Building a Policy
This section describes how to build
Policies.
Plan your automation
When building a Policy, it is
important to have a defined procedure that answers the questions
"when will the Policy run?" and "what actions will be taken?" The
answer to the first question will correspond to the Monitor objects
that will be used to trigger the Policy. The answer to the second
question will determine the objects that will be used to take the
resulting actions.
You must also understand what data
you will need from each action that is taken.
Step 1 - Create a new
Policy
Once you have determined what will be
automated you can start building, testing, and deploying your
Policy.
Note: By default, all new policies are
created using the Pipeline databus.
To create a new
Policy:
1.
|
Open the Client. This is found in
Start > All Programs >
Opalis Software > Opalis Integration Server > Opalis Integration
Server Client.
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2.
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Click the Policies folder.
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3.
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Click the icon. A new Policy tab will appear in the workspace
with a generic name.
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4.
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Right-click the Policy tab and select Rename.
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5.
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Rename the Policy and press
Enter.
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Step 2 - Add objects
There are two types of objects,
Monitors and Actions. Monitor objects are triggered from an
external source and are used to start policies. Actions are
triggered by other objects and will carry out required procedures
in response to the event detected by the Monitor. The names of the
Monitor objects always begin with the word "Monitor", while the
names of the Action objects are descriptive of the action that the
object performs.
From the Objects window, drag and drop a Monitor object to the
Policy. For example, the Monitor Date/Time object.
Note: You
may need to check out the Policy before you are able to drag
objects to it.
From the Objects window, drag and drop an action object to the
Policy. For example, the Send Email object.
Once your object has been put on the
workspace, double-click it to configure it. For more information
about configuring individual objects, click the Help button on the configuration dialog of that
object.
Step 3 - Link the objects
together
Once you have placed a Monitor and
Action object on the workspace, create a link from the Monitor
object to the Action object.
To create a link, click and drag the
right arrow of the Monitor object. Drop the link on the desired
Action object. See
Link Properties for more
information.
You have now created a Policy and are
ready to test it.
Step 4 - Test your Policy
Once you have finished building the
Policy, you can test it using the Policy Testing Console. The
Policy Testing Console enables you to verify each object in the
Policy as it executes in test mode.
To test a Policy:
1.
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In the Client, open the Policy that
you want to test in the workspace.
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2.
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Click the Test button. The Policy Testing Console
appears.
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3.
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To run through the Policy from
beginning to end, without stopping, click Run.
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4.
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To run through the Policy one
object at a time, click Step
Over. When the Policy Testing Console pauses at the next
object, click Next to
continue.
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For a complete description of Policy
Testing Console functionality, including the ability to add
breakpoints, see
Policy Testing
Console.
If the Policy Testing Console
indicates that there are errors in the Policy, close the Policy
Testing Console, return to the Policy in the Client, make
adjustments, and test the Policy again.
Step 5 - Check in your
Policy
Once you have finished creating and
testing a Policy, you must check in your changes to commit them to
the Datastore.
To check in your changes, click the
Policy tab and select
Check In. You may be required to add a
comment about the changes that were made to the Policy.
To turn off check-in
comments:
1.
|
In the Client, click the
Options menu, and select
Configure.
|
2.
|
Uncheck the Prompt for comment on check in check
box.
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To enable automatic check
out:
Automatic check out enables you to
work on your Policy without needing to click the Check Out button.
1.
|
In the Client, click the
Options menu, and select
Configure.
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2.
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Check the Automatic check out box.
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Step 6 - Start your Policy
Once you have committed your
changes, you must start the Policy so that it can be executed. If
the Policy begins with a Monitor object, the Monitor object will
wait indefinitely to be triggered by an external source. Once a
Monitor object has been triggered, the Policy runs and the Monitor
begins waiting for another trigger. If your policy does not begin
with a Monitor object, then it will run once and then stop.
To start your Policy, click the
Policy tab and click the
Start button. The Policy
starts on the Action Server that was assigned to it, or the default
Action Server.
Note: You can only create 1 workflow in
each Policy.