Using Azure Blob in a Process Flow

Owned by Ashhad Alam
Last updated: Apr 26, 2023 by Shruti Pasayat
10 min read

Adeptia Connect enables you to use Azure Blob as an Application Source or Target in a Process Flow. You can also create an Event that uses Azure Blob, and bind that Event with the Process Flow. Refer to the following sections that guide you on how to use Azure Blob in a Process Flow.

In the event of Adeptia Connect users not willing to whitelist the connect.adeptia.com server to exchange data with Azure Blob, they need to follow the steps given on the page Supporting OAuth without whitelisting connect.adeptia.com.
 Azure Blob as an application source

This section helps you creating Azure Blob as an Application Source that can be used in a Process Flow as an activity.

Follow the steps given below to create Azure Blob type of application source.

  1. Click Configure > SOURCES > Application Source.

  2. Click Create Application Source.


  3. In the Name field, enter a name for the Azure Blob application source.

  4. In the Description field, enter a description for the Azure Blob application source.

  5. In the Application field, select Azure Blob as the type of application source.

  6. In the Account field, select the Azure Blob account that you want to use as the source.
    You can also create an Azure Blob account and use it as the source by clicking the  icon, and then providing the following information on the Create New Account screen.

    Field Name

    Description

    Provide a name for this account. e.g. "MyAccount"

    A short, descriptive name that helps you re-use this account in future.

    Access Type

    This field governs the type of authentication you choose to connect to your Azure Blob.

    Note: You can select Azure AD, Shared Key, or Shared Access Signatures as the Access Type. Based on your selection, the next field will ask you for the required input (Id, Key, or Signature) to proceed. For example, if you select Azure AD as the Access Type, the next field in the form will be Tenant Id where you’d need to enter the Tenant Id of your Azure Blob account.

    You can also use HashiCorp Vault to fetch the Shared Key and Shared Access Signatures secrets.

    • Before you use HashiCorp Vault, ensure that you have cleared the browser cache. 
    • If you ever change the secrets for this activity in HashiCorp Vault, ensure that you have cleared the cached secrets to bring the change into effect.

    Each secret is maintained as a key-value pair in Hashicorp Vault. Enter the variable in the following format in the field for which you want to fetch the secret from Vault:

     ${Vault:<Key1>}

    Where, <Key1> is the key in Hashicorp Vault that is defined for the field for which you want to fetch the secrets. 

    For example, you need to enter ${Vault:SharedAccess.Signatures} in the Shared Access Signatures field, if you have defined SharedAccess.Signatures as the key for this field in the Vault.



    For more details refer to this page.

    You can also enter the values manually.


    You can select one of the following Access Types:

    1. Azure AD – This option facilitates OAuth based authentication and the user experience will be the same as the other OAuth apps.
      Once you select Azure AD as Access Type, you’ll require the Tenant Id to enter in the next field. To know how to get the Tenant Id refer to this page in the Microsoft Azure documentation.
      After clicking Continue, the user would need to enter the Azure credentials in a new window.
    2. Shared Key – Facilitates non-OAuth based authentication. To know how to get the Shared Key, refer to this page in the Microsoft Azure documentation.
      As you complete all the fields and click Continue, your account will be created and saved.
      You may want to test if you’d be able to connect this account with Azure Blob by clicking Test.
    3. Shared Access Signatures – Facilitates non-OAuth based authentication. To know how to get the Shared Access Signature, refer to this page in the Microsoft Azure documentation.
      As you complete all the fields and click Continue, your account will be created and saved.
      You may want to test if you’d be able to connect this account with Azure Blob by clicking Test.

    Storage Account Name

    Name of your storage account in Azure.

    Container Name

    Name of the container in the selected Storage Account.

    Select Project

    Name of your Project in which you want to create a Template/Transaction.

    Once you have provided the information, click  to use the account as a source.

  7. In the Trigger field, select either of the following triggers based on your requirement.

    Sl. no.

    Trigger

    Description

    1

    Get Blob

    		The Get Blob operation downloads a blob, including its metadata and properties.
    2

    Get Blob Snapshot

    The Get Blob Snapshot operation returns a read-only snapshot of a blob.

    3Get Blob MetadataThe Get Blob Metadata operation returns all user-defined metadata for the specified blob or snapshot.
    4Get Blob PropertiesThe Get Blob Properties operation returns all user-defined metadata, standard HTTP properties, and system properties for the blob. It does not return the content of the blob.
    5Get Blob TagsThe Get Blob Tags operation returns all user-defined tags for the specified blob, version, or snapshot.

