Create a source connection and dataflow for SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts using the Flow Service API
The following tutorial walks you through the steps to create a SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts source connection and create a dataflow to bring SugarCRM accounts and contacts data to Adobe Experience Platform using the Flow Service API.
Getting started
This guide requires a working understanding of the following components of Experience Platform:
- Sources: Experience Platform allows data to be ingested from various sources while providing you with the ability to structure, label, and enhance incoming data using Platform services.
- Sandboxes: Experience Platform provides virtual sandboxes which partition a single Platform instance into separate virtual environments to help develop and evolve digital experience applications.
The following sections provide additional information that you will need to know in order to successfully connect to SugarCRM using the Flow Service API.
Gather required credentials
In order to connect SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts to Platform, you must provide values for the following connection properties:
hostdeveloper.salesfusion.comusernameabc.def@example.com@sugarmarketdemo000.compassword123456789Connect SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts to Platform using the Flow Service API
The following outlines the steps you need to make in order to authenticate your SugarCRM source, create a source connection, and create a dataflow to bring your accounts and contacts data to Experience Platform.
Create a base connection base-connection
A base connection retains information between your source and Platform, including your source’s authentication credentials, the current state of the connection, and your unique base connection ID. The base connection ID allows you to explore and navigate files from within your source and identify the specific items that you want to ingest, including information regarding their data types and formats.
To create a base connection ID, make a POST request to the /connections endpoint while providing your SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts authentication credentials as part of the request body.
API format
POST /connections
Request
The following request creates a base connection for SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts:
curl -X POST \
'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
-H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
-H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
-H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
"name": "SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts base connection",
"description": "Create a live inbound connection to your SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts instance, to ingest both historic and scheduled data into Experience Platform",
"connectionSpec": {
"id": "59a4b493-a615-40f9-bd38-f823d0909a2b",
"version": "1.0"
},
"auth": {
"specName": "OAuth2 Refresh Code",
"params": {
"host": "developer.salesfusion.com",
"username": "{SUGARCRM_DEVELOPER_ACCOUNT_USERNAME}",
"password": "{SUGARCRM_DEVELOPER_ACCOUNT_PASSWORD}"
}
}
}'
namedescriptionconnectionSpec.idauth.specNameauth.params.hostauth.params.usernameauth.params.passwordResponse
A successful response returns the newly created base connection, including its unique connection identifier (id). This ID is required to explore your source’s file structure and contents in the next step.
{
"id": "f5421911-6f6c-41c7-aafa-5d9d2ce51535",
"etag": "\"4d08164f-0000-0200-0000-6368b7bf0000\""
}
Explore your source explore
Using the base connection ID you generated in the previous step, you can explore files and directories by performing GET requests.
Use the following calls to find the path of the file you wish to bring into Platform:
API format
GET /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore?objectType=rest&object={OBJECT}&fileType={FILE_TYPE}&preview={PREVIEW}&sourceParams={SOURCE_PARAMS}
When performing GET requests to explore your source’s file structure and contents, you must include the query parameters that are listed in the table below:
{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}objectType=restrest.{OBJECT}json.fileType=jsonjson is the only supported file type.{PREVIEW}{SOURCE_PARAMS}Defines parameters for the source file you want to bring to Platform. To retrieve the accepted format-type for {SOURCE_PARAMS}, you must encode the entire string in base64.
SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts supports multiple APIs. Depending on which object type you are leveraging, pass one of the below :
accounts: Companies with whom your organization has a relationship.contacts: Individual people with whom your organization has an established relationship.
The SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts supports multiple APIs. Depending on which object type you are leveraging the request to be sent is as below:
Request
For SugarCRM Accounts API the value for {SOURCE_PARAMS} is passed as {"object_type":"accounts"}. When encoded in base64, it equates to eyJvYmplY3RfdHlwZSI6ImFjY291bnRzIn0= as shown below.
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For SugarCRM Contacts API the value for {SOURCE_PARAMS} is passed as {"object_type":"contacts"}. When encoded in base64 it equates to eyJvYmplY3RfdHlwZSI6ImNvbnRhY3RzIn0= as shown below.
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Response
Similarly, depending on which object type you are leveraging the response received is as below:
A successful response returns a structure as below.
| code language-json |
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A successful response returns a structure as below.
| code language-json |
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Create a source connection source-connection
You can create a source connection by making a POST request to the Flow Service API. A source connection consists of a connection ID, a path to the source data file, and a connection spec ID.
