Workflow Guide

Chapter 6   Workflow Administration

This chapter describes how to use the Workflow administration tools and features. It has these sections:

• Using the workflow administration components

• Auditing runtime processes

• Generating runtime exception reports

Using the workflow administration components

The Director install includes two workflow administration components for managing the engine, queue, and runtime processes.

• Engine and Queue Administration Console

• Workflow Administration Client

You should include these components in your Workflow project when you deploy your application WAR.

To access the Workflow administration components:

• To access the Engine and Queue Console open a browser and enter this URL:

    http://localhost/my_Director_Database/my_project_namespace/
  Portal/main/comp/WorkflowEngineAdmin
  

• To access the Admin Client Console open a browser and enter this URL:

    http://localhost/my_Director_Database/my_project_namespace/
  Portal/main/comp/WorkflowAdminClient
  

You can also create a Portal page that includes the components. By default only users in the workflowadmin group can access these components. You can add other users using the Portal Administration Console.

Engine and Queue Administration Console

The Engine and Queue Administration console provides the following functionality:

• Start, suspend, or shut down the workflow queue

• Start, suspend, or shut down the workflow engine

• Start, suspend, or shut down both.

Suspend functions   Suspends the specified operation. Any messages sent to the engine or queue are stored but not executed until you select Start.

Shutdown functions    Shuts down the specified operation. Any messages sent to the engine or queue during the shutdown phase are lost.

Start functions   Starts the selected operation. This option resumes a suspended operation, starts the operation from scratch, or restarts an operation that was shut down.

Workflow administration client

This component allows you to manipulate the execution of a process instance by allowing you to:

• See lists of running, suspended, and finished process instances

• See a list of the activities and their states in a selected process instance

• Suspend or resume a process instance

• Suspend or resume an activity in a process instance

• Terminate a process instance

Process functions

Process functions operate on all workitems associated with the process, unless that work is already displayed in a user's worklist. In this case, workitems are not affected by suspending or resuming either processes or activities. Essentially, the user owns this work, and no existing functions (apart from locking) can prevent the user from updating and forwarding this work.

Suspending a process

Suspending the process tells the Workflow subsystem that no updates should be made to workitems executing that process. Resuming a process returns it to the open state. The effect of suspending and resuming is apparent only when a user forwards work from one queue to another.

For example, assume that there are two work queues, workqueue-A and workqueue-B. Also assume that workitem-1 is already displayed in workqueue-A, and a forward on workitem-1 would normally result in the work appearing in workqueue-B. If the workflow process currently being executed by workitem-1 is suspended (by selecting the Suspend Process button on the Process Administration Console), then a forward on workitem-1 would result in the work disappearing from workqueue-A, but the work would not appear in workqueue-B.

Resuming a process

Resuming a process returns it to its original state. Continuing with the same example, assume the workflow process is resumed (by selecting the Resume Process button on the Process Administration Console). A refresh of workqueue-B will reveal workitem-1, ready for updating and forwarding by the user.

Terminating a process

Terminating a process tells the Workflow subsystem to remove the process instance and its associated activities from the engine queue process. Once a process is terminated, it cannot be recovered.

Activity functions

Suspending and resuming activities is similar to suspending and resuming processes, but enables more precision. An activity can be in one of the following states:

Suspending an activity

Suspending an activity tells the Workflow Subsystem not to forward work to this activity in this process. Only open activities may be suspended; attempting to suspend a running or completed activity will have no effect. Other combinations may also be ignored (such as attempting to suspend a process or activity that is already suspended).

Continuing with the example from the previous section, assume there is an additional work queue (workqueue-C) but that workitem-1 is currently displayed in workqueue-A as before. Further assume that a forward from workqueue-B would result in the work appearing in workqueue-C (giving a simple A-B-C queue sequence).

If the workflow activity for workqueue-C is suspended (by selecting the Suspend Activity button), then a forward on workitem-1 (currently in workqueue-A) would result in the work showing up in workqueue-B, as expected. However, a forward from workqueue-B would not result in workitem-1 showing up in workqueue-C, since the associated activity is currently suspended.

Resuming an activity

Now assume that the activity for workqueue-C is resumed (by selecting the Resume Activity button). A refresh of workqueue-C will then reveal workitem-1, ready for updating and forwarding by the user.

Auditing runtime processes

The Workflow API provides the EbiAuditDelegate.getAuditInfo() method for getting audit information about workflow processes, activities, workitems, and workitem properties. Here is the method declaration:

  public Document getAuditInfo(
  	 String processId, String runNumber, String activityName, Date startDate, Date endDate) 
  throws com.sssw.wf.client.EboAuditLoggerException

This DTD for the return Document is available in your Director project directory at library/WorkflowService/DTD/workflow-auditlist.dtd.

NOTE   All of the parameter values are optional. To return all information, specify "null" for the parameter.

Generating runtime exception reports

The Workflow API includes exception-handling classes for the Workflow subsystem components, including EboEngineException, EboQueueException, and EboWorkitemException. By default, exceptions messages are written out to the server console. But you can have the messages sent via e-mail to specified user. The setting for this option is in config.xml.

To configure exception messages to be sent to an administrator:

1. Outside Workbench, open the following file:

     My_Project/library/WorkflowService/WorkflowService-conf/config.xml
   

2. Uncomment the following lines:

      <!--
     	 <property>
     	 	 <key>WorkflowService/administrator-host</key>
     	 	 <value>SomeHost</value>
     	 </property>
     	 <property>
     	 	 <key>WorkflowService/administrator-address</key>
     	 	 <value>SomeAddress</value>
     	 </property>
     	 -->
   

   NOTE   After you uncomment the properties, you can access them in the graphical XML editor in Workbench.

3. Set the two properties to a valid user or admin group with a valid e-mail address. For example:

     <property>
     	 	 <key>WorkflowService/administrator-host</key>
     	 	 <value>admingroup</value>
     	 </property>
     	 <property>
     	 	 <key>WorkflowService/administrator-address</key>
     	 	 <value>admin@addresss.com</value>
     	 </property>
     
   

4. Save the file.

Workflow Guide

Copyright © 2002, SilverStream Software, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Novell, Inc. All rights reserved.