Using Custom Connecters in Activities

[GeeWillikas]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to SAS Customer Intelligence 360. I've been trying to understand how to use variables when using the custom connectors when setting up an Activity flow. 

I have setup a connector with 2 endpoints for a Rest API that uses bearer tokens. The first endpoint is to generate the token after I have supplied the cliend_id and secret.  This will return a stand JWT auth token. 

I now have to use that token in the second endpoint of the connector to pass the bearer token and therefore be able to call the api securely. What I fail to see is how to map the result of the first task in the activity to the second task in the activity where I have a varible called {{$<Token>}} in the token value. 

Following that, I also fail how to send the data from the inital task and map each field to the parameters of the send API. So in the body of the API I have set the body to be like { "title":"{{$<title>}}" } .  I need to be able to say Title from the segment or inital task belongs to the variable. 

On top of this, the send api would take both the token api results as well as the results from the inital task. 

I am definately missing something here. 

I hope there is a easy way to do this, thanks in advance for any tips and tricks! 

[t_charlesworth]

Hi, I fear you are pushing the boundaries of what's easily possible with connectors, external system tasks and events. Do you have a local Customer Success Manager you are working with? they may be able to provide some more detailed guidance if you are able to walk them through the use case.

[SudheeshWarrier]

Hello,

The current CI360 Connector and External System Task (EST) architecture is not designed to pass (or chain) the responses to the next EST, especially not authentication information.

In your case, I believe building a custom third connector endpoint will be more suitable. In this new API, you will call and obtain the authentication token, and then make the call to the actual API.

In your EST, you will configure the new third endpoint. For the security of this new endpoint, you can consider a long-lived JWT or any other authentication method supported by CI360.

Link for supported authentication: https://go.documentation.sas.com/doc/en/cintcdc/production.a/cintag/endpoint-details.htm