Using the WebLogic
Integration
Administration Console
Process Configuration
The Process Configuration module allows you to:
View process type information and locate specific processes for configuration.
View or update process type properties, such as the display name, tracking level, and reporting data policy.
View or update the security policies for a process.
Activate or deactivate a non-versioned process.
Configure the activation time for a newly deployed process version, or rollback to a previous version.
View an interactive or printable process type graph.
View or update the selectors used to dynamically set control attributes for a Process or Service Broker control.
Note:
You must be logged in as a member of the Administrators, IntegrationAdministrators, or IntegrationOperators group to make changes to the configuration for a process or dynamic control. IntegrationOperators cannot modify process security policies. For more information, see About WebLogic Integration Users, Groups, Roles, and Security Policies in Worklist Console Online Help.
The data generated as process instances execute is initially stored in the runtime database. The monitoring information provided in the console is based on this data. In order to optimize performance, it is important to keep the amount of tracking data stored in the runtime database to a minimum. This is accomplished by:
Capturing only the necessary data.
Transmitting the data to an offline database if required for later analysis.
Purging the data from the runtime database when it is no longer needed for monitoring from the console.
A combination of system and process properties control the management of tracking data. The following table provides a summary of each property and its related configuration tasks. To learn how to carry out the configuration task, see the referenced topic.
Table 2-1 System Properties and Configuration tasks
Enable or disable the reporting data stream. If the reporting data stream is enabled, the specified reporting database is populated by a near real-time data stream.
Set or verify the reporting data policy for each process:
On indicates that the instance data is transmitted to the reporting database if the reporting data stream is enabled. If the reporting data stream is disabled, no processes data is transmitted, regardless of the policy set.
Off indicates that the instance data is not subject to transfer to the reporting database, even if the reporting data stream is enabled (that is, the data is only purged).
Default indicates that the system default reporting data policy (described below) is used.
To ensure process security, the administrator can configure the following security policies for a process:
Execution policy for process operations The execution policy specifies whether the operations in the process are run as the start user or the caller’s ID:
If start user is specified, each operation assumes the identity of the user that started the process.
If caller’s ID is specified, the operation after the call in assumes the identity of that interrupting call.
In addition, the administrator configures whether or not a single principal is required. If a single principal is required, then all incoming client requests must come from the same user.
Execution policy controls the identify used to access external or backend resources. It allows the administrator to specify whether a process accesses an external system as the invoking application or as an application that called into the process later. For example, suppose a process listens for a message on a channel and then waits for a client request. The administrator can set the execution policy to use the identity from the client request when the process subsequently accesses SAP.
Process authorization policy The role(s) authorized to invoke the process methods (client requests). All methods in the process inherit the role(s) specified in the process authorization policy.
Note:
If the process authorization policy is not defined, everyone is authorized.
Method authorization policy The role(s) authorized to invoke the process methods (client requests). All methods inherit the role(s) specified in the process authorization policy. Additional roles can be added to the authorization policy for the method.
Callback authorization policy The roles authorized to invoke the process callback.
Note:
If the callback authorization policy is not defined, everyone is authorized.
A service level agreement (SLA) specifies a performance target for a process. It is typically an internal or external commitment that a process will be executed within a specified period of time.
To assist you in achieving the SLA for a process, the WebLogic Integration Administration Console allows you to set the following thresholds:
SLA threshold, which represents the commitment applicable to the process type (number of seconds, minutes, hours, or days).
SLA warning threshold, which is a percent of the total SLA.
Process status relative to these thresholds is tracked for each process instance as follows:
When the elapsed time for a process instance reaches the warning threshold, a warning is displayed on the Process Instance Summary and Detail pages. The amount of time remaining until the SLA threshold will be reached is also displayed.
When the elapsed time exceeds the SLA set, a red flag is displayed. The amount of time the SLA threshold has been exceeded is also displayed.
This ability to set SLA thresholds allows you to easily identify processes that do not execute within the target time frame. You can then make the changes necessary to meet agreements between suppliers and customers, or to achieve your own performance goals. To learn how to set the SLA for a process, see Viewing and Changing Process Details.
Process Versions
When developers need to modify a deployed process, they must create a new process version and then release it into production along with older versions. To learn more about creating and deploying new versions, see the following topics in Guide to Building Business Processes:
When multiple versions are deployed, the system determines which version to use when creating new instances. The administrator controls the release of a process version by:
Enabling or disabling a version.
Setting the activation time for a version.
When creating a new instance, the system selects the version with the most recent activation time from among the enabled versions. (A disabled version is not available for selection.)
When an administrator activates a process by setting its activation time, instances currently running are not affected. Only instances that are created after the new version becomes active are created based on the new version.
