Administration and Management(4.3)
- Jenni Wallin
Desktop Background Color
You can start several Desktop applications on a specific computer. To tell the difference between the applications and their respective views you can vary the background color of every Desktop. To change the Desktop application background color, set the Desktop property mz.gui.color.space.active.
The value can be any color of the following: blue, green, yellow, orange, red, darkblue, darkgreen, magenta, or darkred. For further information about Desktop properties, see Starting and Managing Desktop Client (4.3).
Dynamic Update
While a real-time workflow is being executed, you can change the value of the following parameters:
The Host and Port parameters of the TCP/IP agent
The NAS list of the Radius agent
To be able to dynamically update TCP/IP Host and Port parameters, you need to set them to either Default or Per Workflow in the Workflow Properties dialog box. See the figure The Workflow Table Tab in Workflow Table Tab (4.3).
To update, select Dynamic Update from the Edit menu. On the title bar of the monitor dialog-box, the text Dynamic Update followed by a number appears. It represents the number of times that you have updated the workflow configuration while running it, that is since the last time you started it.
Folders
Folders enable the user to categorize configurations, and simplify their maintenance and operation. Folders could for instance be created based on traffic type, decoding for a specific network element, as well as being based on geographic location etc.
Usage Engine includes a system folder named Default. This folder cannot be renamed nor removed.
Configuration Naming
Configuration names within a folder must be unique.
Some named items in the Usage Engine environment are used when constructing file names. To avoid potential conflicts in the file systems, Usage Engine converts the illegal characters when constructing the file names.
The following characters are considered to be legal. Any other character will result in a validation error.
a-z
A-Z
0-9
- (dash)
_ (underscore)
Usage Engine has an internal key for every configuration. This key is used to identify the configuration. Renaming a configuration will not change this key. The key is constructed using the system name and the date when the configuration was created. You can view the generated key by selecting the Show Properties option in the right-click menu in the Configuration Navigator, as well as in the Configuration Browser and Configuration Tracer.
Date and Time Format Codes
In various places in Usage Engine, date formats are entered. The following list shows valid date and time format codes that can be combined with any characters that are not in the ranges of 'a'-'z' and 'A'-'Z'. For instance, characters such as ':', '.', ' ', '#' and '@' will appear in the resulting time even if they are not specified within single quotation marks.
The date syntax conforms to the Java class SimpleDateFormat. This section contains a summary only. For a full description see:
https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/docs/api/java.base/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html
Letter | Date or time component | Example |
|---|---|---|
G | Era designator | AD |
y | Year | 1996; 96 |
M | Month in year | July; Jul; 07 |
w | Week in year | 27 |
W | Week in month | 2 |
D | Day in year | 189 |
d | Day in month | 10 |
F | Day of week in month | 2 |
E | Day in week | Tuesday; Tue |
a | am/pm marker | PM |
H | Hour in day(0-23) | 0 |
k | Hour in day(1-24) | 24 |
K | Hour in am/pm (0-11) | 0 |
h | Hour in am/pm (1-12) | 12 |
m | Minute in hour | 30 |
s | Second in minute | 55 |
S | Millisecond | 978 |
z | Time zone | PST; GMT-08:00 |
Z | Time zone | -08:00 |
Example - Date and time patterns are interpreted in the U.S. local
The following examples show how date and time patterns are interpreted in the U.S. local. The given date and time are 2001-07-04 12:08:56 local time in the U.S. Pacific Time time zone.
Format | Example |
|---|---|
"yyyy.MM.dd G 'at' HH:mm:ss z" | 2001.07.04 AD at 12:08:56 PDT |
"EEE, MMM d, ''yy" | Wed, Jul 4, '01 |
"h:mm a" | 12:08 PM |
"hh 'o''clock' a, zzzz" | 12 o'clock PM, Pacific Daylight Time |
"K:mm a, z" | 0:08 PM, PDT |
"yyyyy.MMMMM.dd GGG hh:mm aaa" | 02001.July.04 AD 12:08 PM |
"EEE, d MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss Z" | Wed, 4 Jul 2001 12:08:56 -0700 |
"yyMMddHHmmssZ" | 010704120856-0700 |
Text Editor
At various places in the Usage Engine environment, editable text areas are available in order to enter APL code. To assist in writing the code, these areas host functions available in a pop-up menu that is displayed when you right-click anywhere in the text area.
