The area to the left is referred to as the agent pane, it contains available agents, represented as icons. Different icons are available, depending on which kind of workflow configuration type that you have selected, i e batch, real-time, or task.

Real-time and batch workflow configurations contain three types of agents, sorted under three different tabs, depending on the type of data an agent expects and delivers, also referred to as the agents "introspection". The tabs are labelled Collection, Processing, and Forwarding.

Batch and Real-Time Workflow Agents

Collection Agents

A collection agent is responsible for the gathering of data from external systems or devices, for example, by opening a file and reading it byte-by-byte and then passing it on into the workflow.

A collection agent must have one or several outgoing introspection types and forwarding agents must have one or several incoming introspection types. The workflow configuration validates that the introspection types between two connected agents are compatible.

Processing Agents

A processing agent expects to be fed with data and to deliver data on one or several outgoing routes. Inside a workflow, data propagates between agents as streams, that is, as a flow of bytes or UDRs. A simple processing agent could for example be a counter counting the throughput. There are also more complex types, for instance, agents that depending on the processed result, deliver data on different routes. The processing agent decodes (translates) an incoming byte stream into a UDR object and the encoding agent does right the opposite.

Forwarding Agents

A forwarding agent is responsible for distributing the data from the workflow to other systems or devices. An example of an activity for a forwarding agent is to create a file from a data stream and transfer it to another system using FTP.

Different agents act differently on the Begin Batch and End Batch messages. The forwarding agents, for instance, need a set of boundaries in order to close a file or commit a database transaction.

For detailed information about specific collection-, processing-, and forwarding agents, see 9. Appendix 2 - Batch and Real-Time Workflow Agents.

Task Workflow Agents

Task workflows agents are used to execute system housekeeping task such as removing files or cleaning up database tables. These agents do not have any introspection types.

For detailed information about specific task agents, see 10. Appendix 3 - Task Workflow Agents.