Configure notifications servers

Notification servers send notifications to users or applications when a job completes or when operations are performed into workflows.

There are two types of notifications:

  • Job Notifications issued under certain conditions when an integration job completes. These notifications are used for administration, monitoring, or integration automation. These notifications are configured with Notification Policies in the data locations.

  • Workflow Notifications are emails sent to users when operations are performed in a workflow. They are configured in workflow transitions and tasks.

Both families of Notifications are issued via Notification Servers.

Notifications servers types

Notification recipients may be users or systems. The type of notification sent as well as the recipient depends on the type of notification server configured.

Each notification server uses a notification plug-in that:

  • defines the configuration parameters for the notification server,

  • defines the configuration and form of the notification,

  • sends the notifications via the notification servers.

Semarchy xDM is provided with several built-in notification plug-ins:

  • JavaMail: The notification is sent in the form of an email via a Mail Session server configured in the application server, and referenced in the notification server. For more information about configuring Mail Session, see Deploy Semarchy xDM.

  • SMTP: The notification is sent in the form of an email via an SMTP server entirely configured in the notification server.

  • File: The notification is issued as text in a file stored in a local directory or in an FTP/SFTP file server.

  • HTTP: The notification is issued as a GET or POST request sent to a remote HTTP server. Use this server type to call a web service with the notification information.

  • JMS: The notification is issued as a JMS message in a message queue.

A single notification server having either the JavaMail or SMTP type can be used to send email notifications to users, for example from workflows. This server is flagged as the Default Notification Server

Any servers can be used to send Job Notifications. Each Job Notification Policy specifies the notification server it uses.

Create a notification server

To create a notification server:

  1. In Semarchy Configuration, select Notification Servers in the navigation drawer. The Notification Servers editor opens.

  2. Select the Notification Servers list, right click and select AbstractNotificationServer New Notification Server. The Create New Notification Server wizard opens.

  3. Enter the following workflow parameters:

    • Name: Internal name of the notification server.

    • Label: User-friendly label for the server.

    • Plug-in ID: Select one of the available notification server plug-in.

    • Default Notification Server: Select this option to use this notification server by default for email notifications. This option can be selected only if the Plug-in ID is JavaMail or SMTP.

  4. Click Next.

  5. In the second wizard page, enter the configuration information for your type of server:

    • JavaMail:

      • JNDI URL: JNDI URL of the Java Mail Session service available in the application server. This URL is typically java:comp/env/mail/Session if the Mail Session service is declared as mail/Session in the application server.

      • From User: Email address of the sender of the notifications from this server. This address is also used in the reply-to address for notification emails.

      • Password: If this server requires specific authentication, enter a password for this server. Note that the authentication configured in the Java Mail resource has precedence over this password.

    • SMTP:

      • SMTP Host Name and SMTP Port: Name or address, and port of the SMTP host.

      • From User: Email address of the sender of the notifications from this server. This address is also used in the reply-to address for notification emails.

      • Authentication Required: If this server requires specific authentication, select the Authentication Required option and enter a User Name and Password for this server, and indicate whether it uses TLS or SSL.

      • Additional SMTP Properties Enter additional properties as property=value pairs.

    • File:

      • File System: Select the file system of the file server. FILE for a local server, FTP or SFTP for a remote server.

      • Host, Port, Login, Password are required to connect an FTP or SFTP server.

      • Root Path: Provide the root path for storing the notification file. For example c:\work\notifications for Windows or /work/notifications for UNIX/Linux

    • HTTP:

      • Scheme: Specify whether the HTTP request should be done using HTTP or HTTPS

      • Host, Port and optionally Login, Password are used to connect the HTTP server.

      • Base Path: Root path appended added after the host and port in the URL. For example: / or /rest/api/.

      • Use System Properties: Check this option to use the system-defined properties to configure the HTTP connection. This option allows using a proxy configuration defined in the Java parameters for the application server.

      • Proxy Host, Proxy Port, Proxy Login and Proxy Password are used to configure the connection through an HTTP proxy and possibly override the proxy configured via the system properties.

      • Headers: Enter additional HTTP headers as property=value pairs.

    • JMS:

      • Connection Factory URL: JNDI URL of the factory used to create a connection to the JMS destination. The URL is typically java:comp/env/jms/ConnectionFactory if the connection factory is declared as jms/ConnectionFactory in the application server.

      • Login and Password used when initiating the JMS connection.

  6. PressControl+S (or Command+S on macOS) to save the configuration.

Test a notification server

After configuring the notification server, it is recommended to run a test email on this server.

To test a notification server:

  1. In the Notification Servers editor, select the notification server you want to test, right-click and select Test Configuration.

  2. The next steps depend on the type of notification servers:

    • File, HTTP, JMS: No further operation is needed. A connection attempt is made on the notification server.

    • JavaMail and SMTP: Provide a comma-separated list of email addresses and then click OK. An email is sent via the notification server to these recipients.