Configuring Your IBM Connections Connector

After you install and configure your Web Services Connector, you must set up the connection Connection defines the how Connectivity Hub connects to your Source System (which contains your documents, graphics, etc.,). Your Connection includes identifying elements such as: URL of the BA Insight web service connector you are using, (File Share connector, SharePoint Online connector, etc.), Authentication mode, User Accounts and Credentials, Database information (for database connectors) to the repository that you plan to index. To set up your Web Services Connector connection, follow the steps in these sections.

Adding the Connection Information

To add the connection information that is required for your IBM Connections Connector, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the SharePoint Central Admin page and click Connector Framework.
  2. Click Connections.
  3. Use the down arrow in Connector Framework SPWeb to select WebService Connection: connections to a system using web service.
  4. The IBM Connections page appears. Complete the following fields:
  5. Title (required): Enter the title for your Web Services Connector such as IBM Connections 4.5.
  6. Content Owner (required): Enter a valid domain account with full rights to the search results (domain\user ID) into Content Owner.
  7. Discovery Group (optional): Enter a valid domain group, which has full rights to search results, into the Discovery Group.
  8. Web Service (required): Enter the full path to the BA Insight DataConnector web service. Use either of the following formats:
    • Secure through SSL: https://: This data is encrypted. Specify ahttps:// site that is either:
      • Outside authority: Provided by an outside authority
      • Self-certified: Choose to use a self-certified certificate when you access a web service on your own intranet.
    • Not secure through SSL: http://: This data is not encrypted. For this reason, the data that is transmitted between the Connector Framework and the web service using the following format is not secure:
         http://<YOURSERVER>:<PORT#>/<your connector>.asmx
    Hint: Replace the server name with the server where you installed your Web Services Connector and the port that you specified during the installation. for more information, see Install the Connector Common API.
  9. Specify the Web Service URL such as: http://localhost:2260/dataconnector.asmx
  10. Authentication Mode: Use either of the following selections for the Authentication Mode:
    1. Service Account: Leave the default setting Service Account, which is also known as Windows Authentication. Your application pool account is used to connect to the web service. This web service can be installed on a different machine, if this machine is in the same domain. If this machine is in a different domain, you must set up trust between the two domains. Hint: If you choose to leave the default selection, Service Account, you do not need to enter a User Account or a Password.
    2. Impersonate: Choose Impersonate, (which is also known as basic authentication) if you deployed this Connector to a remote domain. In this case, you must enter the User Account and Password information.
  11. Specify the user account and the password unless you use the default selection Service Account.
  12. Use the drop-down arrow in Connect or Refresh Web Service to make a selection such as IBM Connections and click Enable Tracing if you want to perform tracing operations. The page is refreshed and displays the appropriate settings for the URL that you specified beneath this link. For more information, see Authentication Modes and Data Security.
  13. Click Clean Data to remove all of the control characters from your data. Optional.
  14. The IBM Connections Connector Login requires both (required):
    1. Valid Active Directory account with read access to the Web Service file shares
    2. Web Services Connector administrator account with full read access. For this reason, enter both the logins and passwords using a comma (,) separated format for multiple entries.
      For example, you could specify either of the following logins and enter corresponding passwords:
          domain\login,IBMConnectionsAdministartorLogin
        domainpass,IBMConnectionsAdministartorpass
  15. Connections URL (optional): Enter the Client Web Services Connector web application URL into Connections URL.
  16. Disable Security (optional): Click Disable Security if you do not want the IBM Connections Connector to make security calls. In this case, all the items are marked public.
  17. Security Filter (optional): Click Security Filter to crawl  all the public items. Alternatively, all of the available items are crawled.

  18. DB Connection (required): Specify the databases that you want to connect to in DB Connection. Each web service connections data type is stored using different schemata in the Oracle database. For this reason, you must enter a connection string for each document type that is crawled. Each connection string begins on a new line. Use the proper database schema name (in lower case) with a colon (:) at the beginning of each connection string. 
    For example, specify:

