An adapter service defines an operation that the adapter will perform on an adapter resource. Adapter services operate like flow services or Java services. Adapter services have an input and output signature, can be invoked within a flow service, can be used as an operation in a provider web service descriptor, and can generate audit logging data. Designer provides facilities to create, configure, and run adapter services.

Each adapter comes with its own unique set of templates for use in creating adapter services. For information about creating adapter services, see the documentation provided with the adapter.