## How Atlan connects to Anaplan

URL: https://docs.atlan.com/apps/connectors/business-intelligence/anaplan/concepts/how-atlan-connects-to-anaplan

> Understand how Atlan securely connects to Anaplan to extract metadata.

Atlan connects to Anaplan to extract technical metadata while maintaining network security and compliance. You can choose between Direct connectivity where Atlan connects directly to Anaplan's REST API, or Self-deployed runtime for environments that require network isolation.

## Connect via direct network connection

Atlan's Anaplan workflow establishes a direct connection to Anaplan's REST API from the Atlan SaaS tenant. This approach works when Atlan can reach Anaplan's API endpoints over HTTPS.

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
 participant User as User
 participant Atlan as Atlan SaaS Tenant
 participant Anaplan as Anaplan API

 User->>Atlan: Provide connection details (host, credentials)
 Atlan->>Anaplan: Authenticate (Basic or CA Certificate)
 Atlan->>Anaplan: REST API calls for metadata extraction
 Anaplan-->>Atlan: Return metadata (workspaces, models, modules)
 Atlan-->>User: Catalog results in Atlan Cloud
```

- Atlan connects to Anaplan over HTTPS (port 443) using Anaplan's REST API.
- Authentication uses either Basic credentials or CA Certificate-based authentication.

For details on how direct connectivity works, see [Direct connectivity](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/catalog/connector-capabilities/direct-connectivity/llms.txt).

## Connect via self-deployed runtime

A runtime service deployed within your network acts as a secure bridge between Atlan Cloud and Anaplan. This approach is useful when your organization requires network isolation or additional security controls.

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
 participant Runtime as Self-Deployed Runtime
 participant SecretStore as Secret Store
 participant Anaplan as Anaplan API
 participant User as User
 participant Atlan as Atlan Cloud

 User->>Atlan: Configure crawler workflow
 Atlan->>Runtime: Send extraction request (outbound HTTPS)
 Runtime-->>SecretStore: Retrieve credentials
 SecretStore-->>Runtime: Return credentials
 Runtime->>Anaplan: Authenticate and extract metadata
 Anaplan-->>Runtime: Return metadata (workspaces, models, modules)
 Runtime-->>Atlan: Send results (HTTPS)
 Atlan-->>User: Catalog results in Atlan Cloud
```

- The runtime maintains an outbound HTTPS connection to Atlan Cloud (port 443) and connects to Anaplan's REST API over HTTPS (port 443).
- The runtime authenticates with your credentials (Basic or CA Certificate) and extracts metadata from your Anaplan workspaces, models, modules, and other assets.

For details on how Self-Deployed Runtime works, see [SDR connectivity](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/catalog/connector-capabilities/sdr-connectivity/llms.txt).

## Security

Atlan extracts only structural metadata—workspaces, models, modules, line items, dimensions, and their relationships. The connector never accesses or stores the actual data within your Anaplan models.

- **Read-only operations**: All API calls are read-only. The connector can't modify data, create or delete models, or change any configuration in Anaplan.

- **Credential encryption**: Anaplan connection credentials are encrypted at rest and in transit. In Direct connectivity, Atlan encrypts credentials before storage. In Self-deployed runtime, credentials never leave your network perimeter—the runtime retrieves them from your enterprise-managed secret vaults (AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, GCP Secret Manager, or HashiCorp Vault) only when needed, and Atlan Cloud never receives or stores them.

- **Network isolation with Self-deployed runtime**: With Self-deployed runtime, the runtime only makes outbound HTTPS connections to Atlan Cloud and Anaplan's REST API, which your network team can control through firewall rules.

## See also

* [Direct connectivity](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/catalog/connector-capabilities/direct-connectivity/llms.txt): How Atlan connects directly to data sources
* [SDR connectivity](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/catalog/connector-capabilities/sdr-connectivity/llms.txt): How Self-Deployed Runtime connects to data sources
* [Set up Anaplan](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/anaplan/set-up-anaplan/llms.txt): Configure authentication and permissions

---