Supporting multiple connections

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 5 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Supporting multiple connections

    ServiceNow enables support for multiple connections to a single integration provider, allowing customers to manage several connections—such as to different Jira environments—and select which connection to use in flows, subflows, or individual actions. This provides flexibility to override preset connections directly within Workflow Studio and simplifies managing connections when promoting flows to production.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Multiple connections per provider: Establish and select between multiple connections to the same integration provider within flows.
    • Flow-level connection selection: Choose or override connections for entire flows or subflows via the Configure Connections window, which displays all aliases and their available connections.
    • Action-level connection selection: Override connections for individual actions to accommodate scenarios requiring interaction with multiple configurations of the same provider.
    • Dynamic inputs support: Connections can be overridden at flow or action levels even when actions have dynamic inputs, with action-level overrides taking precedence.
    • Override hierarchy: Action-level overrides always take precedence, followed by subflow-level, then flow-level, affecting all components without their own override.
    • Manage connections easily: Use the Connections dashboard to add child connections to parent aliases and configure connections through templates or the platform UI.
    • Configurable visibility: The option to display or hide the Configure Connections feature can be controlled via the system property snflowdesigner.connectionsoverrideenabled.

    Flow Promotion and Connection Configuration

    When flows are promoted to production, alias information transfers but specific connection details do not, requiring reconfiguration of connections in the new environment without modifying the flow itself. Connections linked to aliases with templates can be configured via the Connections dashboard; otherwise, configuration must be done manually through the platform interface.

    Additional Considerations

    • To add connections via the Connections dashboard, parent aliases must have configuration templates (introduced in the Orlando release).
    • Aliases from earlier releases may lack templates and need manual configuration.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    This capability empowers ServiceNow customers to manage complex integrations involving multiple connection points efficiently. It simplifies environment transitions, enhances flexibility in workflow design, and reduces maintenance overhead by isolating connection settings from flow logic. Customers can confidently use multiple configurations of the same provider within a single flow, improving automation and integration scenarios.

    Support several connections to a single integration provider. Select connections for flows, subflows, and actions directly from a flow.

    Benefits

    Multiple connections support offers these benefits.
    • Have more than one connection to the same integration provider. For example, you can establish connections to several different Jira environments.
    • Select which connection you want to use in a flow. Override preset connections for flows, subflows, and actions directly through Workflow Studio.
    • When a flow is promoted to production, reestablish a connection to each account without needing to modify the flow.

    To learn more about connections, see Connections and Credentials.

    Create connections

    There are two ways to add a child connection to a parent alias.

    Through the Connections dashboard
    The Connections dashboard provides a simplified way to add a connection to an alias. For more information about the Connections dashboard, including how to add a connection, see Using the Connections dashboard.
    Through the platform user interface
    Manually create a child connection by setting up connection and credential records. To create a connection with this method, see Create a Connection and Credential alias.

    Flow-level connection selection

    You can choose a connection for a flow or subflow directly from the flow's main page. When you select a new connection, it overrides any preconfigured connection for that flow. To choose a connection, click the More Actions menu icon (More Actions icon), and select the Configure connections option. This option opens the Configure Connections window, where you can select the connections for your flow. The Configure Connections window displays:
    • All the aliases used in the flow.
    • The icon and name for each alias.
    • A list of the configured connections for each alias. The default connection is listed first. Other connections are listed alphabetically.
    • An information icon for each alias. Clicking the icon opens the Connection & Credential Aliases record for the default connection shown in the list.
    • A Manage Connections option that opens the connections dashboard.
    • Options to Cancel connection selection or Update your connection choice.

    Each alias has one entry in the Configure Connections window, regardless of how many actions or subflows may use that alias. When you select a connection at the flow level, the new connection applies to all the actions and subflows using that alias. For example, if a flow has several actions that use a Slack service, changing the connection for the Slack service changes the connection for all the Slack service actions within the flow.

    You can see which parts of a flow a connection change affects by matching the alias icons in the flow to the ones in the Configure Connections window. An action that impacts a Slack service has a Slack icon next to the action in the flow. The Slack icon also appears next to the alias name in the Configure Connections window.

    The Configure Connections window is automatically updated whenever you add or delete a flow component that has connections. When you add an action or subflow to a flow, the Configure Connections window displays the connections for the action or subflow that you just added. If you remove an action or subflow, the connection information is removed from the Configure Connections window.

    You can choose whether to display the Configure connections option with the sn_flow_designer.connections_override_enabled system property. Setting the property to true displays the Configure connections option, while setting it to false hides it. If you delete the system property or it doesn't exist, the Configure connections option is displayed by default.

    View which connection your flow ran with by examining the Step Configuration section of the flow's execution details. The connection alias listed in the CONFIGURATION column is the alias that the flow was originally designed to run with. The alias listed in the RUNTIME VALUE column is the one that the flow actually ran with.

    Figure 1. Execution details page
    Execution details page that displays the connection alias for the flow's default configuration and the flow's runtime value.

    Action-level connection selection

    You can select connections for individual actions within a flow. This functionality is useful if a flow must interact with multiple configurations of the same provider. For example, downloading a file from one configuration of a file storage provider then uploading the file to a different configuration of the same file storage provider.

    To select a connection for an individual action in a flow or subflow, click Advanced Options. This option shows the name of the alias that the action uses and a list of all the alias's associated connections. The first connection on the list is the default connection. Other connections are listed alphabetically. Selecting a connection from the list overrides the connection for that action and for any dynamic inputs inside the action.

    You can enable or disable action-level overrides by clicking the More actions icon (More actions icon) and selecting Flow Preferences. The Configurations window has a Show advanced connection options option. This option is disabled by default, so actions don't show the Advanced Options button. When enabled, the option is available if the action has a connection alias that can be overridden.

    Dynamic inputs

    You can select connections for flows and subflows containing actions with dynamic inputs. When a connection override is specified at the flow level, the dynamic action uses the flow-level override. For example, in a flow with a data-gathering action, the action uses the flow's override connection for the data-gathering step rather than the action's default connection. If an override is specified at the action level, the dynamic action uses the action-level override.

    Multiple overrides within a flow

    When there is more than one override in a flow, they're applied according to the following rules:
    • Action-level overrides always apply.
    • Subflow-level overrides always apply to the subflow. The override also applies to actions within the subflow that don't have their own overrides configured.
    • Flow-level overrides apply to subflows and actions that don't have their own overrides configured.

    Flow promotion

    When you move a flow to a production instance, the alias information is transferred with it, but the underlying connection information is not. An alias functions as a type of container for connections. The container moves with the flow, but the specific connection information doesn't. Any connections associated with the alias become unconfigured and must be reconfigured before you can use them in the new environment.

    You can configure connections without having to modify the flow because you already have the base alias set up. To configure a connection:

    Additional considerations

    To add a connection through the Connections dashboard, the parent alias must have a configuration template. Templates first became available in the Orlando release, so aliases from previous releases may not have templates yet. For more information about configuration templates, see Connection and Credential configuration templates.