Connector rules

Connectors define the methods and entry points where AxoRouter receives data from the sources.

In addition to providing a simple protocol specific listener, Connectors implement critical processing steps - for example classification and parsing - right at the ingestion point to enrich data before it gets processed by Flows.

On top of this, Connector rules are high-level policies that determine what kind of Connectors should be available on a set of AxoRouter instances based on dynamic host labels.

To see every connector rule configured in Axoflow Console, open the Connectors page from the main menu.

Connector rules have the following main elements:

• the way they accept data (for example, via syslog, using the OpenTelemetry protocol), and other protocol-specific parameters (for example, port number)

• the router selector, which determines the list of AxoRouter instances that will create a connector based on that rule.

  You can use any labels and metadata of the AxoRouter hosts in the Router selectors, for example, the hostname of the AxoRouter, or any custom labels.

Selecting a connector rule shows the details of the connector rule, including the list of Matched hosts: the AxoRouter deployments that will have a connector based on that connector rule. If you click on the name of a matched router, Connectors page of the AxoRouter host opens, showing you the connectors configured for that host.

Create connector rule

To create a new connector rule, complete the following steps.

1. Select Connectors > Create new rule. (Alternatively, you can select Add Connector > Create a connector rule on the Connectors page of an AxoRouter host.)

   

2. Select the type of connector you want to create. For example, OpenTelemetry. The following connector types are available:

   • OpenTelemetry
   • Syslog (autodetect and classify)
   • Syslog connectors
   • Webhook
   • Windows Event Collector (WEC)

3. Configure the connector rule.

   1. Enter a name for the connector rule into the Rule Name field.

   2. (Optional) Add labels to the connector rule. You will be able to use these labels in Flow Processing steps, for example, in the Query field of Select Messages steps.

   3. Set the Router Selector for the connector rule. The selector determines which AxoRouter instances will have a connector based on this connector rule.

      

      • If you leave the Router Selector field empty, the rule will match every AxoRouter instance.
      • To select only a specific AxoRouter instance, set the name field with the name of the instance as selector.
      • If you set multiple fields in the selector, the connector rule will apply only to AxoRouter instances that match all elements of the selector. (There in an AND relationship between the fields.)

   4. (Optional) Enter a Suffix for the connector rule. This suffix will be used in the name of the connector instances created on the AxoRouter hosts. For example, if the name of a matching AxoRouter instance is “my-axorouter”, and the suffix of the rule is “otlp-rule”, the connector created for the AxoRouter will be named “my-axorouter-otlp-rule”.

      If the Suffix field is empty, the name of the connector rule is used instead.

   5. (Optional) Enter a description for the rule.

4. Configure the protocol-specific settings. For details, see the specific pages:

   • OpenTelemetry
   • Syslog (autodetect and classify)
   • Syslog connectors
   • Webhook
   • Windows Event Collector (WEC)

5. Select Create.

   Axoflow automatically creates connectors on the AxoRouter hosts that match the Router Selector.

   Make sure to enable the ports you’ve configured in the connector on the firewall of the AxoRouter host, and on other firewalls between the AxoRouter host and your data sources.

Modify connector rule

To modify an existing connector rule, complete the following steps.

1. Find the connector rule you want to modify:

   • Select Connectors from the main menu, then select the connector rule you want to modify.
   • Alternatively, find the AxoRouter instance whose connector you want to modify on the Hosts or Topology page, then select Connectors. Find the connector you want to modify, then select ⋮ > Edit connector rule.

2. Modify the configuration of the connector rule as needed.

   CAUTION:

   The changes are applied immediately after you click Update. Double-check your changes to avoid losing data.

3. Select Update.

Add AxoRouter to existing connector rule

To add an AxoRouter to an existing connector rule, you have two options, depending on the Router Selector of the connector rule:

• Modify the Router Selector field of the connector rule to include the new AxoRouter host.
• Modify the labels of the AxoRouter host so it matches the router selector of the connector rule.