  8. In the Folder field, specify the path of the folder where the source file/blob is located.

  9. In the File Name field, enter the source file/blob name.

  10. Expand Advanced Properties.

  11. Select Delete File on Success check box, if you want to delete the downloaded source file after it is used in the process flow execution.

  12. In the Select Project field, select the project.

  13. Click Save.

 Event for Azure Blob type of application source

The Application Event enables you to specify when and how frequently a Process Flow bound with it would be executed based on the polling frequency. It also overrides the parameters you have provided in the application source used in the Process Flow as an activity.

This section discusses the event for Azure Blob type of application source. Follow the steps given below to create the application event.

  1. Click Configure > EVENTS > Application.

  2. Click Create Application Event.


  3. In the Name field, enter a name for the event.

  4. In the Description field, enter a description for the event.

  5. In the Application field, select Azure Blob as the type of application source.

  6. In the Account field, select the Azure Blob account that you want to use as a source.
    You can also create an Azure Blob account by clicking the  icon, and then providing the following information on the Create New Account screen.

    Field Name

    Description

    Provide a name for this account. e.g. "MyAccount"

    A short, descriptive name that helps you re-use this account in future.

    Access Type

    This field governs the type of authentication you choose to connect to your Azure Blob.

    Note: You can select Azure AD, Shared Key, or Shared Access Signatures as the Access Type. Based on your selection, the next field will ask you for the required input (Id, Key, or Signature) to proceed. For example, if you select Azure AD as the Access Type, the next field in the form will be Tenant Id where you’d need to enter the Tenant Id of your Azure Blob account.

    You can also use HashiCorp Vault to fetch the Shared Key and Shared Access Signature secrets.

    • Before you use HashiCorp Vault, ensure that you have cleared the browser cache. 
    • If you ever change the secrets for this activity in HashiCorp Vault, ensure that you have cleared the cached secrets to bring the change into effect.

    Each secret is maintained as a key-value pair in Hashicorp Vault. Enter the variable in the following format in the field for which you want to fetch the secret from Vault:

     ${Vault:<Key1>}

    Where, <Key1> is the key in Hashicorp Vault that is defined for the field for which you want to fetch the secrets. 

    For example, you need to enter ${Vault:SharedAccess.Signatures} in the Shared Access Signatures field, if you have defined SharedAccess.Signatures as the key for this field in the Vault.



    For more details refer to this page.

    You can also enter the values manually.


    You can select one of the following Access Types:

    1. Azure AD – This option facilitates OAuth based authentication and the user experience will be the same as the other OAuth apps.
      Once you select Azure AD as Access Type, you’ll require the Tenant Id to enter in the next field. To know how to get the Tenant Id refer to this page in the Microsoft Azure documentation.
      After clicking Continue, the user would need to enter the Azure credentials in a new window.
    2. Shared Key – Facilitates non-OAuth based authentication. To know how to get the Shared Key, refer to this page in the Microsoft Azure documentation.
      As you complete all the fields and click Continue, your account will be created and saved.
      You may want to test if you’d be able to connect this account with Azure Blob by clicking Test.
    3. Shared Access Signatures – Facilitates non-OAuth based authentication. To know how to get the Shared Access Signature, refer to this page in the Microsoft Azure documentation.
      As you complete all the fields and click Continue, your account will be created and saved.
      You may want to test if you’d be able to connect this account with Azure Blob by clicking Test.

    Storage Account Name

    Name of your storage account in Azure.

    Container Name

    Name of the container in the selected Storage Account.

    Select Project

    Name of your Project in which you want to create a Template/Transaction.

    Once you have provided the information, click  to save the account.

  7. In the Trigger field, select either of the following triggers based on your requirement.

    Sl. no.

    Trigger

    Description

    1

    Get New Or Updated Blob

    The New or Updated Blob operation downloads the newly created or updated blob.

    2

    Get All Blob

    The Get All Blob operation downloads all blobs.

  8. In the Folder field, specify the path of the folder where the source file/blob is located.

  9. In the Search Criteria field, specify a file extension, in case you want to retrieve only the files/blobs matching this search criteria. For example, *.txt.

  10. Select Run Initial Load check box, if you want to process all the files when the event gets triggered for the first time.

  11. In the Polling Frequency field, provide the time interval at which the Process Flow bounded with it will get executed. 

  12. Expand Advanced properties.
  13. In the Select Project field, select the project.

  14. Click Save.

 Azure Blob as an application target

This section helps you creating Azure Blob as an Application Target that can be used in a Process Flow as an activity.

Follow the steps given below to create an Azure Blob type of application target.