If a newly activated version experiences problems, a rollback is easily accomplished by doing one of the following:
Updating the activation time on the prior version.
Disabling the problem version. In this case, the enabled version with the most recent activation date becomes the active version.
To learn more about how to enable or disable a version, or to configure the activation time, see Managing Process Versions.
Note:
Processes that are not versioned can also be enabled and disabled. For more information, see Viewing and Changing Process Details. A process, whether versioned or not, is only executable if the Is Enabled property is set to true, and the current time is later than the Activation Date and earlier than the Deactivation Date.
Dynamic Controls
Dynamic controls, which currently include the Service Broker and Process controls, provide the means to dynamically set control attributes through a combination of look-up rules and look-up values. This process is known as dynamic binding. In dynamic binding, the process developer specifies look-up rules, and the administrator defines the look-up values. This design pattern allows control attributes to be reconfigured for a running application, without redeployment.
The look-up or selector values are stored in the DynamicProperties.xml file, which is located in the wliconfig subdirectory of the domain root. You can manage the values stored in the DynamicProperties.xml file from the View Dynamic Control Properties page of the Process Configuration module.
Dynamic binding changes made in the WebLogic Integration Administration Console override both configuration changes made in the Workshop development environment and static annotations.
To learn more about the dynamic controls, see the following topics in Building Integration Applications in the WebLogic Workshop help:
The following table lists the pages you can access from the Process Configuration module. The tasks and help topics associated with each of the types are provided in Table 2-2.
Table 2-2 Elements of Process Configuration Module
Page
Associated Tasks
Help Topics
Process Types
Process Property Summary
View a list of process types. Display name, public URI, state (stateful or stateless), tracking level, architecture policy, and SLA.
View process properties. Identifying information (such as service URI and application name), configurable properties (display name, tracking level, architecture policy, SLA), dynamic client callback properties, execution and authorization policies, variables, and active version are displayed.
Access one of the following pages to update settings: Edit Process Properties Edit Process Versioning Add New Client Callback Properties Edit Client Callback Properties Edit Process Execution Policy Edit Process Authorization Policy Edit Method Authorization Policy Edit Call Back Authorization Policy
Edit Process Properties
Update display name, SLA, SLA warning threshold, tracking level, and reporting data policy for the selected process type.
The Process Property Summary page displays the following information for each deployed process type. For a more detailed description of the properties, see Viewing and Changing Process Details.
Figure 2-1 Process Property Summary
Note:
The process types are listed alphabetically by display name.
Table 2-3 Elements of Process Property Summary Page
Property
Description
Display Name
Display name assigned to the process. The name is a link to the Process Type Details page.
Note:
If more than one version of the process is deployed, it is customary to append the version number to the display name, but this convention is not enforced.
Public URI
The process URI. If there are multiple versions deployed, this is the version group URI (that is, the version number is not appended).
State
The process type (Stateful or Stateless).
Tracking Level
The tracking level set for the process.
Architecture Policy
The architecture policy set for tracking data.
SLA
Service level agreement set for the process.
From the home page, select the Process Configuration module.
Scroll through the pages to locate a specific process type. Use the controls in the lower left corner. Go to a page by selecting the page number or by using the arrow buttons to go to the next , previous , first , or last page.
The View Dynamic Control Properties page displays the dynamic controls (Process and Service Broker controls) referenced by deployed processes. For each control, the selector values for any dynamic bindings are displayed. To learn how to add or change control selectors, see Adding and Changing Dynamic Control Selectors.
Figure 2-2 View Dynamic Control Properties
From the home page, select the Process Configuration module.
From the left panel, select View Dynamic Controls.
To locate a specific control, do one of the following:
Re-sort the list. Ascending and descending arrow buttons indicate sortable columns. Click the button to change the sort order.
Scroll through the pages. Use the controls in the lower left corner. Go to a page by selecting the page number or by using the arrow buttons to go to the next , previous , first , or last page.
For information on how to update the execution policy, process authorization policy, or method authorization policy, see Updating Security Policies.
Table 2-4 summarizes the information displayed on the Process Type Details page.
Note:
When the server is started in iterative development mode (iterativeDevFlag=true), updates to the configurable properties are overridden when the process is redeployed through an application build or process redeploy.
Table 2-4 Elements of Process Type Details page
Property
Description
Administrator Can Set (Yes/No)
Service URI
The process URI. If there are multiple versions of the process, a version number is appended
No
Application Name
The name of the application.
No
Stateful/Stateless
The process type (Stateful or Stateless.) To learn more about how stateful and stateless processes are created, see Building Stateless and Stateful Business Processes in Guide to Building Business Processes.
No
Description
User-friendly description of the process.
No
Version Group URI
For versioned processes, the URI for the version group.
