Managed connectors in Azure Logic Apps
Managed connectors provide ways for you to access other services and systems where built-in connectors aren't available. You can use these triggers and actions to create workflows that integrate data, apps, cloud-based services, and on-premises systems. Different from built-in connectors, managed connectors are usually tied to a specific service or system such as Office 365, SharePoint, Azure Key Vault, Salesforce, Azure Automation, and so on. Managed by Azure and hosted in Azure, managed connectors usually require that you first create a connection from your workflow and authenticate your identity.
For a smaller number of services, systems and protocols, Azure Logic Apps provides a built-in version alongside the managed version. The number and range of built-in connectors vary based on whether you create a Consumption logic app workflow that runs in multitenant Azure Logic Apps or a Standard logic app workflow that runs in single-tenant Azure Logic Apps. In most cases, the built-in version provides better performance, capabilities, pricing, and so on. In a few cases, some built-in connectors are available only in one logic app workflow type, and not the other.
For example, a Standard workflow can use both managed connectors and built-in connectors for Azure Blob, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Event Hubs, Azure Service Bus, DB2, FTP, MQ, SFTP, and SQL Server, while a Consumption workflow doesn't have the built-in versions. A Consumption workflow can use built-in connectors for Azure API Management, Azure App Services, and Batch, while a Standard workflow doesn't have these built-in connectors. For more information, review Built-in connectors in Azure Logic Apps and Single-tenant versus multitenant in Azure Logic Apps.
This article provides a general overview about managed connectors and the way they're organized in the Consumption workflow designer versus the Standard workflow designer with examples. For technical reference information about each managed connector in Azure Logic Apps, review Connectors reference for Azure Logic Apps.
Managed connector categories
For a Consumption logic app workflow, managed connectors appear in the designer under the following labels:
Standard connectors provide access to services such as Azure Blob Storage, Office 365, SharePoint, Salesforce, Power BI, OneDrive, and many more.
Enterprise connectors provide access to enterprise systems, such as SAP, IBM MQ, and IBM 3270 for an additional cost.
For a Standard logic app stateful workflow, all managed connectors appear in the designer under the Azure label, which describes how these connectors are hosted on the Azure platform. A Standard stateless workflow can use only the built-in connectors designed to run natively in single-tenant Azure Logic Apps.
Regardless whether you have a Consumption or Standard workflow, managed connector pricing follows the pricing for Enterprise connectors and Standard connectors, but metering works differently based on the workflow type. For more pricing information, review Trigger and action operations in the Consumption model and Trigger and action operations in the Standard model.
Some managed connectors also fall into the following informal groups:
On-premises connectors provide access to on-premises systems such as SQL Server, SharePoint Server, SAP, Oracle DB, file shares, and others.
Integration account connectors help you transform and validate XML, encode and decode flat files, and process business-to-business (B2B) messages using AS2, EDIFACT, and X12 protocols.
Standard connectors
In the Consumption workflow designer, managed connectors that follow the Standard connector pricing model appear under the Standard label. This section lists only some of the popular managed connectors. For more pricing information, review Trigger and action operations in the Consumption model.
In the Standard workflow designer, all managed connectors appear under the Azure label. Managed connector pricing still follows the pricing for Enterprise connectors and Standard connectors, but metering works differently based on the workflow type. For more pricing information, review Trigger and action operations in the Standard model.
Azure Blob Storage
Connect to your Azure Storage account so that you can create and manage blob content.
Azure Event Hubs
Consume and publish events through an event hub. For example, get output from your workflow with Event Hubs, and then send that output to a real-time analytics provider.
Azure Queues
Connect to your Azure Storage account so that you can create and manage queues and messages.
Azure Service Bus
Manage asynchronous messages, sessions, and topic subscriptions with the most commonly used connector in Logic Apps.
Azure Table Storage
Connect to your Azure Storage account so that you can create, update, query, and manage tables.
File System
Connect to your on-premises file share so that you can create and manage files.
FTP
Connect to FTP servers you can access from the internet so that you can work with your files and folders.
Office 365 Outlook
Connect to your work or school email account so that you can create and manage emails, tasks, calendar events and meetings, contacts, requests, and more.
Salesforce
Connect to your Salesforce account so that you can create and manage items such as records, jobs, objects, and more.
SharePoint Online
Connect to SharePoint Online so that you can manage files, attachments, folders, and more.
SFTP-SSH
Connect to SFTP servers that you can access from the internet by using SSH so that you can work with your files and folders.
SQL Server
Connect to your SQL Server on premises or an Azure SQL Database in the cloud so that you can manage records, run stored procedures, or perform queries.
Enterprise connectors
In the Consumption workflow designer, managed connectors that follow the Enterprise connector pricing model appear under the Enterprise label. These connectors can access enterprise systems for an additional cost. For more pricing information, review Trigger and action operations in the Consumption model.
In the Standard workflow designer, all managed connectors appear under the Azure label. Managed connector pricing still follows the pricing for Enterprise connectors and Standard connectors, but metering works differently based on the workflow type. For more pricing information, review Trigger and action operations in the Standard model.
On-premises connectors
Before you can create a connection to an on-premises system, you must first download, install, and set up an on-premises data gateway. This gateway provides a secure communication channel without having to set up the necessary network infrastructure.
For a Consumption workflow, this section lists example Standard connectors that can access on-premises systems. For the expanded on-premises connectors list, review Supported data sources.
Integration account connectors
Integration account operations support business-to-business (B2B) communication scenarios in Azure Logic Apps. After you create an integration account and define your B2B artifacts, such as trading partners, agreements, and others, you can use integration account connectors to encode and decode messages, transform content, and more.
For example, if you use Microsoft BizTalk Server, you can create a connection from your workflow using the on-premises BizTalk Server connector. You can then extend or perform BizTalk-like operations in your workflow by using these integration account connectors.
Consumption workflows
Before you use any integration account operations in a Consumption workflow, you have to link your logic app resource to your integration account.
Standard workflows
Integration account operations don't require that you link your logic app resource to your integration account. Instead, you create a connection to your integration account when you add the operation to your Standard workflow.
For more information, review the following documentation:
- Business-to-business (B2B) enterprise integration workflows
- Create and manage integration accounts for B2B workflows
