Nucleus has a defined product lifecycle for connectors and their enhancements. This article provides an overview of those stages, as well as how to take part in connector validation for connectors that are not yet generally available.
Connector Lifecycle Stages
Alpha
New connectors and enhancements are sometimes released as an Alpha product. Alpha products are an early preview of a potential new connector or connector ingest method and indicate that the connector has a limited set of functionalities, and that the connector has been predominantly tested on sample data or NFR environments.
In this stage we anticipate that there will be a higher rate of scenarios where the connector may result in error or otherwise function in an unexpected way. This could be due to unknown or unexpected vendor API behaviour, data returning in unexpected formats, API or normalization inefficiencies because of scale, or other reasons.
Feedback gathered during this phase helps us to rapidly iterate the connector functionality so that it can progress to Beta. Customer participation in the Opt-In Connector Early Validation Program greatly assists in expediting progression of the connector or enhancement to become a Beta product.
We recommend that alpha products are used in pre-production and sandpit projects only due to their limited exposure to testing.
Beta
Beta connectors and enhancements (such as new ingest methods) are a late preview of a new connector or connector ingest method and indicates that the connector has a wider set of functionalities, and that the connector has been tested on a range of real-world data and environments.
In this stage we anticipate that there will be a lower rate of scenarios where the connector errors or otherwise does not function as expected. These scenarios are likely to stem from edge cases in source tools, such as where there is a lack of documentation about functionality that is also infrequently exhibited, or where source data returns in an unexpected and previously non-exhibited way.
Beta products allow us to test out the connector or enhancement with a limited number of customers, so that we can closely monitor them and make any necessary adjustments before rolling them out more broadly. Beta products are available on an opt-in basis by customers.
We recommend that beta products are evaluated in pre-production and sandpit projects to validate that the connector works per your expectations. Proceed with caution if considering using beta products in production projects.
Generally Available
Connectors and enhancements that are Generally Available (GA) are available for everyone’s use and indicates that the connector is stable and can and should be used within customer’s production Nucleus projects.
We monitor the operations of all GA connectors across production environments for continued efficiency and stability. Occasionally we may change the way a connector works to improve performance or in response to changing API functionality in the source tool, however these changes are opaque to customers.
If you have any questions or need to report an issue, please contact support immediately.
Deprecated
Connectors or specific import methods may be deprecated for a variety of reasons, such as when the source tool or utilized API's are no longer supported by the vendor, or if there is a newer connector available that replaces part or all of its functionality.
When connectors are deprecated, they will no longer be available to new customers but will continue to be supported for a period of time for existing customers prior to retirement.
Affected customers will receive notice when connectors or import methods are deprecated and be provided communication with respect to migrating to alternative functionality where applicable. Further notice will be provided when deprecated connectors are retired.
Opt-In Connector Early Validation Program
Nucleus recognises that the rapid deployment of new connectors and enhancements, as well as the continued smooth operation of existing connectors is of paramount importance to customers vulnerability management programs and broader business operations.
Although we endeavour to design and build new connectors and enhancements as quickly as possible, we are frequently presented with real-world scenarios where due to a customer’s unique environment, the vendor source tool API’s and retrieved data does not reflect documented or otherwise expected behaviour. This can result in the connector not working as intended.
To improve the accuracy and stability of connectors for your unique environment, customers can opt-in to the Nucleus Connector Early Validation Program. By participating in this program, you agree to Nucleus using your connector configuration within a dedicated Nucleus environment used for connector validation. In this environment, we will ensure that new connectors and enhancements as well as changes to existing connectors are validated for accuracy before being released to your production instance.
To opt-in to this program, please reach out to our support team or your dedicated customer success manager.