The menu has the following options:
Option | Description |
|---|---|
Font Size | Sets the font size. |
Cut | Moves the selected text to the clipboard. You can also press the |
Copy | Copies the selected text to the clipboard. You can also press the |
Paste | Pastes the contents of the clipboard into the place where the insertion point has been set. You can also press the |
Select All | Selects all the text. You can also press the |
Undo | Undoes your last action. You can also press the |
Redo | Redoes the last action that you undid with Undo. You can also press the |
Find/Replace... | Displays a dialog where chosen text may be searched for and, optionally, replaced. You can also press the  Find/Replace dialog |
Quick Find | Searches the code for the highlighted text. You can also press the |
Find Again | Repeats the search for last entered text in the Find/Replace dialog. You can also press the |
Go to Line... | Opens the Go to Line dialog where you can enter which line in the code you want to go to. Click OK and you are redirected to the entered line. You can also press the CTRL+L keys to perform this action. |
Show Definition | If you right-click a function in the code that has been defined somewhere else and select this option, you are redirected to where the function has been defined. If the function has been defined within the same configuration, you jump to the line where the function is defined. If the function has been defined in another configuration, the configuration opens and you jump directly to the line where the function has been defined. You can also click a function and press the Note!If you have references to an external function with the same name as a function within the current code, some problems may occur. The Show Definition option will point to the function within the current code, while the external function is the one that is called during workflow execution. |
Show Usages | If you right-click a function where it is defined in the code and select this option, a dialog called Usage Viewer opens and displays a list of the Configurations that are using the function. You can also select a function and press the |
UDR Assistance... | Opens the UDR Internal Format Browser from which the UDR Fields may be inserted into the code area. You can also press the |
MIM Assistance... | Opens the MIM Browser from which the available MIM Resources may be inserted into the code area. You can also press the |
Import... | Imports the contents from an external text file into the editor. Note that the file has to reside on the host where the client is running. |
Export... | Exports the current contents into a new file to, for instance, allow editing in another text editor or usage in another Usage Engine system. |
Use External Editor | Opens the editor specified by the Desktop property |
APL Help... | Opens the APL Reference Guide. |
APL Code Completion | Performs code completion on the current line. For more information about Code Completion, see the section below, APL Code Completion. You can also press the |
Indent | Adjusts the indentation of the code to make it more readable. You can also press the |
Jump to Pair | Moves the cursor to the matching parenthesis or bracket. You can also press the |
Toggle Comments | Adds or removes comment characters at the beginning of the current line or selection. You can also press the CTRL+7 keys to perform this action. |
Surround With | Adds a code template that surrounds the current line or selection:
|
APL Code Completion
In order to make APL coding easier, the APL Code Completion feature will help you find and add APL functions and their respective syntax.
To access APL Code Completion, place the cursor where you want to add an APL function, press CTRL+SPACE and select the correct function. To reduce the number of hits, type the initial characters of the APL function. The characters to the left of the cursor will be used as a filter.
APL Code Completion covers:
All installed APL functions.
Function blocks such as
beginBatchandconsume.Condition statements such as
whileandif.APL functions created by APL Code configurations.
APL functions created with the Development Toolkit.
APL Code Editor Outline
In order to make it easier to navigate in an APL code configuration, there is an Outline navigation panel to the right of the APL Code Editor.
The APL Code Editor Outline provides a view of all the blocks, variables and methods in an APL code configuration and makes it possible to easily navigate between different types in the APL code. The entries in the navigation panel are automatically updated as you make valid entries in the APL Editor.
You can also filter what you want to display in the Outline navigation panel. You can search for a specific block, variable or method using the free text field, or by selecting one of the quick filter buttons for different types:
Button | Description |
|---|---|
b | Click to display or hide the blocks within the APL code configuration displayed in the APL Code Editor. |
v | Click to display or hide the variables within the APL code configuration displayed in the APL Code Editor. |
m | Click to display or hide the methods within the APL code configuration displayed in the APL Code Editor. |
The Outline navigation panel can be hidden or made visible. By default, it is visible and all the elements are displayed. To hide or display the navigation panel, click the vertical Outline button to the right of the APL Code Editor.
Configuration List Editor
The Configuration List Editor appears in many Agent Configuration dialog boxes and usually looks like the example in the figure below, Configuration List Editor. This table enables you to select and list several entries that you want to include in a certain Configuration definition.
Button | Description |
|---|---|
Add | Click to open a dialog box where you can add an item to the Configuration list. |
Edit | Select a row and click Edit; an Update dialog box opens and enables you to modify the data entry. |
Remove | Select a row and click Remove. |
Select an entry from the Configuration list and click Up or Down to move it to an upper or lower position |
Note!