    Example
    Copy 
    files:Server=server;PORT=1521;direct=true;SID=orcl;User=system;Password=pass;DBSchemaName=FILES  
    dogear:Server=server;PORT=1521;direct=true;SID=orcl;User=system;Password=pass;DBSchemaName=DOGEAR 
    blogs:Server=server;PORT=1521;direct=true;SID=orcl;User=system;Password=pass;DBSchemaName=BLOGS 
    forums:Server=server;PORT=1521;direct=true;SID=orcl;User=system;Password=pass;DBSchemaName=FORUM 

    wikis:Server=server;PORT=1521;direct=true;SID=orcl;User=system;Password=pass;DBSchemaName=WIKIS 
    activities:Server=server;PORT=1521;direct=true;SID=orcl;User=system;Password=pass;DBSchemaName=ACTIVITIES 

    communities:Server=server;PORT=1521;direct=true;SID=orcl;User=system;Password=pass;DBSchemaName=SNCOMM 

    profiles:Server=server;PORT=1521;direct=true;SID=orcl;User =system;Password=pass;DBSchemaName=EMPINST


    Specify blogs, forums, files, and wikis that use the Shared Folder network paths by writing a separate string for each type. Each string must specify the IBM Connections file storage.
    To write these strings, use following format:
       [ENTITY_TYPE]:[NETWORK_PATH]

    where [ENTITY_TYPE] is one of following types: blogs, forums, files, wikis.
    For example, specify:
       blogs:\\SomeServer\blogs
       files:\\SomeServer\files
       wikis:\\SomeServer\wikis
       forums:\\SomeServer\forums

    For examples of where these types are stored, see the following:
    C:\IBM\LotusConnections\data\shared\blogs
    C:\IBM\LotusConnections\data\shared\forums

    Note: If you do not specify the network path for an entity type, the attachments or content for that entity is retrieved directly through the Web  Services Connector API by HTTP(S). For this reason, performance might be affected.

  19. HTTP Authentication type (required): Select your HTTP authentication type using the drop-down arrow.

  20. Supported version (required): Select the Supported version of the Web Services Connector that you are using or leave the default setting. 

  21. (Optional) Click Save.
  22. Hint: You are only required to save your settings after you have specified your selections for all of the tabs on this page.

Authentication Modes and Data Security

The preferred authentication mode is Service account.

  • If, for example, the web service is installed in a different domain, you can switch to Impersonate. 
  • https adds encryption to data that is passed between the web service and Connector Framework.

Use the following table for more information:

Table 1: Choosing an Authentication Mode and Web Service

If you select... with a Web Service that is... then your...
Service Account secure through SSL Data is encrypted and access to services is only made using Windows authentication.
note secure through SSL Unsecured data that is sent over the network and the web service could be exposed.
Impersonate secure through SSL Data is encrypted and access to your services is only made using only basic authorization.
note secure through SSL Passwords are transmitted in clear text, which is not secure.

For more information about configuring authentication manually in IIS for the web service, see Configure Basic Authentication (IIS 7).

Specifying the Repository Settings

The Repository tab lets you select some, or all, of the document types and applications (items) that are available in the Web Services source system Your Source System is the repository where your data is stored (data to be indexed). This repository is managed by applications such as: - SharePoint O365 - SharePoint 2013/16/19 - Documentum - File Share - OpenText - Lotus Notes - etc. Your Source System repository can also be a database such as SQL or Oracle.. For example, these schemas might include blogs, wikis, and bookmarks. 

You must specify which types of content you want to index. The items that you select are crawled and indexed into the SharePoint index.

You can access the Repository tab:

  • Before you click Save. 
  • After you click Connect or Refresh Web Service on the Connection Info page. (This page appears when you go to the SharePoint Central Administration page, click Connector Framework, and select WebService Connection.)

Specify the Repository Settings

For some Web Services Connectors, such as the IBM Connections Connector, there are different schemas within the Connector's database. For example, there might be files, blogs, wikis, and bookmarks. You must specify which types of  content you want to index. To select document types and applications (items) to index, follow these steps:  

  1. On the SharePoint Central Administration page, click Connector Framework. The Content Management page appears.
  2. Click Connections and the Connection Management page appears. Click the down arrow in Connector Framework SPWeb and select WebService Connection. The WebService Connection page appears.
    Note: The Repository tab is only available after you specify your settings on the Connection Info page and click Connect or Refresh Web Service.
  3. Click the Repository tab.
  4. (Required) Use the Datastores table to select a load: 
    1. Available: Displays the items that are in your IBM Connections source  and therefore available for crawling and subsequent indexing
    2. Selected: Displays the items that you select to be crawled and indexed in the SharePoint index.
  5. Click Load Available in order to populate the Available pane with the document types and applications.
  6. Use >>> or <<<< to select and deselect the items that appear in the Selected pane.
  7. Click the Flush types link to remove all of the selected repositories. 
  8. Save your changes.