This post gives you an overview of Connectivity Agents in Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) Service.
If you are new to Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC), then check out our blogs below as these contain all the key points that a beginner should know about Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC), creating Oracle Integration Instance and Consoles walkthrough.
- Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) For Beginners Overview
- Create Oracle Integration Cloud Instance: Step-by-Step
- Console Walkthrough of Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) Service
What is Connectivity Agent & Why you Need?
- Connectivity agents are the agents that help you create integrations between on-premises applications and Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) Service.
- Connectivity Agents are required for Oracle Integration Cloud to communicate or exchange messages with on-premise applications like Database, E-Business Suite, etc.
Comparison of Agents in ICS and OIC
Agents in OIC have the same functional capabilities as what you have seen with the one in ICS. Customers on ICS can choose to be agents on ICS or migrate to OIC. Agents in OIC can take advantage of new features and services built into OIC.
Note: OIC has superseded ICS.
- In ICS, we needed Weblogic alongside and it also needed Port to be opened resulting in exposed SOAP-based web services.
- While in OIC, we only need Java and it does not require any extra inbound port to open and the Connectivity agent use SSL to connect to Integration Cloud.
Agent Framework
1) The on-premises connectivity agent enables you to create integrations between on-premises applications and Oracle Integration Cloud Service (ICS).
2) Connectivity Agent acts as a Gateway from On-premise to ICS.
3) Connectivity Agents consists of the following components:
- SaaS Agent: This agent is installed and runs in Oracle Integration and supports communication with on-premises applications.
- On-premises agent: This agent is installed and runs on an on-premises environment on the same network as internal systems such as Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Siebel, Oracle Database, and others.
Note: You download the on-premises agent installer from the Agents page in Oracle Integration to your on-premises environment for installation. (More on Installing On-Premise Agent on Windows & Linux in my future blog posts)
4) All connections are initiated by the Agent to the Integration Cloud and not vice versa.
5) ICS doesn’t initiate any outbound connection to the Agent.
6) The agent posts a regular heartbeat to OIC to signal that it is alive and this reflects as a “green” agent health status in the ICS monitoring console.
7) In addition, the agent continuously polls OIC for:
a) Design-time work (‘Test Connection’, ‘Activation’, ‘Deactivation’)
b) Runtime work
- ‘processing invoke messages’ that needs to be sent to on-premise systems like database, E-Business Suite, or private SOAP or REST endpoints.
- ‘processing trigger messages’ that originates from on-premise systems and needs to be sent to OIC.
High-Level Steps for Using Connectivity Agents in OIC
a) Create Connectivity Agent Group in OIC.
b) Download and run the on-premises connectivity agent installer from OIC to Source/Target System that OIC is connecting.
c) During Connectivity Agent Installation, an associate Agent Group is created in OIC with On-Premise connectivity Agent.
d) Create an Adapter connection in OIC and associate the connectivity with the connectivity Agent Group.
e) Design the integration that uses this Adapter connection.
f) Activate the integration.
Agents in HA:
- We can have Multiple Connectivity Agent Support In the Same Machine, Refer to (Doc ID 2425685.1)
- In OIC, we have Supported for Controlled Availability Features”Connectivity Agent HA” And “Litmus Support” on an AOIC Agent, To learn more on how to Enable Enable Controlled Availability Features, refer to (Doc ID 2437887.1),
- If you are unable to install a second agent into the Agent Group after enabling the “oic.adapter.connectivity-agent.ha” feature flag, then refer to doc (Doc ID 2452084.1)
This is all in nutshell about Connectivity Agents in Oracle Integration. We cover installation of On-Premise Connectivity Agent for Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) in one of the modules of our Oracle Integration Cloud Services Training Program (To register for FREE Masterclass, click Here) where we also cover about Configuring Adaptors and connections, Configuring integrations, Data Mapping, Lookups, SaaS, On-premises integration agents, Security, Schedules, Versioning, Activating, Monitoring integrations and much more.
Related Links/References:
- Connectivity Agent in OIC Documentation (Using Integrations in OIC April 2019)
- Agent Download & Installation
- [Doc ID 2372988.1] Connectivity Agent Download And Installation In Oracle Integration Cloud
- Step-by-Step Guide Here to get a FREE Oracle Cloud account
- Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) For Beginners Overview
- Create Oracle Integration Cloud Instance: Step-by-Step
- ICS, PCS, VBCS Console Walkthrough in OIC
- Oracle Integration Cloud Services (OIC) Training Program: Step-By-Step Activity Guides/Hands-On Lab Exercise
Next Task for you:
Click on the Image below to Download our FREE Guide on “25 Exam Questions for Oracle Integration Cloud Service” as it will help you clear your doubts and concepts about OIC before you start your journey. 
The post [Oracle Integration Cloud] Connectivity Agents Overview appeared first on Oracle Trainings.