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Always in Sync: A Deep Dive into Novell Data Synchronizer
By Ken Baker, Novell Connection Magazine - August 2010

Here's an excerpt:

As you read in the June issue of Novell Connection Magazine (See Higher Levels of Collaboration), Novell Data Synchronizer keeps applications and mobile devices constantly in sync so users can always have access to the data they need. That article talked about the product’s mobility pack, its many-to-many synchronize engine and how to configure connectors. This article takes a deeper technical dive into the way connectors facilitate synchronization, as well as a few other supporting architectural elements.

Written to application-specific or standard APIs, the connectors enable Data Synchronizer to understand how and what needs to be done with data to be synchronized.

Synchronization Channels and Filters

The majority of the intelligence in Novell Data Synchronizer resides in its connectors. Written to application-specific or standard APIs, the connectors enable Data Synchronizer to understand how and what needs to be done with data to be synchronized. For example, the SharePoint connector uses the SharePoint Web Services API to access data and push it through the system. The Salesforce.com connector uses the Salesforce.com Web services API. Similarly, the GroupWise connector utilizes the SOAP interface to synchronize e-mail, tasks, calendar data and contact information. The use of standard or native APIs allows each connector to be built specifically for its target application.

Each connector in Novell Data Synchronizer is comprised of two main components: channels and filters. Channels conduct the flow of data from the synchronization engine through the connectors to the connected systems. Filters act upon the data—translating and manipulating the data in a prescribed manner.

At a very high level, channels and filters work together in the following fashion:

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