Using the Connections Dashboard in SAS Customer Intelligence 360
Introduction
In this post, we will discuss the dashboard that is available for monitoring connectors in SAS Customer Intelligence 360.
You can use connectors to retrieve or transfer data between SAS Customer Intelligence 360 and on-premises or cloud-based applications. For example, you might want to retrieve data from an external database to populate custom properties. Or alternatively using a connector to Google to create audiences.
Connectors can either send data to a third party (Outbound Connectors) or retrieve data from a third party (Inbound Connectors).
Another aspect is whether it is a triggered or bulk connector. Triggered connectors are invoked by real-time activity such as events and customer interactions. Bulk connectors are used for sending customer data to social media and bulk-messaging channels.
CI360 has several out-of-the box connectors for commonly used applications such as Facebook and Google. These can be set up with just a few clicks. There is also the option to build custom connections for less common or more complex applications.
CI360 customers typically have many connectors in operation. These all need to be managed. The CI360 Connections Dashboard provides an interface to view, edit, add, and manage all your external third-party data integrations, including connector and endpoint configurations. You can quickly and easily monitor the health of your connections and related activity and assess impacts on dependent objects such as tasks for third-party channels and applications. You can also effectively address occurrences that need diagnosis and troubleshooting.
Dashboard
The dashboard can be accessed by going to the Administration pane and selecting Connections Dashboard. There are two views available: a table view and a diagram view. Users can toggle between them using the icons at the top right.
Table View
The table view displays the connectors and associated endpoints in a tabular format:
Select any image to see a larger version.
Mobile users: To view the images, select the "Full" version at the bottom of the page.
As well as the name, connector type and authentication status, it has some performance metrics on the right-hand side. These can be viewed in their totality by scrolling across the table. There is a health metric, which is a summary of certain individual metrics. We will discuss the metrics in more detail later.
The table is sorted by health by default, with the least healthiest shown first. The table can be sorted on other fields simply by clicking on the column heading. Its also possible to filter the table by triggered or bulk connectors and last active status. By default, it will calculate performance over the last 24 hours, but this time window can also be changed using the filters at the top.
Double clicking on either the connector or individual endpoint shows the details for each. The details can also be edited. New connectors can also be added using the plus sign on the top right.
Diagram View
The diagram view shows the connectors in a more visual format. It also clearly shows the separation of inbound and outbound connectors. Clicking on a node shows the performance insights for that node:
It has the summary statistics for the preceding 12 hours at the top. It also has the option to view and edit the details for the connector, using the “Edit Connector” option. The graphs are displayed at hourly intervals for the previous 12 hours. There is also a table summary at the bottom, which also shows the overall health rating.
Metrics
The performance metrics differ slightly depending on whether it is a Triggered or Bulk Connector. Triggered connectors work for individual records, so the metrics are focused on transactions. Bulk Connectors work on many records at once, so are more focused on executions and number of records. The available metrics are shown below:
As mentioned, a summary health icon is displayed for all connectors. These icons are as follows:
For Triggered Connectors, the performant metric relates to the % successful transactions during the specified time period. For bulk transactions, it relates to the % successful executions during the specified time period.
Note that the time periods for the tabular view can be adjusted using the filter, so the metrics can also change when the filter is adjusted. Moreover, the diagram view is a set 12-hour period. This is why the metrics might change slightly based on the view being used.
Conclusion
We can see that the Connections Dashboard is a great way to manage and maintain the connectors being used in CI360. Additionally, if any issues are found, we can view the connector properties to see what objects are using the connectors. We can then determine the overall impact of any connector failure.
Using the Table and Diagram views also displays distinct aspects of the connector performance. The Table view is easier for comparing connector performance side by side and ranking in terms of overall health. The Diagram view can be useful for inspecting historical trends for individual connectors.
There is an upcoming demonstration of this feature in the SAS Customer Intelligence 360 Learning Subscription for Customers. This will be found in the “Using Agents and Connectors with SAS Customer Intelligence 360" section of the course.
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