4 Managing Oracle Beehive Resources

This module describes how to manage resource accounts in Oracle Beehive. The procedures described in this module for managing Oracle Beehive resources use the beectl command-line interface. You can also perform many of these tasks using Oracle Beekeeper.

Introduction to Oracle Beehive Resources

An Oracle Beehive bookable resource is an entity that users can search for, reserve, and use for a specified period of time, such as a conference room or a projector. In Oracle Beehive, users create, search for, and manage resources through the Resource Directory Service, and reserve them using the Time Management Service. Functionality provided by both services is exposed through the calendar functions of various Oracle Beehive clients.

Although it is usually done using team workspaces, bookable resource accounts can also be used as an alternative method to create calendars for tracking related enterprise-wide information, such as employees' travel schedules.

External resources are resources which are tracked in Oracle Beehive similarly to bookable resources, but which users cannot book using Oracle Beehive clients.

This section includes the following topics:

About Oracle Beehive Bookable Resource Accounts
Oracle Beehive Resource Attributes

About Oracle Beehive Bookable Resource Accounts

Similarly to an Oracle Beehive user, a bookable resource account has a calendar container associated with the account. The calendar container contains all events to which the bookable resource has been invited.

Unlike an Oracle Beehive user, it is not possible to authenticate with Oracle Beehive using a bookable resource account. Bookable resource accounts are managed by administrators, and users who have sufficient privileges.

Bookable resources can be set up to permit reservations on a first come first served basis to prevent double-bookings, or be set as open to permit more than one reservation at a time. You can also configure bookable resources so that only certain users are allowed to reserve them.

Oracle Beehive Resource Attributes

When an Oracle Beehive resource is created, a group of attributes are available to configure the resource properties. Some attributes are mandatory, while others are optional, populated by Oracle Beehive at the time of resource creation, or populated when a dependent attribute is modified. Table 4-1, "Oracle Beehive Resource Attributes" lists available Oracle Beehive resource attributes.

Table 4-1 Oracle Beehive Resource Attributes

Attribute Name	Description	Required Attribute	Accepted Values
Scope	You can create a resource at the Enterprise level (by default), or you can create it at the level of an Organization. Regardless of scope, all resources are visible to all users in the Enterprise.	No	A valid enterprise or organization ID
Resource ID	A `Resource ID` is generated when the resource is created. A Resource ID cannot be specified by administrators at the time of creation, nor modified thereafter.	Yes	N/A
Identifier	Specifies a resource identifier. You can reference a resource using its `Identifier` or its `Name`. This attribute can be a number assigned by your organization to the attribute, or an alternative identifier. For example, a room number or a projector serial number.	No	An alphanumeric string Note: The maximum number of characters allowed is 32.
Name	Specifies the display name for the resource account. You can reference a resource using its `Name` or its `Identifier`. This will be the name displayed when searching for a resource. It must be unique.	Yes	An alphanumeric string Note: The maximum number of characters allowed is 1000.
External	Specifies an external resource. If this option is not specified, a bookable resource will be created.	No	None (this command-line option takes no arguments).
Description	Describes any additional characteristics of the resource.	No	An alphanumeric string Note: The maximum number of characters allowed is 4000.
Location	Specifies the location of the bookable resource. This attribute is broken down into sub-attributes, including description and time zone. Note: Although each resource can only have one `Location`, some clients may permit multiple values for certain sub-attributes: for example, multiple GPS coordinates for a vehicle.	No	A complex attribute (see `Description`)
Phone	Specifies the phone number of the resource.	No	A valid telephone number
Fax	Specifies the fax number of the resource.	No	A valid fax number
Website	Specifies the Web page of the resource.	No	An alphanumeric string
E-mail address	Specifies the e-mail address of the resource. The e-mail address must be unique. This e-mail address is primarily used for addressing purposes using standard-based clients such as CalDAV and Mozilla Thunderbird. No email inboxes will be created for the resource, and the resource account cannot receive e-mail messages. Oracle recommends that the e-mail address specified for a resource reside in the same domain as the e-mail addresses specified for the remaining organization.	Yes	An e-mail address conforming to the standard format
Postal Address	Specifies the postal address of the resource.	No	A complex string in a special format
Approver	Specifies a user who is the resource approver. This attribute acts as a pointer to an Oracle Beehive user. Once specified, the approver can manage the resource's event invites. Note: Multiple approvers can exist for a single bookable resource. With `beectl`, you can add additional approvers using the `--add_approver` option.	Yes	A valid Oracle Beehive user
Capacity	Specifies a description of the capacity of the bookable resource. This attribute is especially useful for conference rooms, offices, or equipment, such as company vehicles, that have a limited capacity. Note: Oracle Beehive does not restrict participant numbers based on this attribute.	No	A positive integer
Resource Type	Specifies a type for a bookable resource. The following mutually exclusive options are available: `Room`, `Equipment` or `Other`. Select the value most appropriate for the resource.	Yes	`Room` `Equipment` `Other`
Booking Characteristics	Specifies the booking characteristics of a bookable resource. It can have the following two values: `O`pen `F`irst-Come-First-Serve	No	`O` (for Open) or `F` (for First-Come-First-Serve)
Booking Info	Specifies information (for users) about booking this resource.	No	An alphanumeric string
Time Zone	Specifies the primary time zone for this resource	No	A valid time zone string
Custom Processing	Specifies whether this resource requires custom processing.	No	`T` (for True) or `F` (for False)
Accessible By	Specifies who can access a resource. It must be one of `everyone`, `nobody`, a group id or finally a user id, case insensitive. Use `everyone` to reset the accessibility to the default for the resource.		`everyone` `nobody` Or a group or user ID

