Introduction
Attivio connectors allow you to ingest different types of data from disparate sources and pass the content through custom workflows before finally being indexed in the Attivio Cognitive Search and Insight Platform. Once indexed, all of that data is searchable in a single place. Connector Admin provides you with tools to configure these connectors. Our new wizard guides you through the process of creating and editing connectors, and the insights panel gives you an easy to understand analysis of all your data.
What's New
In order to ease the process of connecting your search index to data sources, we're providing a new and improved Connector Administration interface with version 5.6 of the Attivio Search Platform.
What are Connectors?
Before you can search content, you must first gather that content in one place. What if that content comes from many different sources in many different formats? That's where connectors step in. Simply put, connectors connect your data to the Attivio Cognitive Search and Insight Platform for searching.
Workflows
In the diagram above, Workflows are used to customize your data before it's added to the index. Workflows can be used for other purposes including customizing how searches are made as well as customizing how search results are processed, but those use cases are not relevant to this discussion.
What kinds of data can Attivio connect to?
Attivio can read over 500 file formats, which include nearly every kind of document you would normally find on a computer file system. Attivio can ingest content from Web sites, content management systems, document management systems, and email systems, and can use SQL to read records from most common databases. In addition, Attivio provides an easily-extensible connector framework to handle customized integration with virtually any repository.
With the proper supporting modules, Attivio can ingest, analyze, index and search documents in forty-five languages. This includes documents that include multiple languages, such as Chinese documents with embedded English text.
What if I have a unique data source or format?
If you find you need to process data from a unique source or format our existing connector types can't handle, Attivio also provides an easily-extensible connector framework to handle customized integration with virtually any repository.
Can I continue using the legacy Connector Admin?
Yes, you can continue to use the legacy Connector Admin in 5.6. In 5.6 the legacy Connector Admin and the new Connector Admin will exist side by side. However, we encourage you to check out the new and improved interface. It does not matter when or where a connector was made, all connectors will be be immediately available through both the old and the new Connector Admin interfaces in 5.6.
Installation
In order to utilize the new Connector Admin, you'll need to have the connectoradmin module included with your project. Execute the following steps to incrementally add the module to a project:
<install-dir>\bin\createproject.exe --name {project name} -i -m connectoradmin -o {path to project's parent directory}- Open the CLI and type the
deploycommand and hit Enter. This will deploy the new module and restart the project. Once the project is running again, you are ready to use the Connector Admin.
Insights Panel
At the top of the interface, we expose some useful insights into all searchable data. When you run a connector, the insights panel will be updated to reflect the new content.
See Connector Admin Insights Panel for more information.
Connector List
All the connectors that have been created using your current Attivio project will be listed here. From here you can run, stop, edit, or delete one or more connectors.
See Connector List for more information.
Connector Details
Selecting a connector in the list will illuminate critical details in the inspector pane to the right.
See Connector Details for more information.
Connector Wizard
Our new Connector Wizard guides you through the process of creating and editing connectors.
See Connector Admin Connector Wizard for more information.