Connection is an entity that links a Vendor’s product to a hub with the purpose of deploying this product on the corresponding commerce system and enabling its provisioning and fulfillment functions.
Prerequisites
In order to be able to create a product connection, the following pre-conditions must be satisfied:
A least one commerce system hub should be registered via the Hubs section of the Marketplace module;
A signed distribution contract with a product vendor;
Vendor should have a published Version of a product.
There should be a Listing request for a vendor’s product;
The listing request should be sent to the Distributors for a review .
Connection Creation
It is important to note that your created connection objects cannot be removed and its properties cannot be modified. Follow the steps below to successfully create a connection object on the CloudBlue Connect platform:
1. Navigate to the Products module.
2. Click on the product namethat you want to create a connection for.
3. Switch to the Connections section via the left menu panel.
4. Click the Create Connection button.
5. Input the required connection parameters as follows:
Environment – can be either Test or Production. This determines what kind of fulfillment requests will be created under this connection;
Choose Hub instance – provides a list of hubs owned by the Distributors. to deploy the product to.
Note
The system allows creating one connection for one hub, either Test or Production. Changing your selection at a later stage is not possible.
6. Click the Create button to complete the connection creation process.
As a result, your configured connection object should be displayed within the Connections list.
Connections List
Once at least one connection is created, the Connection section displays a list of your created connection objects:
The numbered points functions as below:
Ⓐ: The Create Connection button allows creating additional connections for the same product.
Ⓑ: The Connection ID column shows the Connect IDs of created connections. Click on this ID to access the Connection details screen.
Ⓒ: The Vendor column shows the account name and ID of the vendor who created and listed the product.
Ⓓ: The Environment column shows the environment type (Test or Production) configured during connection creation.
Ⓔ: The Hub column shows the name and ID of the hub to which the product is to be deployed.
Connection Details Screen
The Connection Details screen can be accessed by clicking on a Connection ID from the Connection section. This screen provides multiple tabs that provides various information:
Vendor account showcases the account ID and name of the Vendor associated with this connection.
Provider (Distributor) account shows the account ID and name of the Distributor associated with this connection.
The Product section shows the ID, name, and version of the product associated with this connection.
The Environment section shows the environment type (Test or Production) configured during connection creation and the name and ID of the hub to which the product is to be deployed.
The Notes section provides an ability to put down additional details about the connection, which could be seen by all Connect users that are managing the connections for the current Distributor. The field provides basic formatting options and the Save Notes button needs to be pressed to propagate the changes to the system.
