-then-else and other

conditional tests.

Operation blocks take action on one of the connections in the map, such as

creating, reading, updating, upserting or deleting a record. They also handle

field mapping and data transformation with a library of dozens of Excel-like

functions. For update, upsert and delete operations, users configure match

fields to identify the correct record in the target connection.

Scribe Online also provides a map debugger that allows a user to execute a

map one step at a time or to set break points when certain conditions occur.

This aids in troubleshooting map design.



Solutions

In many cases, an integration process involves more than one map. A solution

is a set of ordered maps that are assigned to run on a specific agent. Each time

a solution runs, it executes the maps in order until the final map completes.

Solutions can run according to a pre-set schedule, on-demand through the user

interface or via an API call.

Solutions can be exported and imported. The exported maps contain the

definition of the connections used, data flow, and mappings/formulas used.

Export and import allow you to move solutions between test and production

environments or from one customer’s organization to another.

REST API

Scribe Online offers a REST API that provides application programmers with

access to much of the functionality of the platform. This allows you to embed

the functionality of Scribe Online in another SaaS application. Developers can

automate processes for:

• Creating users and organizations

• Installing agents

• Adding connectors and creating connections

• Creating a solution with a set of maps

• Scheduling solutions

• Monitoring the results of integration tasks

Scribe Online enforces a safe list for the API based on the IP address making the

API call. Users configure one or more IP address ranges that can make API calls

for an organization.



New Connector Development

SaaS companies and integration consulting firms can create their own

connectors for Scribe Online. The scope of a connector development project

includes authentication, metadata discovery, queries and target operations like

create, update and delete.

There are three options available for building Scribe Online connectors.

• The Messaging Framework works with applications that send outgoing

webhooks in either JSON or XML format. It allows you to quickly build a

connector from a sample message in Microsoft Visual Studio. You can use

the connector as the source in a message map but target operations are not

supported.

• The Fast Connector Framework is a wizard-driven tool that helps you

build a connector to an HTTP web service by completing a Microsoft Visual

Studio Solution with the specific details of the application you’re connecting

to. This approach allows you to build connectors that support both source

and target operations.

• The Connector Development Kit (CDK) offers more flexibility and access

to additional functionality, such as complex filtering in queries, picklist values

in metadata, additional target operations beyond create and update, and

support for related entities.

Scribe offers a certification process for those who wish to make a connector

available to others. Once certified, your connector can be listed in the Scribe

Online Marketplace.



Monitoring and Notifications

Each time an agent runs an integration job, it reports the results back to the

Scribe Online cloud. Results include how long the job ran, how many records

were processed, how many failed, and any errors that occurred. Users can view

the Execution History related to a solution in the Scribe Online user interface.

Scribe Online can reprocess failed records for up to 45 days.

Users can also configure Scribe Online to send notifications via email when

certain events occur. Notifications are available for solution and record failures,

system updates, connector installation and lack of agent communication with

the cloud. These settings are specific to each user in each organization because

users can belong to multiple organizations and might want different settings for

each one.



About Scribe Software

Scribe is an established global provider of application and data integration

software. The company’s easy to use platforms, comprehensive integration lifecycle

management capabilities and open APIs offer the fastest way to create, run, and

adapt integrations. More than 12,000 customers and 1,200 partners – including

enterprises, software as a service (SaaS) providers, systems integrators (SIs) – rely

on Scribe’s integration platform as a service (iPaaS) and on-premises platform

to accelerate integration projects and time-to-value and to meet the complex

connectivity demands of today’s cloud and hybrid environments. Scribe and its

solution development partners serve customers in every industry, including financial

services, life sciences, manufacturing, public sector, retail, utilities, higher education

and media and entertainment.

For a free trial of Scribe’s software platforms go to:

www.scribesoft.com/products/trial-software/.

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SCRIBE WHITE PAPER HOW SCRIBE ONLINE WORKS · PDF fileHOW SCRIBE ONLINE WORKS. Scribe Software orporation ... Scribe Online is a leading integration platform as a service (iPaaS) from