If more than one version of the process is deployed, it is customary to append the version number to the display name, but this convention is not enforced.
Yes
Tracking Level
The tracking level set for the process. The following types of events can be tracked:
Global events Events such as start process, end process, suspend, and resume.
Node transitions Events generated by each executed node (a start node event and an end or abort node event).
Yes
Full
Global events, node transitions, and data are tracked.
Node
Global events and node transitions are tracked.
Minimum
Global events, such as start process, end process, suspend, and resume, are tracked.
Process variable values are saved when the process is complete.
Yes
Off
Process variable values are not saved when the process is complete.
SLA
Service level agreements (SLA) expressed as the number of seconds, minutes, hours, or days. When this threshold has been reached, a red flag is displayed for the process instance.
For processes without an SLA, NA is displayed. To remove an SLA setting, enter 0 in the SLA field on the Edit Process Properties page.
A percent of the total SLA time. When this threshold has been reached, a warning flag is displayed for the process instance.
Yes
Is Enabled
For non-versioned processes, indicates whether the process is enabled (true) or disabled (false). For versioned processes, see the Version Group section.
Yes
Activation Time
For non-versioned processes, the date and time the process became, or is to become, active.
Yes
Deactivation Time
For non-versioned processes, the date and time the process is to become inactive.
Yes
Dynamic Client Callback Properties
Selector table
If the process includes a Client Response node for which a lookup property has been specified, this table lists the selector values configured by the administrator. If no values are listed, none have yet been added.
Yes
Selector name
The selector name used to look up the selector properties.
Edit
A link to the Edit Client Callback Properties page for the selector.
Delete
A control used to delete the selector.
Version Group
Version Group URI
The URI for the group.
No
Default Service URI
The URI for the process type.
No
Current Active
The process in the group that is currently active.
No
Version group table
Entry for each deployed version in the version group.
No
Display Name
Display name assigned to the process version.
No
Service URI
The URI for the process version.
No
Enabled
Indicates whether the process is enabled (true) or disabled (false).
Yes
Activation Date
Date and time the process version became, or is to become, active.
Yes
Deactivation Date
Date and time the process version is to become inactive.
Yes
Configure
Link to the Edit Process Versioning page, from which you can enable, disable, or update the activation time for the process version. For more information, see Managing Process Versions.
Security Policies
Execution Policy
Run As
The identity the operations in the process assume while executing. Options are caller’s identity or start user.
Yes
Single Principal Required
Yes or No. If set to Yes, all incoming client requests must come from the same user.
Process Authorization Policy
Roles authorized to invoke process methods.
Yes
Method Authorization Policy
Additional roles authorized to invoke the method. (The roles specified for Process Authorization Policy are inherited by the method.)
Viewing an Interactive or Printable Process Type Graph
The Process Type Details page allows you to view an interactive or printable graph of the deployed process type. The graphical view represents your business process and its interactions with clients and resources, such as databases, JMS queues, file systems.
The interactive process graph requires Adobe SVG Viewer Version 3.0 or Java Batik 1.7 SVG. To learn more, see Requirements for the Interactive Graph. The printable graph requires a PDF viewer such as Adobe Acrobat. We recommend that you use Java Batik to view the interactive process graph, if your browser does not support Adobe SVG Viewer.
Note:
You must have Acrobat Reader installed to view the printable graph.
Click the process name to display the Process Type Details page.
Click Interactive View.
The Adobe SVG Viewer displays the interactive view as shown in the following figure.
Java Batik SVG Viewer displays the interactive view as shown in the following figure.
For Adobe SVG Viewer, do any of the following:
To display the name, type, and description for a node, click the node image.
To scroll the view, press and hold down the Alt key. The cursor changes to a hand tool. Click and drag to scroll the process graph vertically or horizontally.
To zoom in, press and hold down the Ctrl key. The cursor changes to a zoom in tool. Click to zoom in.
To zoom out, press and hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys. The cursor changes to a zoom out tool. Click to zoom out.
To change to a printable view, click Print View. The process graph is displayed as a PDF document.
If you do not have Adobe SVG Viewer on your system, the WLI Administration Console will display the Interactive view in an Java Batik SVG applet.
Note:
To view the java applet in the Java Batik 1.7 SVG viewer you require the Java Runtime Environment 1.6 to be installed in advance and the Sun Java console working with your browser. You can download the Java Runtime Environment 1.6 and the Java console at: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp
For Java Batik SVG Viewer, do any of the following:
To display the name, type and description for a node, click the node image.
To pan within the process graph, shift+left click and drag.
To zoom in, press and hold down the Ctrl key and select portion for zoom in.
To zoom out, press and hold down the Ctrl+Shift+right click.
To change to a printable view, click Print View. The process graph is displayed as PDF document.
