In this article:
Overview
In the Chain.io portal we provide customers the ability to connect to multiple Host Systems. These Host Systems serve different functions within our ecosystem: some are designed for the purpose of transmitting data to the Chain.io system, while others are dedicated to receiving data from it. Understanding these two key functions, known as "Send Flow Type" and "Receive Flow Type," is crucial working within the Chain.io portal. You can find detailed explanations in the respective sections here.
Some of these Host Systems can be used to send data to the Chain.io system and some of these Host Systems can be used to receive data. The flow types of send and receive are used many times and so it is important to understand the concept which can be found under the Send Flow Type and Receive Flow Type sections found here.
What Are Host Systems?
Your Host System is the main system that manages your logistics or supply chain activities. It is often your Transportation, Freight, or Warehouse Management system (TMS, FMS, WMS). Most Workspaces have one host system configured, though you may have multiple depending on the complexity of your business. A host system is needed in order to configure a valid integration.
Types of Host Systems
Chain.io has a wide variety of ways to connect with Host Systems. There are system specific configurations that allow you to seamlessly connect your system to the Chain.io portal as well as other alternative communication protocols and authorization methods available to ensure a solution is available for your infosec needs.
A list of available host system connection types are below:
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API Client
- Initiate a send flow by sending a request to a Chain.io hosted API endpoint. At this moment, there are no configuration options except for naming the API client. When creating a flow and using this option as a source system, you will be prompted to further define the API endpoint and API key. This Host system type will not be used as a destination system when configuring a flow.
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API Server
- Configure an API endpoint to where you want data to be sent to your host system. This allows you to define an HTTPs endpoint and authentication method that will be used when your host system is receiving data. This host system type will be used as a destination system when configuring a receive flow. This option is not used in a send flow.
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AS2 Send
- This will be used as the destination system in the Send flow in which you can define the AS2 details for where you would like Chain.io to send the data to. To learn more on how to configure AS2 host systems click here.
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AS2 Receive
- Provide an AS2 endpoint for users to initiate a receive flow in portal.chain.io. Once created, this host system will be available as a source system for receive flows. To learn more on how to configure AS2 host systems click here.
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CargoWise Rest
- Configure the CargoWise eAdaptor settings in order to use their RESTful web service interface. For more information on how to set this up please see the following article. This host system type will be the Source System in a send flow type and a Destination System in a receive flow type. For more details about CargoWise eAdaptor and their REST API vs SOAP please see the eAdaptor Developers Guide published by Cargowise in their account portal.
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CargoWise SOAP
- This configuration option is primarily only used to route data to Chain.io AND to another company such as another middleware. To learn more about why you may need to set up this option, please review the following article.
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CargoWise Send Only
- For our SEDNA users only
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Custom
- If your application requires very unique and custom configurations that are not found in any of our other standard host types, then the Chain.io support team can help accommodate with a custom configuration to meet your needs.
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Send Email
- This is the Destination System in select receive flow types. At this moment, there are no configuration options except for naming of this email host type. This name will show up as an option as a destination system in select receive flow types. From there, you will be able to define email recipient(s) along with a subject and body.
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Receive Email
- Definition for if we were to implement: This allows you to define a Chain.io hosted email address to receive attachments. When configured as a Source System for a send flow type, any valid attachments to this email address will initiate the flow process.
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eFreight
- Define the Group code and Branch code of an eFreight host system. You can then use this host system as a destination system of a receive flow that allows Chain.io to send data to eFreight.
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Geodis
- This gives you direct access to read and write to Geodis. If you need to setup this host system, please reach out to the Chain.io support team to get started.
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No Action
- No Action host systems can be setup as a destination system in a Receive flow when data is not required to be sent. The 2 main use cases are for when you want to test some files but don't need to send the data to a final destination. The other use case is when the destination file type has a process that sends the data to the final destination making the use of the destination system redundant and not needed.
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Rollmaster
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This configuration is used to connect to your Rollmaster system and send data out of it. When configuring a flow, this host system will show up as a source system for select send flow types.
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Remote SFTP Server
- Configure an SFTP endpoint that flows can retrieve data or send data to. In the host system configuration, you can define the url and username and password details along with a few other protocols. Later on when you configure a flow that will leverage this host system, you will be able to define the directory and a few other configuration options that are applicable to that integration.
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Webhook.site
- Configure this to connect to a webhook.site. The site UUID is the only configuration needed.
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DHL
- This gives you direct access to read and write to DHL. If you need to setup this host system, please reach out to the Chain.io support team to get started.
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S3
- Configure Amazon Web Service(AWS) S3 buckets as a host system so that it can be used as the receiving system in a workflow.
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Scheduled
- There are certain source file types within Chain.io that can query for changes within their TMS. You can use the Scheduled host system to configure how frequent you want the source file type to query for changes within that respective system.
Adding A Host System
There are two ways to add a Host System to be used within your Flow configurations. The first we will cover will show you how to add a Host System in your Workspace Settings. The second will demonstrate how to add a Host System directly from the Flow configuration.
Adding a Host System via Workspace Settings
To add a Host System, navigate to your Workspace Settings
Then, in the Flow Setup section, click on Host Systems.
On the next screen, click Create New Host System
Choose the type of Host System you require and enter the respective information in the configuration panel that appears. Please note, this will be different depending on the type of Host System you choose. For more on types of Host Systems, please refer to our previous section above.
Adding a Host System Directly From A Flow Configuration
To add a Host System directly from a Flow Configuration, start a new Flow or navigate to an existing Flow in your Workspace integrations.
Select, Add New Flow or you can add a Host System to an existing Flow by clicking Edit in the Flow Summary table row.
In your Flow configuration, scroll to your Source or Destination System and click Select Host System.
This will show a modal with all your existing Host Systems or your added host systems once you create them.
Scroll to the bottom of the modal and select Add New Host System
In the next screen select the type of Host System you would like to add. Please note, your selection will be limited to Host Systems that are permitted within the type of Flow you are setting up.
Once you have selected the type of Host System you would like to add, the screen will present you with options for configuring your Host System.
If you are having any issues adding or updating your Host Systems, please send us a Support Request here.