Flow Control in Dell Boomi: Master Process Execution

Dell Boomi is a powerful integration platform that helps businesses streamline data flow between diverse applications and systems. One of its essential features is the ability to control how processes execute, ensuring optimal efficiency and resource utilization. Let’s dive into the world of flow control in Boomi.

Why Flow Control Matters

1. Resource Management: Boomi lets you optimize system resources and prevent overload by managing the number of documents or records processed simultaneously.
2. Error Handling: Flow control lets you isolate errors, preventing them from cascading throughout your integration process.
3. Rate Limiting: If you need to adhere to external system API limits, flow control helps you throttle requests to stay within those boundaries.
4. Sequential Logic: Some processes demand that data be handled in a specific order. Flow control enforces that sequential logic.

The Flow Control Shape

Boomi’s primary tool for managing execution is the Flow Control shape. Let’s break down its key settings:

• Parallel Processing
  • Number of Threads/Processes: Determines how many processing threads or separate processes Boomi will spin up for parallel execution.
  • Maximum Flow Control Units: (Cloud executions) Set a limit on the number of simultaneous forked executions.
  • Maximum Simultaneous Forked Executions Per Node: (Cloud executions) Controls the maximum number of forked processes a single node can handle.
• Batch Options
  • No Document Batching: All documents are processed within existing parallel processing settings.
  • Run Each Document Individually: This ensures sequential processing, forcing each document to complete the entire flow before the next commences.
  • Run as Batches of Documents allows you to set a specific batch size, providing granular execution control.

Best Practices

1. Understand System Limits: Know the capabilities of Boomi and the external systems you’re integrating. Avoid overloading target systems or straining your Boomi resources.
2. Start Small, Iterate: When configuring flow control, begin with conservative settings and gradually increase them, monitoring performance and error rates.
3. Think Sequentially: Consider when strict data ordering is necessary. Flow control lets you enforce those dependencies.
4. Leverage Batching: Where possible, batching can improve performance, especially when dealing with large datasets.
5. Consider Cloud Implications: Cloud execution introduces additional resource management settings for flow control (as mentioned above).

Example Scenario

You’re integrating Salesforce with NetSuite. Salesforce has an API rate limit of 50 requests per minute. To avoid exceeding this limit, you would configure the Flow Control shape in your Boomi process:

• Parallel Processing: Set to fewer threads, or even turn it off.
• Batch Options: Choose “Run as Batches of Documents,” limiting the batch size to remain within the rate limit.

In Conclusion

Mastering flow control is crucial for building robust and scalable Boomi integrations. By understanding the concepts, settings, and best practices outlined above, you’ll be able to:

• Optimize resource usage
• Improve error handling
• Comply with external system limitations
• Ensure the correct execution flow of your business processes