TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Alumio is the leading iPaaS solution and it comes with a dashboard that provides easy access to create HTTP client entities. They primarily illustrate the request header structure, configure SSL parameters, and handle authentication. They make it easier to set up incoming and outgoing configurations as well as other configurations for a specific system. It is because the connectivity towards the system is already located within the client. This article is intended to help you understand how one can use the HTTP clients overview page and create an HTTP Client, summarizing the majority of configurations.


As you open the HTTP clients overview page, you can see the HTTP clients listed there. 


Video



Tabs Present On The HTTP Clients Overview Page Of Alumio

There are a range of useful tabs in the Tasks page of Alumio that offer a varied range of functionalities such as Name, Description, Created At, Updated At, and Actions.


Name: It displays the names of the HTTP clients that are currently available.


Description: It shows the descriptions of the HTTP clients.


Created at: As the name suggests, it reflects the time at which a specific HTTP client was created.


Updated at:  As the name suggests, it reflects the time at which a specific HTTP client was updated.


Actions: It allows the Alumio users to do some actions with the HTTP clients, such as Export, Duplicate or Delete.


Search Filters On The HTTP Clients Overview Page Of Alumio

There are an array of useful search filters in the HTTP Clients Overview Page Of Alumio that offer a varied range of search functionalities utilizing Name, Created At, Updated At, and Add Filter +. 


Route: If you click on the Name button, a drop-down menu will appear listing the available HTTP clients. In addition to that, a search bar will also appear that allows you to search for the intended HTTP Client.


Created At: It allows you to list the HTTP clients created at a specific time.


Updated At: It helps you to list the HTTP clients updated at a specific time.


Add Filter +: The Add Filter + button allows you to search for tasks based on various parameters.


In addition to the search filters you can see the pagination button in the top-right corner. It allows the Alumio users to toggle through various poges of listed HTTP clients.

 

How To Create An HTTP Client In Alumio?

Here are the steps to create an HTTP client.


Step 1: Just to the left of the Pagination button, there is a + button, using which, you can create new HTTP clients. Click on the + button.


Step 2: Start with naming the HTTP client in the first place. For instance, you can name it Platform Client based on the platform/system it is communicating with. 


Step 2: You can add a short Description defining the HTTP client that you are creating.


Step 3: Next, you need to specify the Settings, where you can select one of the prototypes you have. There is a wide range of options to choose from since Alumio connects with a lot of systems. Therefore, it comes with a variety of settings.


Example 1: You can select Shopify Http Client within Settings. And, since Alumio is a top-notch iPaaS platform, it already knows that  Shopify Http Client requires a Base URL (you need to specify) along with an X-Shopify Access Token (you need to specify). 


There is also a checkbox for Enable logging of requests that allows you to enable/disable logging.


Example 2: You can also customize the HTTP client. In this case, you can select Default Prototype within Settings. 


Here, you will have an option to Add a plugin where you can incorporate multiple plugins. 


The 3 plugins that we suggest for Http clients are:


  1. Add base URL to requests

  2. Log requests


Note: When you select Log requests as a plug-in, you have to specify the Formatter field which can be Full, Long, Simple, or even Custom. 


  1. Lastly, you can add extra content type headers or anything that will improve the quality of the request as per requirements at hand. In most cases, Add content type headers to requests is selected as a plugin. 


It basically means that if this plugin detects that the data is in JSON format, it will simply put JSON to the content type(as a header for better recognition by users). If it detects any other data structure or data type, it will include those to the content header.   



Step 4: Moving on, you will also have the opportunity to carry out data authentications through the Authentications to use field. You can select from a plethora of pre-built authentications from the drop-down menu. 


Example 1: You can implement the Bearer token authentication and subsequently specify a bearing token in the field of Token.


Example 2: You can also select the oauth 2 authentication where you need to specify the Grant Type, Client ID, Client Secret, Token URL, Scopes, Authentication method and other additional functionalities.


Once you are done, click on the Retrieve an access key button. 


Step 5: Once all of the information is filled in and the connection is successful, the token will get stored in the Key field. It will also be used for all of the follow-up calls that are made within this client.  

 

Step 6: 


As you scroll the HTTP client configuration page, you will come across a host of options such as setting The number of seconds to wait for a response, The minimum transfer speed (in bytes per second), etc. 


In addition to this, there are some specific authentication, authorization and firewall options to set. 


Also, there are checkboxes to set for:


  1. Close connection after a request,

  2. Use a fresh connection instead of using a cached one, and

  3. Enable TCP Fast Open. 


You can configure them as per requirement at hand (Watch the YouTube video above to learn more!)


Step 7: When you have finished configuring the HTTP Client, click on the Save & continue button at the top right corner. 


Once it is saved, the HTTP clients can be applied to the incoming/outgoing configuration or anywhere else where you can select its client.


Closing Thoughts!

HTTP Clients set up is extremely important during end-to-end integrations and Alumio makes it super-easy and super-flexible for its users to set it up in the best possible way. Stay tuned with us to learn more about other Alumio functionalities!