About Configuring BRM

Ways to Configure BRM

The main types of configurations in BRM are:

Configuring system components; for example, connecting a Connection Manager (CM) to a Data Manager (DM) by configuring a host name and port number.
Configuring business logic options; for example, specifying the default billing day of month.
Loading data used by BRM; for example, general ledger IDs.

The primary ways to configure BRM are:

Using GUI applications.
Editing configuration files, such as pin.conf files and Infranet.properties files. See "About Editing pin.conf Files" and "About Editing an Infranet.properties File".
Editing business parameters. See "About Editing Business Parameters".
Editing and loading data files; for example, a file that defines tax calculation data. See "Loading Configuration Data Into the BRM Database".

About Editing pin.conf Files

Use pin.conf files to configure connections between system components, and to configure business logic operations, such as how billing works. For example, you can edit a pin.conf file to specify the default billing day of month.

pin.conf files are text files, and can be edited by using any text editor. Each entry in a pin.conf file includes instructions on how to configure it.

A typical pin.conf entry looks like this:

- fm_bill allow_move_close_acct 1

In this example, 1 enables the entry, and 0 disables it.

Note the following points when editing pin.conf files:

pin.conf files are usually stored in the same directory as the utility or component that uses them. For example, the pin.conf file that you edit to configure a Connection Manager is stored in BRM_home/sys/cm.

In some cases, a pin.conf file might be stored in a directory that is not the same as the directory that contains the utility. In that case, you need to run the utility from the directory that contains the pin.conf file.
You can remove or comment out entries in a pin.conf file. In that case, the default value is used. If an entry is not in the file, you can add it.

For more information about pin.conf files, see BRM System Administrator's Guide.

About Editing an Infranet.properties File

Use Infranet.properties files to configure BRM Java applications. Infranet.properties files are text files, and can be edited by using any text editor.

Infranet.properties entries are name/value pairs, for example:

infranet.threadpool.size=3

Note the following points when editing Infranet.properties files:

Infranet.properties files are stored in the same directory as the executable that uses them.
If an entry is not in the file, you can add it.

About Editing Business Parameters

Business parameters are configurations that you can use to change BRM functionality to support your business. For example, you can use a business parameter to enable or disable payment incentives.

Business parameters are stored in /config/business_params objects in the database. Unlike pin.conf files and Infranet.properties files, there are no text files that you can open and edit. Instead, you need to use the pin_bus_params utility to create a file to edit. To edit a business parameter you:

Run the pin_bus_params utility to create an XML file.
Edit the file.
Run the pin_bus_params utility to load the XML file.

The XML file includes entries such as this:

<EnableCorrectiveInvoices>enabled</EnableCorrectiveInvoices>

This example is used to enable or disable the corrective invoicing feature.

To verify that the file was loaded correctly, read the /config/business_params object by using the testnap utility or Object Browser to verify that all fields are correct.

Loading Configuration Data Into the BRM Database

Some BRM functionality requires that you load configuration into the BRM database. For example, to configure how to calculate the due date of a bill, you edit the pin_payment_term.xml file and load it by using the load_pin_payment_term.

A typical command looks like this:

load_pin_payment_term pin_payment_term.xml

Note the following points when editing and loading data:

When you load a file, it creates a /config object in the database. All of the existing data in the /config object is replaced. You cannot append new data to the existing data.
To connect to the BRM database, the utility needs a pin.conf file in the directory from which you run the utility. See "About Editing pin.conf Files".
The file you edit is typically in the same directory as the utility executable file. If it is not in the same directory, include the entire path in the command line when you run the utility.
In addition to looking in log files, you can verify that data was loaded by reading the /config object by using Object Browser or the testnap utility.
The data files are either plain text files or XML files. For XML files, the schema files in the BRM_home/xsd directory.
To get help about the utility, use the command with the -h parameter.

Verifying That Data is Loaded

To verify that data was loaded into the BRM database, display the object you loaded by using one of the following features:

Object Browser application
robj command with the testnap utility

For information about reading an object and writing its contents to a file, see BRM Developer's Guide.