API format
POST /sourceConnections
Request
The following request creates a source connection for SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts:
Depending on which object type you are leveraging, select from the tabs below:
For SugarCRM Accounts API the object_type property value should be accounts.
| code language-shell |
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For SugarCRM Contacts API the object_type property value should be contacts.
| code language-shell |
|---|
|
namedescriptionbaseConnectionIdconnectionSpec.iddata.formatjson.object_typeSugarCRM Accounts & Contacts supports multiple APIs. Depending on which object type you are leveraging, pass one of the below :
accounts: Companies with whom your organization has a relationship.contacts: Individual people with whom your organization has an established relationship.
pathobject_type.Response
A successful response returns the unique identifier (id) of the newly created source connection. This ID is required in a later step to create a dataflow.
{
"id": "8f1fc72a-f562-4a1d-8597-85b5ca1b1cd3",
"etag": "\"ed05f1e1-0000-0200-0000-6368b8710000\""
}
Create a target XDM schema target-schema
In order for the source data to be used in Platform, a target schema must be created to structure the source data according to your needs. The target schema is then used to create a Platform dataset in which the source data is contained.
A target XDM schema can be created by performing a POST request to the Schema Registry API.
For detailed steps on how to create a target XDM schema, see the tutorial on creating a schema using the API.
Create a target dataset target-dataset
A target dataset can be created by performing a POST request to the Catalog Service API, providing the ID of the target schema within the payload.
For detailed steps on how to create a target dataset, see the tutorial on creating a dataset using the API.
Create a target connection target-connection
A target connection represents the connection to the destination where the ingested data is to be stored. To create a target connection, you must provide the fixed connection specification ID that corresponds to the data lake. This ID is: c604ff05-7f1a-43c0-8e18-33bf874cb11c.
You now have the unique identifiers a target schema a target dataset and the connection spec ID to the data lake. Using these identifiers, you can create a target connection using the Flow Service API to specify the dataset that will contain the inbound source data.
API format
POST /targetConnections
Request
The following request creates a target connection for SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts:
curl -X POST \
'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/targetConnections' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
-H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
-H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
-H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
"name": "SugarCRM Target Connection Generic Rest",
"description": "SugarCRM Target Connection Generic Rest",
"connectionSpec": {
"id": "63d2b27b-69a5-45c9-a7fe-78148a25de3c",
"version": "1.0"
},
"data": {
"format": "parquet_xdm",
"schema": {
"id": "https://ns.adobe.com/{TENANT_ID}/schemas/b156e6f818f923e048199173c45e55e20fd2487f5eb03d22",
"version": "1.22"
}
},
"params": {
"dataSetId": "6365389d1d37d01c077a81da"
}
}'
namedescriptionconnectionSpec.id6b137bf6-d2a0-48c8-914b-d50f4942eb85.data.formatparams.dataSetIdResponse
A successful response returns the new target connection’s unique identifier (id). This ID is required in later steps.
{
"id": "6b137bf6-d2a0-48c8-914b-d50f4942eb85",
"etag": "\"8405a268-0000-0200-0000-6368b8c30000\""
}
Create a mapping mapping
In order for the source data to be ingested into a target dataset, it must first be mapped to the target schema that the target dataset adheres to. This is achieved by performing a POST request to Data Prep API with data mappings defined within the request payload.
API format
POST /conversion/mappingSets
Request
curl -X POST \
'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/conversion/mappingSets' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
-H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
-H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
-H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
"outputSchema": {
"schemaRef": {
"id": "https://ns.adobe.com/{TENANT_ID}/schemas/b156e6f818f923e048199173c45e55e20fd2487f5eb03d22",
"contentType": "application/vnd.adobe.xed-full+json;version=1"
}
},
"mappings": [
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.account",
"destination": "_extconndev.account"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.account_id",
"destination": "_extconndev.account_id"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.acount_name",
"destination": "_extconndev.account_name"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.account_score",
"destination": "_extconndev.account_score"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.billing_city",
"destination": "_extconndev.billing_city"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.contacts",
"destination": "_extconndev.contacts"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.created_by",
"destination": "_extconndev.created_by"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.created_by_id",
"destination": "_extconndev.created_by_id"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.created_date",
"destination": "_extconndev.created_date"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.custom_score_field",
"destination": "_extconndev.custom_score_field"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.key_account",
"destination": "_extconndev.key_account"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.owner",
"destination": "_extconndev.owner"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.owner_id",
"destination": "_extconndev.owner_id"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.phone",
"destination": "_extconndev.phone_no"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.updated_by",
"destination": "_extconndev.updated_by"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.updated_by_id",
"destination": "_extconndev.updated_by_id"
},
{
"sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
"source": "results.updated_date",
"destination": "_extconndev.updated_date"
}
]
}'
outputSchema.schemaRef.idmappings.sourceTypemappings.sourcemappings.destinationResponse
A successful response returns details of the newly created mapping including its unique identifier (id). This value is required in a later step to create a dataflow.
