Bookshelf Home | Contents | Index | PDF     

Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide > Administering Workflow Processes > Process of Migrating a Workflow Process >

Developing a Migration Strategy

This task is a step in Process of Migrating a Workflow Process. This topic includes the following topics:

When planning a migration strategy for a workflow process development effort, you should perform the following tasks:

  1. Choose the migration tool you use to migrate workflow process objects.
  2. Consider the requirement to redeploy your workflow process after it is migrated.

Once you have deployed the workflow process, it is ready to be migrated. Migrating is the act of making a workflow process available in other environments, such as migrating a workflow process from a development environment to a production environment. One of three utilities can be used: ADM, REPIMEXP, and Import/Export.

Considerations to weigh include:

  • If you choose not to connect Siebel Tools to your production repository, you must use REPIMEXP for migrating your workflow process definitions.
  • When you migrate workflow processes using ADM, the workflows are activated automatically. If you use REPIMEXP or the Siebel Workflow import/export option, you must redeploy the workflows manually. For more information, see Redeploying a Workflow After it is Migrated.

Comparison of Migration Options

Table 57 provides a comparison summary of options for migrating workflow processes.

Table 57. Comparison of Options for Migrating a Workflow Process
Use This Migration Option. . .
. . . When These Requirements Exist

REPIMEXP

You are rolling out your release and most or all repository objects must be migrated. REPIMEXP is the manual process for repository migration. Use this repository-migration option if you do not need to use ADM, or cannot use ADM.

ADM

You are migrating customization data for your entire enterprise, including workflow process data.

You must migrate more than 10 workflow processes at one time.

Workflow Admin Service Business Service

You can perform bulk or batch migration of workflow processes. As an alternative to using the Workflow Admin Service Business Service, you can perform client-side batch activation and expiration by way of the File menu in the application.

Import/export

You can migrate workflow processes in increments of approximately 10 or less.

Migrating With REPIMEXP

The REPIMEXP utility allows for exporting importing of repository objects. Since this utility migrates repository objects, including your workflows, it is most useful when your organization is ready to roll out an entire release.

The Repository Import/Export utility is found in the siebel/bin directory. Use REPIMEXP for bulk migration of repository objects, including workflow definitions. In the command-line interface, type repimexp/help to view your usage options.

Using REPIMEXP, you cannot pick and choose which workflows to migrate. To choose a single workflow or only certain workflows for migration, use the Import/Export migration option.

Migrating With Application Deployment Manager

Application Deployment Manager (ADM) is a feature that automates the process of migrating enterprise customization data from one Siebel application environment to another, including from a development environment to a production environment. This customization data can include views, responsibilities, assignment rules, workflow processes, workflow policies, and so forth.

ADM is designed to provide a single deployment tool that covers various areas within the Siebel application. The objective is to reduce the potential manual setup and deployment work and provide as much automation as possible to decrease the error rate.

A workflow process deployment package in ADM includes the SRF, the workflow processes, their subprocesses, and their run-time settings, such as activation/expiration times, monitoring levels, and so forth. For information, see Siebel Application Deployment Manager Guide.

Migrating With the Workflow Admin Service Business Service

The Workflow Admin Service business service allows you to perform import/export, deployment, and activation on multiple workflow processes in bulk. Workflows are identified through a search specification. For more information see, About the Workflow Admin Service Business Service.

Migrating With Import/Export

You can use Import/Export for incremental migration of workflow process objects. You use Siebel Tools to export workflows from one environment and to import workflows to another environment.

The Workflow import/export feature is designed only to migrate an individual workflow process or a small set of workflow processes. For example, Workflow import/export cannot migrate 150 workflow processes at one time. To migrate large numbers of processes, break them into sets of 10 workflow processes or less.

Using Siebel Tools to Migrate a Workflow Process

Using Siebel Tools, you import the workflow process definition into the repository of the target environment, then you mark the workflows for migration by clicking the Publish button. After this, the definitions are ready to be activated.

This approach makes sure the versions of the workflow definitions that exist in the repository tables and the run-time tables are the same.

To use Siebel Tools to import a workflow process, you:

  1. Export the workflow process to XML using the Import/Export Utility.
  2. Import the workflow process definition into the repository of the target environment.
  3. Activate the workflow process.

Figure 22 illustrates an incremental migration using the Import/Export utility and Siebel Tools.

Figure 22. Illustration of Incremental Migration Using Import/Export From Within Siebel Tools
Using Siebel Tools In Conjunction With the Siebel Client to Migrate a Workflow Process

You can import a workflow process definition directly into the run-time tables. This approach bypasses the requirement for you to write the definitions into the repository tables of the target environment and activation from the Siebel client, although these steps are still performed behind the scenes by the Workflow engine. This approach causes the latest version of the workflow definition in the run-time tables, used by the Workflow engine, to be different from the version that resides in the repository tables.

NOTE:  This is an effective technique for testing a workflow in a different environment. However, it is recommended that this technique not be used for general migration of workflows across environments.

To use the Siebel Client to migrate a workflow process, you:

  1. Export the workflow process to XML using the Export Utility.
  2. Import the workflow process definition into the repository of the target environment.

Figure 23 illustrates an incremental migration using Import/Export to export from within Siebel Tools and import from within the Siebel client.

Figure 23. Illustration of Incremental Migration Using Import/Export from Within Siebel Tools and Import from Within the Siebel Client
Importing and Exporting a Workflow Subprocess

When importing a workflow process that contains subprocesses, you must first import the subprocesses and then the parent workflow process. Import the parent process only after the subprocesses are successfully imported. This rule also applies for importing workflow processes in batches.

It is not necessary to export subprocesses first when exporting a workflow process.

Name length must also be considered for subprocesses when importing a workflow process. A subprocess can have a name of up to 100 characters in length. A Subprocess name that exceeds this limit can trigger errors during import.

Importing and Exporting Carriage Returns With the Outbound Communications Manager Business Service

If a workflow process calls the SendMessage method of the Outbound Communications Manager business service to send email, and the message body uses carriage returns to format text display, the workflow process can be exported. However, when importing the workflow process back into the database, the imported workflow process will not contain the carriage returns. Instead, the carriage returns appear as square characters, and the message body is treated as a single paragraph.

To remedy this situation, you must edit the message body, replacing the square characters with carriage returns. A carriage return is entered by pressing the enter key.

Redeploying a Workflow After it is Migrated

When planning a migration strategy, it is important to consider potential redeployment actions that need to be taken after the workflow is migrated.

After migrating your workflow process to a production environment, it might be necessary for you to redeploy the workflow before you can run it. Table 58 describes the ways redeployment requirements depend on how the workflow is migrated.

Table 58. Comparison of Migrating With ADM Against REPIMEXP or Import/Export
Redeployment with ADM
Redeployment with REPIMEXP or Import/Export

If you used ADM to migrate workflows, you do not need to manually redeploy them in the target environment.

If you used REPIMEXP or Import/Export to migrate workflows, you must manually redeploy them in the target environment.

    
Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved.