Connectors are supplied as components of adapters. A connector provides distributed translation services for the IBM WebSphere Business Integration Server Express system, moving data between collaborations and either:
A connector has a distributed structure:
The two parts of a connector can run on the same system or on two different systems. The connector controller runs as part of the InterChange Server Express and so resides on that system. However, the connector agent can reside on any system on the network from which it can communicate with both its application and the connector controller.
There is one connector for each version of an application. Each connector is unique, because it communicates with its application according to the application's interfaces.
To detect application events in which collaborations are interested, a connector polls the application or uses the application's event callback notification mechanism, if there is one. A connector can also interact with the application at the command of a collaboration or to verify the results of its previous requests.