To change the order of any of the appended rows from ascending to descending, or vice versa, click a column's heading. The new order is not saved for the next time you open this view.
UDR Browser
In places where one or many UDR types or UDR fields will be selected, the UDR Browser is utilized. See the figure below, UDR Internal Format Browser. You access the UDR Internal Format Browser from the Analysis or Aggregation agents, by right-clicking in the APL Code area and selecting UDR Assistance... .
The browser contains all UDR types available in the system:
UDR types created in the Ultra Format Editor. These include events and sessions for the Aggregation sub-system.
UDR types installed with the system.
For further information about UDR types and fields, see Ultra Format(4.3).
Item | Description |
|---|---|
UDR Types | List of available UDR types ordered in a tree structure. You can search for a specific UDR type using the filter text box. You can also expand all of the folders to display all the subfolders and types by clicking the Expand button. You can collapse the folders again by clicking the Collapse button. If you click the Refresh button, the view is refreshed and the folders are collapsed. Formats created in Ultra Format Editor usually have the following structure:
|
Expand All | Click this button to expand all of the UDR Types folders to display all the subfolders and types. If you click the Refresh button, the view is refreshed and the folders are collapsed. |
Collapse All | Click this button to collapse the UDR Types folders so that only the folders are displayed. |
UDR Fields | Displays the UDR type fields in a tree structure. You can search for a specific UDR type field using the filter text box. To refresh the view, click the Refresh button. To ease identification, the fields are color coded:
|
Show Optional | If enabled, fields declared as optional are displayed in black italic text. |
Show Readonly | Select this check box to display read-only fields; the text appears in red. |
Datatype | If enabled, only fields that match the selected data type are displayed. |
Selection Modes
The browser operates in five modes depending on where it is utilized.
Single selection of UDR Type. You can choose the UDR Type either by double-clicking the UDR Type, or by selecting it followed by OK or Apply. OK and double-click dismisses the dialog.
Multiple selections of UDR Type. You can choose several UDR Types at once by selecting them followed by OK or Apply. OK or double-click dismisses the dialog.
Single selection of UDR fields. Same as for UDR Type, but fields are selected instead.
Multiple selections of UDR field. Same as for UDR Type, but fields are selected instead.
Field input assistance. You can insert fields in the target text field by double-clicking them, or by selecting them followed by Apply. The OK button is not available.
MIM
Some agents in a workflow need information from the workflow or other agents in order to operate. For instance, an agent that produces a file might need the source file name and the number of processed UDRs to be used in the outgoing file name. In order to satisfy these requirements, Usage Engine uses a model called Meta Information Model (MIM) .
Agents may use MIM parameters to publish information during run-time that other agents may need to use. The MIM information is used in various parts of Usage Engine, for instance, when selecting which MIM resources to use in a file name.
Usage Engine uses Java Management Extensions (JMX) to monitor MIM tree attributes in running workflows. For more information, see Workflow Monitor (4.3).
MIM resources for each agent have their values assigned at any time, depending on type. For example, the Disk collection agent publishes the MIM resource Source Filename which is set at Begin Batch. The agent puts the name of the collected file in this resource before it starts collecting the file.
There are in total four types of MIMs:
MIM Type | Description |
|---|---|
Batch | Batch MIMs are dynamic values, populated during batch processing. An example of such a value is outbound UDRs. |
Global | A global MIM value can be accessed at any time during the execution phase of a workflow. For instance, static values such as Agent Name. |
Header | Header MIM values are populated when a batch is received for processing (an agent emits Begin Batch). For example Source Filename (published by the Disk collection agent). |
Trailer | Trailer MIM values are populated after a batch is processed (an agent emits End Batch). An example of such a value is Target Filename (published by the Disk forwarding agent). |
By default, all agents may publish the following MIM resources depending on their Input/Output data types.
