How to deploy a flow

Once end-to-end testing of a flow is completed, the final step is to decide where this flow runs. The flow runtime is the execution environment for flows. A single flow runtime can execute multiple flows and those flows run independently from each other. This makes it possible to update an existing flow or add a new flow without affecting other flows running in the same runtime.

The Deployment Tool is used to install a flow into one or several flow runtimes. After a flow successfully deploys, processing runs locally in each of the flow runtimes until the flow is stopped or removed.

Flow runtime: The executing engine

Flow runtime is the generic runtime for flows. It can be installed close to the data sources as a single Docker container or as a Windows service. This is where data is collected, processed, and results are delivered to different receivers, either on-premise or in the cloud.

• Once deployed, a flow runs until stopped or removed.

• A flow runtime can be installed either as a Docker container or as a Windows service and can have any number of flow runtimes.

• Each flow can be deployed into one or several flow runtimes.

• Flows are version controlled so a new version is required if changes occur.

Available flow runtime environment options

Once you have designed a flow in Flow Studio, the next step is to test the flow and then deploy it for continuous operation. For this step, a flow runtime is required. The following options are possible:

• Sandbox

• Self-hosted flow runtime

• CONNECT-hosted nodes

Sandbox

Sandboxes are flow runtime hosted by flows that are available in Flow Studio. Sandboxes are intended for testing only. You cannot deploy flows to sandboxes. Since sandbox nodes are hosted in the cloud, you can only reach systems that are accessed on the Internet.

Self-hosted flow runtimes

You can install flow runtime on your own infrastructure, either as a Docker container or as a Windows service. These flow runtimes can be used both for testing and permanent deployment of flows. Since you can install them anywhere, you can also use them with flows that need access to systems and services that are not accessible from the Internet.

CONNECT-hosted nodes

If you have an IPA subscription, your account comes with one flow runtime hosted by CONNECT in Azure. You can use this flow runtime for both testing and deploying flows.