Policy Shortcut Chain

Contents

Overview

The Policy Shortcut Chain filter enables you to run a series of configured policies in sequence without needing to wire up a policy containing several Policy Shortcut filters. This enables you to adopt a design pattern of creating modular reusable policies to perform specific tasks, such as authentication, content-filtering, or logging. You can then link these policies together into a single, coherent sequence using this filter.

Each policy in the Policy Shortcut Chain is evaluated in succession. The evaluation proceeds as each policy in the chain passes, until finally the filter exits with a pass status. If a policy in the chain fails, the entire Policy Shortcut Chain filter also fails at that point.

The Policy Shortcut Chain is available from the Utility category of filters. You can drag and drop this filter from the filter palette to the policy editor canvas in the Policy Studio.

General Configuration

Complete the following general setting:

Name:
Enter an intuitive name for the filter in this field. For example, the name might reflect the business logic of the policies that are chained together in this filter.

Add a Policy Shortcut

Click the Add button to display the Policy Shortcut Editor dialog, which enables you to add a policy shortcut to the chain. Complete the following settings in this dialog:

Shortcut Label:
Enter an appropriate name for this policy shortcut.

Evaluate this shortcut when executing the chain:
Select whether to evaluate this policy shortcut when executing a policy shortcut chain. When this option is selected, the policy shortcut has an Active status in the table view of the policy shortcut chain. This option is selected by default.

Choose a specific Policy to execute:
Select this option if you wish to choose a specific policy to execute. This option is selected by default.

Policy:
Click the browse button next to the Policy field, and select a policy to reuse from the tree (for example, Health Check). You can search for a specific policy by entering its name in the text box, and the policy tree is filtered automatically. The policy in which this Policy Shortcut Chain filter is configured calls the selected policy when it is executed.

Choose a Policy to execute by label:
Select this option if you wish to choose a policy to execute based on a specific policy label. For example, this enables you to use the same policy on all requests or responses, and also enables you to update the assigned policy without needing to rewire any existing policy circuits. For more details, see the Configuring Global Policies topic.

Policy Label:
Click the browse button next to the Policy Label field, and select a policy label to reuse from the tree (for example, Gateway request policy (Health Check)). The policy in which this Policy Shortcut Chain filter is configured calls the selected policy label when it is executed.

Click OK when finished. You can click Add and repeat as necessary to add more policy shortcuts to the chain. You can alter the sequence in which the policies are executed by selecting a policy in the table and clicking the Up and Down buttons on the right. The policies are executed in the order in which they are listed in the table.

Edit a Policy Shortcut

Select an existing policy shortcut, and click the Edit button to display the Policy Shortcut Editor dialog. Complete the following settings in this dialog:

Shortcut Label:
Enter an appropriate name for this policy shortcut.

Evaluate this shortcut when executing the chain:
Select whether to evaluate this policy shortcut when executing a policy shortcut chain. When this option is selected, the policy shortcut has an Active status in the table view of the policy shortcut chain.

Policy / Policy Label:
Click the browse button next to the Policy or Policy Label field (depending on whether you chose a specific policy or a policy label when creating the policy shortcut). Select a policy or policy label to reuse from the tree (for example, Health Check or Gateway request policy (Health Check)). The policy in which this Policy Shortcut Chain filter is configured calls the selected policy or policy label when it is executed.