  1. Click Configure > TARGETS > Application Target.

  2. Click Create Application Target.


  3. In the Name field, enter a name for the Azure Blob application target.

  4. In the Description field, enter a description for the Azure Blob application target.

  5. In the Application field, select Azure Blob as the type of application target.

  6. In the Account field, select the Azure Blob account that you want to use as the target.
    You can also create an Azure Blob account and use it as the target by clicking the  icon, and then providing the following information on the Create New Account screen.

    Field Name

    Description

    Provide a name for this account. e.g. "MyAccount"

    A short, descriptive name that helps you re-use this account in future.

    Access Type

    This field governs the type of authentication you choose to connect to your Azure Blob.

    Note: You can select Azure AD, Shared Key, or Shared Access Signatures as the Access Type. Based on your selection, the next field will ask you for the required input (Id, Key, or Signature) to proceed. For example, if you select Azure AD as the Access Type, the next field in the form will be Tenant Id where you’d need to enter the Tenant Id of your Azure Blob account.

    You can also use HashiCorp Vault to fetch the Shared Key and Shared Access Signatures secrets.

    • Before you use HashiCorp Vault, ensure that you have cleared the browser cache. 
    • If you ever change the secrets for this activity in HashiCorp Vault, ensure that you have cleared the cached secrets to bring the change into effect.

    Each secret is maintained as a key-value pair in Hashicorp Vault. Enter the variable in the following format in the field for which you want to fetch the secret from Vault:

     ${Vault:<Key1>}

    Where, <Key1> is the key in Hashicorp Vault that is defined for the field for which you want to fetch the secrets. 

    For example, you need to enter ${Vault:SharedAccess.Signatures} in the Shared Access Signatures field, if you have defined SharedAccess.Signatures as the key for this field in the Vault.



    For more details refer to this page.

    You can also enter the values manually.


    You can select one of the following Access Types:

    1. Azure AD – This option facilitates OAuth based authentication and the user experience will be the same as the other OAuth apps.
      Once you select Azure AD as Access Type, you’ll require the Tenant Id to enter in the next field. To know how to get the Tenant Id refer to this page in the Microsoft Azure documentation.
      After clicking Continue, the user would need to enter the Azure credentials in a new window.
    2. Shared Key – Facilitates non-OAuth based authentication. To know how to get the Shared Key, refer to this page in the Microsoft Azure documentation.
      As you complete all the fields and click Continue, your account will be created and saved.
      You may want to test if you’d be able to connect this account with Azure Blob by clicking Test.
    3. Shared Access Signatures – Facilitates non-OAuth based authentication. To know how to get the Shared Access Signature, refer to this page in the Microsoft Azure documentation.
      As you complete all the fields and click Continue, your account will be created and saved.
      You may want to test if you’d be able to connect this account with Azure Blob by clicking Test.

    Storage Account Name

    Name of your storage account in Azure.

    Container Name

    Name of the container in the selected Storage Account.

    Select Project

    Name of your Project in which you want to create a Template/Transaction.

    Once you have provided the information, click  to use the account as the target.

  7. In the Action field, select either of the following actions based on your requirement.

    Sl. no.

    Action

    Description

    1Create Block BlobThe Create Block operation creates a new Block blob.
    2Update Block BlobThe Update Block operation updates a new block to be committed as part of a blob.

    3

    Create Page Blob

    The Create Page Blob operation creates a new Page blob.

    4Update Page BlobThe Update Page Blob operation writes a range of pages to an existing Page blob.

    5

    Put Append Blob

    The Put Append Blob operation append a blob.

    6

    Set Blob Snapshot

    The Snapshot Blob operation creates a read-only snapshot of a blob.

    7

    Delete Blob

    The Delete Blob operation marks the specified blob or snapshot for deletion. The blob is later deleted during garbage collection.

    8

    Undelete Blob

    The Undelete Blob operation restores the contents and metadata of a soft deleted blob and any associated soft deleted snapshots.

    9Set Blob PropertiesThe Set Blob Properties operation sets system properties on the blob.
    10Set Blob MetadataThe Set Blob Metadata operation sets user-defined metadata for the specified blob as one or more name-value pairs.
    11Set Blob TagsThe Set Blob Tags operation sets user-defined tags for the specified blob as one or more key-value pairs.

  8. In the Folder field, specify the path of the target folder.

  9. In the File Name field, enter the name of the target file as per your requirement.

  10. In the Time Stamp field, select the format of date and time. The date and time gets appended to the target file name in the same format as selected by you in this field.

  11. Expand Advanced Properties.

  12. In the Select Project field, select the project.

  13. Click Save.