A connection defines the information required to connect to an external system.
Some connection properties allow you to specify an expression using the StreamSets expression language.
Connections require sensitive information, such as user names or passwords, to access data in external systems.
A connection tag identifies similar connections. Use connection tags to easily search and filter connections when viewing them in the Connections view. For example, you might want to group connections by the origin system or by the test or production environment.
You can use connections in pipeline fragments to design pipeline fragments as your data sources. When you use connections in fragments, you reduce the possibility of user errors when defining connection information and you standardize the processing logic for the data sources.