{
"id": "059c69f7207b4d7e9b48c47e2fd966a6",
"version": 0,
"createdDate": 1597784069368,
"modifiedDate": 1597784069368,
"createdBy": "{CREATED_BY}",
"modifiedBy": "{MODIFIED_BY}"
}
Create a flow flow
The last step towards bringing data from SugarCRM Accounts & Contacts to Platform is to create a dataflow. By now, you have the following required values prepared:
A dataflow is responsible for scheduling and collecting data from a source. You can create a dataflow by performing a POST request while providing the previously mentioned values within the payload.
To schedule an ingestion, you must first set the start time value to epoch time in seconds. Then, you must set the frequency value to one of hour or day. The interval value designates the period between two consecutive ingestions. Interval value should be set as 1 or 24 depending on scheduleParams.frequency selection of either hour or day.
API format
POST /flows
Request
curl -X POST \
'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/flows' \
-H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
-H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
-H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
"name": "SugarCRM Connector Description Flow Generic Rest",
"description": "SugarCRM Connector Description Flow Generic Rest",
"flowSpec": {
"id": "6499120c-0b15-42dc-936e-847ea3c24d72",
"version": "1.0"
},
"sourceConnectionIds": [
"8f1fc72a-f562-4a1d-8597-85b5ca1b1cd3"
],
"targetConnectionIds": [
"6b137bf6-d2a0-48c8-914b-d50f4942eb85"
],
"transformations": [
{
"name": "Mapping",
"params": {
"mappingId": "059c69f7207b4d7e9b48c47e2fd966a6",
"mappingVersion": "0"
}
}
],
"scheduleParams": {
"startTime": "1625040887",
"frequency": "hour",
"interval": 1
}
}'
namedescriptionflowSpec.id6499120c-0b15-42dc-936e-847ea3c24d72.flowSpec.version1.0.sourceConnectionIdstargetConnectionIdstransformationstransformations.nametransformations.params.mappingIdtransformations.params.mappingVersion0.scheduleParams.startTimescheduleParams.frequencyhour or day.scheduleParams.interval1 or 24 depending on scheduleParams.frequency selection of either hour or day.Response
A successful response returns the ID (id) of the newly created dataflow. You can use this ID to monitor, update, or delete your dataflow.
{
"id": "fcd16140-81b4-422a-8f9a-eaa92796c4f4",
"etag": "\"9200a171-0000-0200-0000-6368c1da0000\""
}
Appendix
The following section provides information on the steps you can to monitor, update, and delete your dataflow.
Monitor your dataflow
Once your dataflow has been created, you can monitor the data that is being ingested through it to see information on flow runs, completion status, and errors. For complete API examples, read the guide on monitoring your sources dataflows using the API.
Update your dataflow
Update the details of your dataflow, such as its name and description, as well as its run schedule and associated mapping sets by making a PATCH request to the /flows endpoint of Flow Service API, while providing the ID of your dataflow. When making a PATCH request, you must provide your dataflow’s unique etag in the If-Match header. For complete API examples, read the guide on updating sources dataflows using the API
Update your account
Update the name, description, and credentials of your source account by performing a PATCH request to the Flow Service API while providing your base connection ID as a query parameter. When making a PATCH request, you must provide your source account’s unique etag in the If-Match header. For complete API examples, read the guide on updating your source account using the API.
Delete your dataflow
Delete your dataflow by performing a DELETE request to the Flow Service API while providing the ID of the dataflow you want to delete as part of the query parameter. For complete API examples, read the guide on deleting your dataflows using the API.
Delete your account
Delete your account by performing a DELETE request to the Flow Service API while providing the base connection ID of the account you want to delete. For complete API examples, read the guide on deleting your source account using the API.