MIM Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
Agent Name | This MIM parameter contains the name of the agent as defined in the workflow editor. All agents publish this resource. The value is set when the workflow starts executing. |
<route name> UDRs (or Bytes) | This MIM parameter contains the number of UDRs (or Bytes) routed on the link by the agent. The value is updated continuously during processing. This MIM is not valid for forwarding agents. |
<route name> Queue Size | This MIM parameter contains the number of objects that are currently in the route's queue. |
<route name> Queue Full Count | This MIM parameter contains the number of queue state changes and the value is updated each time a route's queue enters "full" state. |
Inbound UDRs (or Bytes) | This MIM parameter contains the number of incoming UDRs (or Bytes) since last Begin Batch. The value is updated continuously during batch processing. This MIM is not valid for collection agents. |
Outbound UDRs (or Bytes) | This MIM parameter contains the number of outgoing UDRs (or Bytes) since last Begin Batch. The value is updated continuously during batch processing. This MIM is not valid for forwarding agents. |
There are also pico specific MIM resources representing information about the picos' JVMs. These are:
MIM Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
Available CPUs | This MIM parameter states the number of processors that are available for the JVM. |
System Load Average | This MIM parameter states the average system load during the last minute. The system load is the sum of the number of runnable entitites that are queued or running on the available processors, and this value shows the average of this sum for the last minute. This information is useful for indicating the current system load and may be queried frequently. |
Heap Memory Used Percentage | This MIM parameter states JVM's heap size, i e the amount of memory that is currently used by the JVM, in percent. |
Non Heap Memory Used Percentage | This MIM parameter states the amount of memory outside of the heap (non-heap memory) that is currently used by the JVM, in percentage. |
There are workflow specific MIM resources representing information of a running workflow as well. These are:
MIM Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
Batch Cancelled | This MIM parameter states if the current batch has been cancelled. |
Batch Count | This MIM parameter contains a unique sequence number that will be associated with each batch processed by the workflow. This value is increased by 1 up to 263 and is saved between workflow invocations. |
Batch Duration | This MIM parameter contains the time it took to process a batch. This value is updated during processing. |
Batch End Time | This MIM parameter contains the end time for the processing of a batch. |
Batch Start Time | This MIM parameter contains the start time for the processing of a batch. |
Execution Context | This MIM parameter contains the name of the Execution Context hosting the current workflow. |
Processed UDRs Interval Duration | This parameter contains the duration of an interval in minutes for counting the number of processed UDRs in the current real-time workflow. This MIM parameter is only valid for real-time workflows.
|
Processed UDRs Per Interval | This parameter contains the UDRs processed during the defined interval in the current real-time workflow. This MIM parameter is only valid for real-time workflows.
|
Start Time | This MIM parameter contains the date and time when the workflow was started. The value is set when the workflow is activated. |
Threads Configured | This parameter contains the number of workflow threads configured in the current real-time workflow. This MIM parameter is only valid for real-time workflows.
|
Threads Idle | This parameter contains the number of workflow idle threads in the current real-time workflow. This MIM parameter is only valid for real-time workflows.
|
Throughput | By default, Throughput is the volume-per-time processing rate of a particular workflow or agent. |
Transaction ID | Each batch closed by all workflows will receive a unique transaction ID, cancelled batches as well. This MIM parameter contains the unique transaction ID. |
Workflow ID | This MIM parameter contains the unique identification name of every workflow. |
Workflow Name | This MIM parameter contains the name of the current workflow. The value is set when the workflow is activated. |
MIM Browser
At places where access to MIM resources is used, the MIM Browser is utilized. You access the MIM Browser from the Analysis or Aggregation agent, by right-clicking in the APL Code area and selecting MIM Assistance....
The browser contains all MIM resources available in the workflow.
The available MIM resources are displayed, ordered in a tree structure. You can choose the MIM resource either by double-clicking the MIM resource, or by selecting it followed by Apply. Cancel dismisses the dialog. You can also search for a specific MIM resource using the filter text box at the top of the MIM Browser.
Locks
Configurations that you edit are locked so that they cannot be modified by other users. When you open a locked configuration, a message box appears with information about the user that has access and can edit it. To edit a locked, or read-only, configuration you can save a copy of it with a different name.
A locked configuration
Locks are not persistent. If the system is restarted, all locks will be forgotten.
Encryption
A configuration in Usage Engine is persisted using XML and therefore more or less available in a readable form to any user, see Browser(4.3). Some configurations may be sensitive and possibly contain descriptions that are proprietary and must be protected. To protect such configurations, Usage Engine features the ability to encrypt configurations using a passphrase. A configuration is thereby only readable if the passphrase is known by the user. If the passphrase is lost, the configuration should be considered lost as well.
There are configurations that generate information to the system. For example, the Ultra format that renders UDRs. A user can have access to the UDRs without knowing the passphrase for the configuration source, by setting the user group execute permission. A user can also import a format or analysis package which has execute permission configured.
Encrypted configurations retain their encryption and passphrase across export and import. This means that to open a configuration that is imported from another system, you need its passphrase.
The Database profile and some of the agents can use passwords from External References. These can be encrypted, either using the default key, or using a crypto service keystore file. See Using Passwords in External References in External Reference (4.3) for further information.