OutboundFlowLink Component
The OutboundFlowLink component can be used together with the InboundFlowLink component to connect flows with each other. This enables you to split up bigger integrations in several reusable flows.
This component can be used multiple times in a flow to sent messages to other flows that have an InboundFlowLink component.
Configuration
This component has the following configuration options:
Target flow
Here you select the flow that you want to connect to. Only flows that start with an InboundFlowLink component that have the same Transport setting are fetched.
You can select a Group to filter the Flow list on flows in that flow group. Select -- to see the full list of flows that can be connected or groupless to filter on flows that are not in a group.
Transport
The transport mechanism used between the FlowLink components. If you are not familiar with how the different transport types work, we recommend you leave it at the default setting Queues.
Options
SynchronousAsynchronousQueues(default)
You can't sent messages to an InboundFlowLink that has a different Transport setting. For instance: an asynchronous OutboundFlowLink component can't send messages to a synchronous InboundFlowLink component.
| Transport | Queue | Explanation | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synchronous | No | When you configure your flow to be synchronous, the output of the next flow will be used as a response to the first flow. | For synchronous (request/response) interactions. Especially to keep the message order. Note the calling flow must be running. |
| Asynchronous | Yes | When you configure your flow to be asynchronous, messages are stored an in-memory blocking queue between flows. | For asynchronous (fire-and-forget) interactions. Especially to increase performance. Note the calling flow must be running. |
| Queues | Yes | The default setting. All messages will pass through a queuing mechanism. This means that the messages are stored on a broker outside of the flow until the next flow has received and acknowledged it. | For synchronous (request/response) or asynchronous (fire-and-forget) interactions with large messages and guaranteed delivery. Message throughput can be slower. |
When Transport is set to Queues, messages on the broker have an expiration time of 24 hours. If you uninstall the flow with the InboundFlowLink while the OutboundFLowLink is still sending messages, those messages will be removed from the queue 24 hours after their arrival.
Exchange pattern
This option determines if the connected flow sends back a response or not.
Options
One way(default)Request reply
One way
There will be no response from the connected flow when this option is set to One way. This is recommended when you don't need a response from the connected flow in your current flow. For example when you just want to sent messages to your own logging solution.
Request reply
When this option is set to Request reply the connected flow will send a response message. This option is recommended when you need the processed message from the connected flow in your current flow.
The response that is sent back from the connected flow is either the message after the last component or, if there are components in the connected flow with an exchange pattern set to One way, the message right before reaching the first One way component.
For Request reply the timeout option of a flow may need to be increased to give the connected flow time to process the message and sent it back as a response.
Remarks
To see the full origin/target flow chain in the tracing, all connected flows should have tracing enabled.
An OutboundFlowLink can not select its own InboundFlowLink when Transport is set to queues and the Exchange pattern is set to request-reply. It will dissappear as an option from the list.