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Detailed technical description of connections used to build data pipelines in RudderStack. |
RudderStack lets you set up connections between your preferred event data sources and destinations. With this feature, you can build efficient data pipelines across your entire customer data stack.
{% hint style="success" %} With RudderStack, you can bring together all your event data across your web, mobile, server-side, and cloud apps and route this data reliably to your data warehouse and other third-party platforms of your choice. {% endhint %}
A source refers to a platform or an application (web, mobile, server-side, or a third-party cloud app) from where RudderStack tracks and collects your event data.
{% hint style="success" %} We recommend creating a source for every unique source of data. You can also create multiple sources for each website or application from which you want to track the data. {% endhint %}
To view all the configured sources in your RudderStack dashboard, click on Sources in the left navigation bar, as shown:
{% hint style="success" %} You can add a new source by simply clicking on the Add Source button. For more details on adding a source in RudderStack, refer to the guide on Adding a Source and Destination in RudderStack. {% endhint %}
To get more details on the configured source, click on it. You should then see the following view on the dashboard:
The options you see in this page are as follows:
- Source ID: The unique identifier associated with your source.
- Write Key: The write key is required to send the data from your source.
{% hint style="success" %} As an example, you can load RudderStack's JavaScript SDK on your web pages to track and collect the events by running the following:
rudderanalytics.load(<YOUR_WRITE_KEY>, <DATA_PLANE_URL>, options);
{% endhint %}
- Add Destination: You can connect your source to a new destination by clicking on this button.
{% hint style="success" %} If you have already configured a destination in RudderStack, you should click on the Connect Destination button. {% endhint %}
- Live Events: Once your source and destination are successfully configured and a connection is set up and enabled, RudderStack starts tracking and collecting events from your source. These events can be viewed in real-time using this option.
You can delete a source by clicking on the Delete Source button.
{% hint style="warning" %} Before you delete a source, make sure there are no active destinations enabled for it. {% endhint %}
A destination is a tool or application where you want to send the data via RudderStack.
{% hint style="success" %} RudderStack currently supports over 80 destinations. These include data warehouses, analytics platforms, CRMs, marketing platforms, and more.
Check out the Destinations guide for the complete list of supported destinations. {% endhint %}
To view all the configured destinations in your RudderStack dashboard, click on Destinations in the left navigation bar, as shown:
{% hint style="success" %} You can add a new destination by clicking on the Add Destination button. For more details on adding a source in RudderStack, refer to the guide on Adding a Source and Destination in RudderStack. {% endhint %}
To get more details on the configured destination, click on it. You should then see the Destination Details page on your dashboard:
You will see the following options:
- Destination ID: The unique identifier associated with your destination.
- Transformation: RudderStack allows you to transform your events before routing them across to your destination.
{% hint style="success" %} Read more about RudderStack's Transformations feature. {% endhint %}
- Settings: You can change the settings of your configured destination by clicking on this button.
- Connect Source: If you haven't added a source while configuring your destination, you can do so by clicking on this button.
- Live Events: RudderStack allows you to view the events delivered to the destination in real-time. Click on this option to view the live events.
With this option, you can clone an existing destination with the same or new configuration settings.
Follow these steps to clone a destination:
- On the Destination Details page, click on the Clone To a New Destination option as shown:
- Assign a name to the new destination and click on Create.
- Connect this destination to a source, as shown:
- Enter the Connection Settings for this new destination, and click on Next.
- Your new destination should now be configured.
You can delete a destination by clicking on the Delete Destination button.
{% hint style="warning" %} Before you delete a destination, make sure there are no active sources enabled for it. {% endhint %}
Setting up a connection in RudderStack involves configuring and connecting your data sources and destinations in the RudderStack dashboard.
Refer to the following guide for step-by-step instructions on how to set up a connection from scratch:
{% page-ref page="adding-source-and-destination-rudderstack.md" %}
Once you've set up a connection, you should be able to view it in your RudderStack dashboard by clicking on the Connections tab on the left navigation bar, as shown:
You can also send your data from one source to multiple destinations, as shown:
To know more about connections in RudderStack, feel free to contact us or start a conversation on our Slack channel. You can also see this feature in action by requesting a demo.