The connector manages the connection to the external collaboration system (or other system). One connector can service any or all users in the system. In order to find out which users are to be serviced by which connector, the DME server issues a user broadcast. This means that the first time a user needs to be serviced (for instance the first time the user connects to DME), the server asks all registered connectors if they are able to service the user in question. The server then connects the user to the first connector to return with a positive answer. It may be that several connectors are able to service the user in question, but the first one to report back "wins" the right to service that user. In other terms, a route has been established to the user. The DME server saves this route and will in future only ask that particular connector to service that particular user - unless the connector is down for some reason. For more information, see Main, which describes the connector configuration.
Separate connectors can be set up to service users in different areas.
Since the same user can be serviced by different connectors, a user may have several routes to several connectors. See Users, which describes the routing table overview.
The connector can be installed as a separate process on the DME server machine, or on a separate machine anywhere in the network.
All connectors must retrieve information from the same directory server. The directory "tree" (the group graph) is built by one connector in the system, as described below.