Connector apparatus and associated method for bridging data between data sources and data targets

1. A method for bridging data between entities, the method comprising:

establishing a first data bridge connection between a connector apparatus and a data source, the first data bridge connection comprising a first data pipe, wherein the first data pipe is comprised of one or more data flows, each of the one or more data flows associated with the first data pipe being dedicated for sending a first particular data type;

establishing a second data bridge connection between the connector apparatus and a data target, the second data bridge connection comprising a second data pipe, wherein the second data pipe is comprised of one or more data flows, each of the one or more data flows associated with the second data pipe being dedicated for sending a second particular data type;

sending a polling request from the connector apparatus to the data source via the first data bridge connection;

receiving data from the data source over the first data pipe in response to the polling request; and

sending the received data to the data target over the second data pipe in an instance in which the data target has subscribed to the data received from the data source over the first data pipe.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein establishing the second data bridge connection comprises establishing the second data bridge connection such that the second particular data types supported by the second data pipe include each of the first particular data types supported by the first data pipe.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein establishing the second data bridge connection comprises establishing the second data bridge connection such that one or more of the second particular data types supported by the second data pipe are identical to one or more of the first particular data types supported by the first data pipe.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein establishing the second data bridge connection comprises establishing the second data bridge connection such that all data received from the data source is sent over the second data pipe.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

establishing the first data bridge connection comprises establishing the first data bridge connection based at least in part on a connection request from the data source, the connection request from the first entity including a specification for the first data pipe defining the one or more data flows associated with the first data pipe; and

establishing the second data bridge connection comprises establishing the second data bridge connection based at least in part on a connection request from the data target, the connection request from the second entity including a specification for the second data pipe defining the one or more data flows associated with the second data pipe.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein establishing the first data bridge connection comprises establishing a plurality of first data bridge connections with respective ones of a plurality of data sources, wherein sending the polling request comprises sending the polling request from the connector apparatus to the plurality of data sources via respective first data bridge connections, wherein receiving data comprises receiving data from the plurality of data sources over respective data pipes in response to the polling request, and wherein the method comprises aggregating data flows of a same type that are received from two or more data sources prior to sending the data to one or more data targets via respective second data bridge connections.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein establishing the second data bridge connection comprises establishing a plurality of second data bridge connections with respective ones of a plurality of data targets, wherein sending the received data to the data target comprises sending the received data to a subset of the data targets including the data targets that are connected to the connector apparatus via second data bridge connections and that have subscribed to the data received from the data source over the first data pipe.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving data from the data source comprises receiving data in accordance with a received data structure including a context identifier, one or more data flow identifiers and one or more data values.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving an indication as to a connection or a disconnection of a data source or a data target; and

informing one or more other data sources or one or more other data targets of the connection or the disconnection.

10. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code portions stored therein, the computer-executable program code portions comprising program code instructions for performing the method of claim 1 .

11. A connector apparatus for bridging data between entities, the connector apparatus comprising a processing circuitry configured to:

establish a first data bridge connection with a data source, the first data bridge connection comprising a first data pipe, wherein the first data pipe is comprised of one or more data flows, each of the one or more data flows associated with the first data pipe being dedicated for sending a first particular data type;

establish a second data bridge connection with a data target, the second data bridge connection comprising a second data pipe, wherein the second data pipe is comprised of one or more data flows, each of the one or more data flows associated with the second data pipe being dedicated for sending a second particular data type;

send a polling request to the data source via the first data bridge connection;

receive data from the data source over the first data pipe in response to the polling request; and

send the received data to the data target over the second data pipe in an instance in which the data target has subscribed to the data received from the data source over the first data pipe.

12. The connector apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor circuitry is configured to establish the second data bridge connection by establishing the second data bridge connection such that the second particular data types supported by the second data pipe include each of the first particular data types supported by the first data pipe.

13. The connector apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor circuitry is configured to establish the second data bridge connection by establishing the second data bridge connection such that one or more of the second particular data types supported by the second data pipe are identical to one or more of the first particular data types supported by the first data pipe.

14. The connector apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor circuitry is configured to establish the second data bridge connection by establishing the second data bridge connection such that all data received from the data source is sent over the second data pipe.

15. The connector apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to establish the first data bridge connection by establishing the first data bridge connection based at least in part on a connection request from the data source, the connection request from the first entity including a specification for the first data pipe defining the one or more data flows associated with the first data pipe, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to establish the second data bridge connection by establishing the second data bridge connection based at least in part on a connection request from the data target, the connection request from the second entity including a specification for the second data pipe defining the one or more data flows associated with the second data pipe.

16. The connector apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to establish the first data bridge connection by establishing a plurality of first data bridge connections with respective ones of a plurality of data sources, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to send the polling request by sending the polling request to the plurality of data sources via respective first data bridge connections, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive data by receiving data from the plurality of data sources over respective data pipes in response to the polling request, and wherein the connector apparatus is further configured to aggregate data flows of a same type that are received from two or more data sources prior to sending the data to one or more data targets via respective second data bridge connections.

17. The connector apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to establish the second data bridge connection by establishing a plurality of second data bridge connections with respective ones of a plurality of data targets, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to send the received data to the data target by sending the received data to a subset of the data targets including the data targets that are connected to the connector apparatus via second data bridge connections and that have subscribed to the data received from the data source over the first data pipe.

18. A system for bridging data between entities, the system comprising:

a connector apparatus;

a data source connected to the connector apparatus via a first data bridge connection, the first data bridge connection comprising a first data pipe, wherein the first data pipe is comprised of one or more data flows, each of the one or more data flows associated with the first data pipe being dedicated for sending a first particular data type; and

a data target connected to the connector apparatus via a second data bridge connection, the second data bridge connection comprising a second data pipe, wherein the second data pipe is comprised of one or more data flows, each of the one or more data flows associated with the second data pipe being dedicated for sending a second particular data type,

wherein the connector apparatus is configured to send a polling request to the data source via the first data bridge connection,

wherein the data source is configured to provide data to the connector apparatus over the first data pipe in response to the polling request, and

wherein the connector apparatus is further configured to send the received data to the data target over the second data pipe in an instance in which the data target has subscribed to the data received from the data source over the first data pipe.

19. The system of claim 18 , further comprising a plurality of data sources connected to the connector apparatus via respective ones of a plurality of first data bridge connections, wherein the connector apparatus is configured to send the polling request to the plurality of data sources via respective first data bridge connections, wherein the plurality of data sources are configured to provide data over respective data pipes in response to the polling request, and wherein the connector apparatus is further configured to aggregate data flows of a same type that are received from two or more data sources prior to sending the data to one or more data targets via respective second data bridge connections.

20. The system of claim 18 , further comprising a plurality of data targets connected to the connector apparatus via respective ones of a plurality of second data bridge connections, wherein the connector apparatus is configured to send the received data to a subset of the data targets including the data targets that are connected to the connector apparatus via second data bridge connections and that have subscribed to the data received from the data source over the first data pipe.