Click Save. Log in to the Oracle Identity Manager Design Console. Click Process Definition under Process Management. Open the Flat File process definition. Click the Reconciliation Field Mappings tab as illustrated in

Part IV Part IV Generic Technology Connectors This part explains how to develop and manage connectors. It contains the following chapters: ■ Chapter 18, Understanding Generic Technology Connectors ■ Chapter 19, Predefined Providers for Generic Technology Connectors ■ Chapter 20, Creating Custom Providers for Generic Technology Connectors ■ Chapter 21, Creating and Managing Generic Technology Connectors ■ Chapter 22, Troubleshooting Generic Technology Connectors 18 Understanding Generic Technology Connectors 18-1 18 Understanding Generic Technology Connectors This chapter introduces generic technology connectors and the features that Oracle Identity Manager provides for working with generic technology connectors. This chapter contains the following sections: ■ Requirement for Generic Technology Connectors ■ Functional Architecture of Generic Technology Connectors ■ Features of Generic Technology Connectors ■ Connector Objects Created by the Generic Technology Connector Framework ■ Roadmap for Information on Generic Technology Connectors in This Guide

18.1 Requirement for Generic Technology Connectors

Predefined Oracle Identity Manager connectors are designed for commonly used target systems such as Microsoft Active Directory and PeopleSoft Enterprise Applications. A predefined connector is developed using the Adapter Factory approach, and its architecture is based on either the APIs that the target system supports or the data repository type and schema in which the target system stores user data. Since they are developed using the Adapter Factory, predefined connectors offer extensive workflow and adapter customization capabilities. The use of a predefined connector is the recommended integration method when such a connector is available for the target system. There may be scenarios in which you want to integrate Oracle Identity Manager with a target system that has no corresponding predefined connector. The following are examples of such scenarios: Scenario 1: All employees of Acme Inc. are allotted disk space on a backup server. Employees send requests to the system administrator for managing their accounts on the backup server. The system administrator has developed a Web-based application to capture, review, and act on requests from employees. The front end of this application is a Web service that accepts and stores data in CSV format. Employee account data stored in the back end can be exported as XML files to a specified location. Scenario 2: Ceeam Travels Inc. owns a custom Web-based application that its customers use to request airline fare quotes. Agents, who are also employees of Ceeam Travels, respond to these requests by using the same application. Customers register 18-2 Oracle Fusion Middleware Developers Guide for Oracle Identity Manager themselves to create accounts in this application. However, Ceeam Travels employees need to have accounts auto-provisioned based on their HR job title. Account management functions such as create, update, and delete of the application are available through Java APIs. In both these scenarios, you need to create a custom connector to link the target system and Oracle Identity Manager. If you are looking for a simple way to create your custom connector and do not need the customization features of the Adapter Factory, you can create the connector by using the Generic Technology Connector feature of Oracle Identity Manager. As described in the Section 18.2, Functional Architecture of Generic Technology Connectors , providers are the building blocks of generic technology connectors. ■ In Scenario 1, you can use the predefined shared drive reconciliation transport provider and CSV reconciliation format provider to create a generic technology connector that reconciles data stored in a flat file into Oracle Identity Manager. ■ In Scenario 2, there is no predefined provider available to integrate the custom application with Oracle Identity Manager. In this case, you can use the instructions provided in Chapter 20, Creating Custom Providers for Generic Technology Connectors to create the custom providers that call the Java APIs exposed by the target application.

18.2 Functional Architecture of Generic Technology Connectors

Like a predefined connector, a generic technology connector acts as the bridge for reconciliation and provisioning operations between Oracle Identity Manager and a target system. Functionally, a generic technology connector can be divided into a reconciliation module and provisioning module. When you create a generic technology connector, you can specify whether you want to include both modules, or include the reconciliation module only, or include the provisioning module only. A predefined connector provides reconciliation and provisioning functionality in the context of the same target. In contrast, the reconciliation and provisioning modules of a generic technology connector are composed of reusable components that you choose. Each component performs a specific function during provisioning or reconciliation. For example, you can create a connector that performs trusted source reconciliation from flat files and provides target resource provisioning using the SPML protocol to an SPML-enabled target. In this guide, the components that constitute a generic technology connector are called providers. Each provider performs a transport, format change, validation, or transformation function on the data that it receives as input. In other words, data items processed by a provider are moved to a new location, validated against specified criteria, or undergo modification in structure or value. In this guide, the term data sets is used to describe data structures arranged in the form of layers, with data flowing from one layer to another during provisioning and reconciliation. While creating a generic technology connector, you can specify the fields user identity metadata that must be included in each data set. You can also define mappings between fields of different data sets. A mapping serves one of the following purposes: ■ Establishes a data flow path between fields of two data sets for use either in provisioning or reconciliation. A mapping of this type forms the basis for validations or transformations to be performed on data that is fetched from the target system.