Creating Oracle Beehive Resource Accounts

You can create Oracle Beehive resource accounts using Oracle Beekeeper or the Oracle Beehive beectl command-line utility.

To create an Oracle Beehive bookable resource using the beectl command-line tool, use the beectl add_resource command. Mandatory options when creating a resource are: --name , --resource_type, and --email_address.

For example, to create a bookable resource with the name Conference Room 1021 and e-mail address of room1021@domain.com, capacity of 10, and a bookable resource type of ROOM, run the following command:

beectl> add_resource --name "Conference Room 1021" --email_address room1021@domain.com --resource_type ROOM --capacity 10
 
Resource is successfully created.

You can create an external resource using the beectl add_resource command with the --external option. For example:

beectl> add_resource --name "Conference Room 1021" --email_address room1021@domain.com --resource_type ROOM --capacity 10 --external
 
Resource is successfully created.

If you do not specify the --external option, a bookable resource is created instead.

Listing Oracle Beehive Resource Accounts

You can list Oracle Beehive resource accounts using Oracle Beekeeper, or the beectl command-line utility.

To list Oracle Beehive bookable resources using the beectl command-line tool, use the beectl list_resources command. There are no mandatory options for the list_resources command.

For example, to list all of the bookable resources on Oracle Beehive:

beectl> list_resources
---------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------
Name                 | Type      | Capacity
    +----------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------
    | Addresses                                      
    +---+---------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------
        | ID                        | Parent ID   | Timezone
    +---+------------------+--------+---+---------+---+-------------------------
    | Location Description | Identifier | Description | BookingInfo
    +---+------------------+------+-----+-------------+-------------------------
        | Booking Characteristics | Approvers
        +-------------------------+---------------------------------------------
 
---------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------
Conference Room 1021 | ROOM      | 10      
    +----------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------
    | BUSINESS_1:mailto:room1021@example.com         
    +---+---------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------
        | bkrs=Conference Room 1021 | enpr=Oracle | Etc/GMT 
    +---+------------------+--------+---+---------+---+-------------------------
    |                      |            |             |            
    +---+------------------+------+-----+-------------+-------------------------
        | FIRST_COME_FIRST_SERVED |          
        +-------------------------+---------------------------------------------
 
---------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------
Conference Room 1022 | ROOM      | 20      
    +----------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------
    | BUSINESS_1:mailto:room1022@example.com         
    +---+---------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------
        | bkrs=Conference Room 1022 | enpr=Oracle | Etc/GMT 
    +---+------------------+--------+---+---------+---+-------------------------
    |                      |            |             |            
    +---+------------------+------+-----+-------------+-------------------------
        | FIRST_COME_FIRST_SERVED |          
        +-------------------------+---------------------------------------------
 
---------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------
 
Company Vehicle 1    | EQUIPMENT | 4       
    +----------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------
    | BUSINESS_1:mailto:company_vehicle_1@example.com
    +---+---------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------
        | bkrs=Company Vehicle 1    | enpr=Oracle | Etc/GMT 
    +---+------------------+--------+---+---------+---+-------------------------
    |                      |            |             |            
    +---+------------------+------+-----+-------------+-------------------------
        | FIRST_COME_FIRST_SERVED |          
        +-------------------------+---------------------------------------------
 
---------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------
Company Vehicle 2    | EQUIPMENT | 6       
    +----------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------
    | BUSINESS_1:mailto:company_vehicle_2@example.com
    +---+---------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------
        | bkrs=Company Vehicle 2    | enpr=Oracle | Etc/GMT 
    +---+------------------+--------+---+---------+---+-------------------------
    |                      |            |             |            
    +---+------------------+------+-----+-------------+-------------------------
        | FIRST_COME_FIRST_SERVED |          
        +-------------------------+---------------------------------------------
 
4 Record(s) displayed.
4 resource(s) are found.

Modifying Oracle Beehive Resource Accounts

You can modify Oracle Beehive resource accounts using Oracle Beekeeper or the beectl command-line utility.

To modify an Oracle Beehive resource using beectl, use the beectl modify_resources command. Mandatory options when modifying a resource are – --resource, or --select_by_name; and a modifier option, such as --name or --capacity.

For example, to modify the name of the existing Conference Room 1021 resource and its capacity, run the following command:

beectl> modify_resources --select_by_name "Conference Room 1021" --name "Conference Room 1021: Executive Only" --capacity 15
 
Resource is successfully modified.

