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Source data channels

A source channel is an inbound connection that DASH polls automatically for new documents. When a new document is found, DASH creates a certificate, ingests its data, and advances it to Awaiting approval — ready for a Quality Person to sign, exactly as with a manually created certificate.

This page covers what a source channel is and how to add one. For the full automation walkthrough — configuring polling, running a dry-run, and reviewing the certificates it creates — see Automated ingestion.

Supported source connectors

Section titled “Supported source connectors”

A source channel polls one of these external systems:

  • AWS S3 (and S3-compatible stores)
  • A generic REST API
  • Veeva Vault
  • SharePoint
  • Azure Blob Storage

The connector is chosen by the channel’s configured connector type. A channel whose configuration names no known connector type cannot be polled.

1. Add a source channel

Section titled “1. Add a source channel”
  1. Open the material and go to its Data Channels section.
  2. In the source group, add a channel and choose its connector type.
  3. Enter its configuration and credentials. See Enter credentials & test connectivity.
  4. Save the channel. It starts in pending mapping — it cannot poll until a definition map is pinned.
Adding an inbound source channel to a material
Adding an inbound source channel to a material

2. Make it ready to poll

Section titled “2. Make it ready to poll”

A source channel needs two things before it can run automatically:

  1. A pinned definition map — this tells DASH how to interpret every document it ingests. Pinning a map moves the channel to pending dry-run approval.
  2. A poll interval and start point — how often to check and from which date to begin.

You then run a dry-run to preview the certificates the channel would create, and approve it to go live. The full sequence — including reviewing dry-run results and troubleshooting — is covered in Automated ingestion.

How ingested certificates flow

Section titled “How ingested certificates flow”

For each new document a source channel discovers, DASH:

  1. Creates a certificate and de-duplicates it against documents it has already ingested.
  2. Ingests the document’s data using the pinned definition map.
  3. Advances the certificate to Awaiting approval.

From there, human sign-off and submission proceed exactly as for a manual certificate. See Certificates overview.

Section titled “Related”