The Version Group section of the Process Type Details page allows you to enable, disable, or set the activation time for the versions in a process group.
Figure 2-6 Managing Process Versions
Note:
If you are running with noiterativedev, running instances will not be terminated when you redeploy an EAR. In production it is recommended that you use the following flags when starting WebLogic Server: production noiterativedev nodebug notestconsole
Click the process name to display the Process Type Details page.
In the Version Group section, the current status of each version is displayed in the version table.
In the version table, click the Configure link for the version.
The Edit Process Versioning page is displayed.
Figure 2-7 Edit Process Versioning
Define the required settings:
To set the activation time, select the month, date, and time from the Activation Date drop-down lists.
To enable the version, select the Is Enabled check box.
Do one of the following:
To save the changes, click Submit.
The Process Type Details page is displayed. The version table reflects the changes.
To reset to the last saved values, click Reset.
To disregard changes and return to the Process Type Details page, click Cancel.
Note:
There should always be one active version. If no version is available (that is, all versions are disabled) when the process is invoked, an error is logged.
Adding and Changing Dynamic Client Callback Selectors
If a process includes a Client Response node for which a lookup property has been specified, the Process Type Details page includes a Dynamic Client Callback Properties section. This section allows you to define the selector values and properties required to dynamically configure the callback to the client.
To learn more about specifying a lookup property for a Client Response node, see Sending Messages to Clients in Guide to Building Business Processes.
The Process Type Details page allows you to set the security policies for the process or its methods and callbacks.
Note:
If an authenticator that implements the required MBeans is not configured, the options for configuring the process, method, and callback authorization policies are disabled. To learn more about the authenticator requirements, For more information, see Security Provider Requirements for User Management in the Worklist User Guide.
The View Dynamic Controls Properties page is displayed. If you added a new selector, the value is displayed.
To reset to the last saved values, click Reset.
To disregard changes and return to the View Dynamic Controls Properties page, click Cancel.
Defining Process Control Properties for a Selector
Note:
The (Dynamic) Selector has now been deprecated. Please use the XML Metadata Cache Control to look up WebLogic Integration Administration Console configured values and then use the setProperties() calls of the Process Control to set the endpoint at runtime. For more information on the:
The Add New Process Control Selector and Edit Process Control Selector pages allow you to set the selector value, target URI, user name, and password alias.
Figure 2-12 Add New Process Control Selector Page
The following table summarizes the available settings.
Table 2-6 Elements of Add New Process Control Selector Page
Setting
Description
Required/ Optional
In the Selector Value field, enter the look up key.
The value used to select and dynamically set control attributes at runtime.
Note:
This field cannot be edited on the Edit Process Control Selector page.
Required to Add
In the Target URI field, enter the URI for the target process.
The URI for the target process associated with this look up key.
Optional
In the User Name field, enter the user name.
The user name (if required) used to invoke the target process.
Optional
In the Password Alias field, enter the password alias.
Defining Service Broker Control Properties for a Selector
Note:
The (Dynamic) Selector has now been deprecated. Please use the XML Metadata Cache Control to look up WebLogic Integration Administration Console configured values and then use the setProperties() calls of the Service Broker Control to set the endpoint at runtime. For more information on the XML MetaData Cache Control, see XML Metadata Cache Control in Using Integration Controls, and for more information on the Service Broker Control see, Service Broker Control in Using Integration Controls.
The Add New Service Broker Control Selector and Edit Service Broker Selector pages allow you to set the selector value and associated properties.
Figure 2-13 Add New Service Broker Control Selector Page
The following table summarizes the available settings.
Table 2-7 Elements of Add New Service Broker Control Selector page
Setting
Description
Required/ Optional
In the Selector Value field, enter the look up key.
The value used to select and dynamically set control attributes at runtime.
Note:
This field cannot be edited on the Edit Service Broker Selector page.
Required
In the End Point field, enter the URI for the target service.
The URI for the service end point associated with this look up key.
Optional
From the Protocol drop-down list, select the protocol.
Protocol to use when making the call. Valid values are http-soap http-xml jms-soap jms-xml form-get form-post
The default is http-soap.
Note:
The WebLogic Integration Administration Console allows you to specify any of the above values, therefore, you must take care to select a protocol that is supported by the process. For example, raw XML (non-SOAP) protocols do not work with conversational web services.
Optional
Select the No Dynamic Authentication, Basic Authentication, or Certificate Based Authorization option button.
Type of authentication.
If client certificates are required, select Certificate Based Authorization and enter values in the Keystore Location, Keystore Password Alias, and Keystore Type fields.
Optional
In the User Name field, enter the user name.
The user name (if required) used to invoke the target process.
Required if Basic Authentication is selected.
In the Password Alias field, enter the password alias.