Deleting Oracle Beehive Resource Accounts

You can delete Oracle Beehive resource accounts using Oracle Beekeeper or the Oracle Beehive beectl command-line utility.

To delete an Oracle Beehive resource using beectl, use the beectl delete_resource command. Mandatory options when deleting a resource are – --resource or --select_by_name.

For example, to delete a resource with the name Company Vehicle 2:

beectl> delete_resource --select_by_name "Company Vehicle 2"
 
Resource is successfully deleted.

Managing Oracle Beehive Bookable Resource Approvers

To selectively accept or decline invitations to an event, a bookable resource can have an approver. When an approver is assigned to a resource, the approver will receive notifications whenever a user attempts to book the resource. The approver can open the resource's calendar to accept or decline the resource's invitations.

Oracle Beehive resource approvers can be assigned and removed usingOracle Beekeeper or the Oracle Beehive beectl command-line utility.

This section includes the following topics:

Adding Oracle Beehive Bookable Resource Approvers Using beectl
Removing Oracle Beehive Bookable Resource Approvers Using beectl

Adding Oracle Beehive Bookable Resource Approvers Using `beectl`

To assign an approver to an Oracle Beehive bookable resource using beectl:

Determine the name of the bookable resource. See "Listing Oracle Beehive Resource Accounts" for more information about listing resources.
Determine the user or users you want to assign as resource approver.s For information about listing users using the beectl list_users command, see "list_users" in Chapter 2 of the Oracle Beehive Administrator's Reference Guide.
Assign one or more approvers by running the following command with the specified options:
```
beectl> modify_resources --select_by_name <resource name> --add_approver <user identifier>
```
Where:
- <resource name> represents the resource determined in Step 1.
- <user identifier> represents the user identifier determined in Step 2.
You can specify the --add_approver option multiple times to add multiple approvers to the resource.

Removing Oracle Beehive Bookable Resource Approvers Using `beectl`

To remove an approver from an Oracle Beehive bookable resource using beectl:

Determine the name of the bookable resource. See "Listing Oracle Beehive Resource Accounts" for more information about listing resources.
Determine the user or users you want to remove as the resource approver. For information about listing users using the list_users command, see "list_users" in Chapter 2 of the Oracle Beehive Administrator's Reference Guide.
Remove an approver by executing the following command with the specified options:
```
beectl> modify_resources --select_by_name <resource name> --delete_approver <user identifier>
```
Where:
- <resource> represents the resource determined in Step 1.
- <user> represents the user determined in Step .
To remove additional approvers, repeat step 3.

Oracle Beehive Bookable Resource Booking Characteristics

Each bookable resource has a booking characteristic. The booking characteristics determine the level of control that must be exercised over an existing bookable resource.

This section contains the following topics:

Booking Characteristics Options
Setting Booking Characteristics

Booking Characteristics Options

Depending on how you want to allow bookable resources to be booked, choose from these available options:

Open
First-Come-First-Serve

Note:

The default booking characteristic when the bookable resource is created is First-Come-First-Serve.

Open

When this option is used, a bookable resource can be booked by more than one user for the same time slot.

Note:

If the bookable resource has one or more approvers, those approvers can subsequently approve one user and deny other users the booking.

First-Come-First-Serve

When this option is used, double-booking is easily prevented. The first user to book the bookable resource in a time slot will automatically be accepted. Any subsequent requests to reserve the bookable resource for the same time slot will be refused.

Setting Booking Characteristics

You can set Oracle Beehive bookable resource booking characteristics when creating or when modifying a resource, using the beectl add_resource and beectl modify_resources commands.

When adding a resource:

beectl> add_resource [...] --resource <resourceid> --booking_characteristics <[O]pen>|<[F]CFS>

In this example, other required parameters for the beectl add_resource command are omitted.

When modifying a resource:

beectl> modify_resources --resource <resourceid> --booking_characteristics <[O]pen>|<[F]CFS>

Managing Oracle Beehive Resource Categorization

Oracle Beehive resources can be assigned categories. Categories are not unique to Oracle Beehive resources. Category definitions and hierarchies are defined in Oracle Beehive Workspaces. You can create a list of categories that users are allowed to apply to resources using Oracle Beekeeper, or beectl.

To modify the list of categories available for resources, use the beectl modify_resource_classifications command. Specify one or more categories using the --category option. For example:

beectl> modify_resource_classifications [--enterprise <enterpriseid>] --category <categoryid>

Restricting Access to Resources

You can restrict the access to a resource using Oracle Beekeeper or beectl.

To restrict access to a resource using beectl, use the --accessible_by option with one of the following choices:

everyone: Allows anyone to access the resource. You can use this option with the beectl modify_resources command to reset a restricted resource to unrestricted status.
nobody: Prevents anyone from accessing the resource.
a user ID: Only the specified user can access the resource.
a group ID: Only members of the specified group can access the resource.

To restrict access when adding a resource:

beectl> add_resource [...] --accessible_by <everyone | nobody | groupid | userid>