Adapters
An adapter is a live connection between two systems. Each adapter does one job: it receives messages from one place, optionally processes them, and delivers them somewhere else.
Examples:
- Receive messages from an external system and deliver them to an internal topic
- Read from an internal topic and send messages to an external system
- Accept inbound connections from a counterparty and forward messages internally
You create adapters through the Portal, turn them on when you're ready, and the platform keeps them running.
What you see on each adapter
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Name | The label you gave it when you created it |
| Status | Whether it's running right now (see the table below) |
| Mode | How many copies run at once (see Redundancy below) |
| Admin State | Whether you've turned it on (enabled) or off (disabled) |
Adapter status
At any moment, an adapter is in one of four states:
| Status | What's happening |
|---|---|
| Active | Running normally and processing messages |
| Claiming | Starting up; should move to Active within a few seconds |
| Inactive | Not running, either because you turned it off or it hasn't been started yet |
| Error | Something went wrong. Open the adapter to see the event log for details. |
If an adapter shows Claiming for more than 30 seconds, something may be preventing it from starting. Check Troubleshooting.
Turning an adapter on and off
Every adapter has two switches that work independently:
- Admin state is what you control. Set it to
enabledto run the adapter,disabledto stop it. - Status is what the platform reports. It reflects what's actually happening right now.
When you enable an adapter, the platform picks it up automatically. When you disable it, the platform closes the connection cleanly before stopping.
Redundancy (running backup copies)
For connections where uptime matters, you can run your adapter in a mode that keeps a backup copy ready.
| Mode | What it means | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Single | One copy, no backup | Testing, low-priority connections |
| Active / Passive | One copy running, one on standby. If the active copy fails, the standby takes over automatically. | Production connections where you can't afford downtime |
| Active / Active | Multiple copies share the work | High-volume message streams |
You choose the mode when you create the adapter. Ask your administrator how many adapter servers are available before choosing Active / Passive.
Managing adapters
Everything is in the Portal under Adapters:
- Click an adapter's name to open its monitoring console
- Use the Enable / Disable buttons to start or stop it
- Use Edit to change its configuration (the adapter will restart to apply changes)
- Use Delete to remove it permanently
For setting up a new adapter from scratch, see Creating an Adapter.