Configuring connectivity between a calling flow and a callable flow

In your App Connect Designer flows, you can use a Callable flow node to invoke a running callable flow in either IBM® App Connect Enterprise or IBM Integration Bus on premises. To enable your flows to communicate, you must configure secure connectivity between App Connect Designer and App Connect Enterprise or Integration Bus by using a switch server and a connectivity agent.

Note:
  • To run callable flows, your App Connect Designer instance must be associated with a switch server.
  • The Callable flow connector, which calls the running callable flow, requires a switch server that is deployed locally in your cluster, or externally. This switch server is typically created or configured by your administrator.

For more information about callable flows, see Callable message flows in the IBM App Connect Enterprise documentation.

About this task

A switch server is a special kind of an integration server that routes data between the calling and callable flows, and it works with connectivity agents over a secure web sockets connection. A connectivity agent contains the certificates that your flows require to communicate securely with the switch server.

A connectivity agent must be running in the IBM App Connect Enterprise or IBM Integration Bus integration server where your on-premises message flows are deployed. You must download an agent configuration file from your App Connect Designer instance, and use it to configure the on-premises connectivity agent.

If your App Connect Designer instance has been configured with a switch server, when you access the instance, a Callable flows icon Callable flows icon is included in the navigation pane. You can click this icon to open the Callable flows page to configure connectivity.

Procedure

If you are using a local Callable flow connector, you must configure connectivity between a calling flow in your cluster and a callable flow in an on-premises integration server by completing the following steps:

  1. From the App Connect Designer UI, click the Callable flows icon Callable flows icon in the navigation pane to open the Callable flows page.

    Any callable flows that are running on integration servers that you have configured with an agentx.json file are displayed.

    Callable flow page in App Connect Designer
  2. Click Connect callable flows to open the Synchronize your on-premises agent panel.
    Synchronize your on-premises agent panel
  3. Click Download the configuration (as instructed) to download the agent configuration file (named agentx.json) to the default location that is configured for your browser.
  4. Follow the instructions to configure the on-premises integration server as follows:
    • Move the downloaded agentx.json file to the work directory of the integration server in App Connect Enterprise.
    • Run the command provided if the integration server is in Integration Bus.
  5. To check whether the configured connectivity agent in the integration server can connect to the switch server, click Test the agent in the Synchronize your on-premises agent panel.
    The number of on-premises agents that are connected to the switch server is displayed.
    Result for testing the agent
    The on-premises integration server containing the callable flow is now registered with the system and can now be called from any App Connect Designer flow.

If you experience any connectivity issues, see Troubleshooting switch server connectivity for help in resolving the error.