# Connector agents

Connector Agents enable secure, reliable communication between your on-premises systems and Novacura Cloud. They act as lightweight, self-managed services that allow you to seamlessly access data and services hosted behind firewalls—without exposing your internal infrastructure to the public internet.

<figure><img src="https://1716064794-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FIIgl6sNaTky0iALxYWHH%2Fuploads%2Fp6HZUs55gs4AYFO7Q0N1%2Fconnector%20agents.PNG?alt=media&#x26;token=5723510e-d545-4038-8505-3676fd9aa9ba" alt=""><figcaption><p>Connect Agent data flow</p></figcaption></figure>

Once installed within customer premise, a Connector Agent establishes **outbound-only** connections over secure channels to Novacura Cloud. This approach simplifies deployment—there’s no need to open inbound firewall ports or configure VPNs.

### **Communication Requirements**

The agent supports two outbound communication protocols: **AMQP over TCP** and **AMQP over WebSockets (HTTPS)**. If no protocol is explicitly configured, the agent defaults to AMQP over WebSockets.

#### Required Ports

<table><thead><tr><th width="203">Transport Type</th><th width="95.5999755859375">Protocol</th><th width="73.60009765625">Port</th><th>Note</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>AMQP over WebSockets</td><td>HTTPS</td><td>443</td><td>Default option</td></tr><tr><td>AMQP over TCP</td><td>AMQP</td><td>5671</td><td><p>To enable AMQP over TCP, add the following entry to the <em>appSettings.json</em> file located in the agent’s installation directory <strong>after completing the installation</strong>. </p><p><mark style="color:blue;"><code>"TransportSettings": { "TransportType": "AmqpTcp"}</code></mark></p></td></tr></tbody></table>

{% hint style="warning" %}
Regardless of whether the agent uses AMQP over TCP or AMQP over WebSockets, **Port 443** must be open to allow the Connector Agent to communicate with Novacura Cloud and access any other REST endpoint.
{% endhint %}

#### **Connectors**

Depending on the configured connectors in the Hub, additional outbound access may be required.

#### Email connector

<table><thead><tr><th width="92.5999755859375">Protocol</th><th width="123.199951171875">Default Port</th><th width="95.800048828125">Usage</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>SMTP</td><td>587</td><td>TLS</td></tr><tr><td>SMTP</td><td>465</td><td>SSL</td></tr></tbody></table>

#### Database connectors

<table><thead><tr><th width="126.20001220703125">System</th><th width="120.59991455078125">Default Port</th><th width="247.199951171875">Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>SQL Server</td><td>1433</td><td>Default SQL server port</td></tr><tr><td>Oracle</td><td>1521</td><td>Default Oracle listener port</td></tr></tbody></table>

Make sure your firewall allows outbound access to the services and ports used by the configured connectors.

### Next steps: Installing a Connector Agent

To get started with Connector Agents,

1. [Add agent group](https://docs.novacura.com/flow-connect/working-with-connect/connect-to-systems/connector-agents/add-agent-group)
2. [Install agent manager](https://docs.novacura.com/flow-connect/working-with-connect/connect-to-systems/connector-agents/install-agent-manager)
3. [Add agent](https://docs.novacura.com/flow-connect/working-with-connect/connect-to-systems/connector-agents/add-agent)