Action Manager

The Action Manager is a standalone Java™ application that allows us to monitor multiple TDI Servers and AssemblyLine execution using user-defined rules, triggering conditions and actions defined in AMC. The Administration and Monitoring Console (AMC) has an Action Manager window that allows users to configure various Action Manager rules.

A rule is a combination of a trigger type and a set of associated actions. A rule specifies that when a triggering condition is detected, then the associated set of actions must be executed. The various trigger types available in AMC are described below:

Table 26. Action Manager triggers

Trigger Type	Trigger Details	User Input for trigger
No trigger	A rule with this triggering type has no triggering condition, and as a result never gets triggered by itself. The only way this rule can be executed is if some other rule executes this rule	No details required
On AssemblyLine start	A rule with this triggering type gets triggered when the Action Manager receives an AssemblyLine start event for this particular AssemblyLine.	"AssemblyLine name"
On AssemblyLine termination	A rule with this triggering type gets triggered when the Action Manager receives an AssemblyLine termination event for this particular AssemblyLine.	"AssemblyLine name"
On config load	A rule with this triggering type is triggered when a Config is loaded.	"Name of Config to load"
On config unload	A rule with this triggering type is triggered when a Config is unloaded. The Config must be loaded to be unloaded.	"Name of Config to unload"
On query AssemblyLine result	A rule with this triggering type should not be used with a short-running AssemblyLine. This is because Action Manager stores the handle of the AssemblyLine object on receiving the Start AssemblyLine event. Later on, receiving the Stop AssemblyLine event, Action Manager uses this handle to query the final work entry attributes. If the AssemblyLine terminates before Action Manager can store the handle, then Action Manager is not able to query the work attributes. Usually an execution time of 10 seconds is sufficient (this can be achieved by putting a system.sleep(10) before the AssemblyLine terminates, for example in the epilog hook). When running On query AssemblyLine result, Action Manager polls the AssemblyLine continuously for the specified polling interval. The trigger first checks for the attribute value, starting the AssemblyLine after the specified polling interval. Next, the trigger checks the AssemblyLine result entry. On query AssemblyLine result is a rule that is triggered when the last "work" entry of the specified AssemblyLine contains the specified "Attribute" matching the given "condition" and "value". This condition is checked only when the ActionManager receives a Stop AssemblyLine event. The user can specify a time interval. The specified AssemblyLine run periodically depending upon the time interval specified A rule with this triggering type is triggered when the last "work" entry of the specified AssemblyLine, contains the specified "Attribute" matching the given "condition" and "value". This condition is checked only when the Action Manager receives a Stop AssemblyLine event. To configure the Query on AssemblyLine result trigger, enter values for the following fields: AssemblyLine name Attribute Condition Value Polling Interval Polling Unit	"AssemblyLine name", "Attribute","Condition","Value, "Polling Interval," and "Polling Unit."
On server API failure	A rule with this triggering type is triggered when the Action Manager is unable to connect to the remote server using the Server API. We can configure different polling time intervals for each Assembly Line depending upon AssemblyLine execution time.	"Polling Interval" and "Polling Unit."
On received Event	A rule with this triggering type is triggered when the Action Manager receives an event which satisfies the criteria mentioned. If any of the criteria are to be ignored, just leave it blank.	"Event type", "Event Source", "Event Data". Event Data is optional. Event type or source - one of them must be specified.
On Property	A rule with this triggering type is triggered when the specified property meets the specified condition. The Action Manager periodically checks for this property. We can configure a polling interval and polling units when configuring this trigger. This rule gets triggered only once, and gets reset back to ready state only when Action Manager detects that this property does not meet the specified criteria any longer. This is done so that the rule does not repeatedly get triggered for a single occurrence of the triggering condition.	"Polling Interval," "Polling Unit"."Property name", "Condition", and "Value".
On local variable	A rule with this triggering type is triggered when the specified variables meet the specified condition. The Action Manager periodically checks for this property . This rule gets triggered only once, and gets reset back to the ready state only when Action Manager detects that this variables does not meet the specified criteria any longer. This is done so that the rule does not repeatedly get triggered for a single occurrence of the triggering condition.	"Local Variable" ," Condition", "Value".
Inspect AssemblyLine exit code	A rule with this triggering type is triggered when an AssemblyLine terminates with an error. Inspect AssemblyLine Exit Code also searches for an error object string for every abnormal AssemblyLine termination. Under Configure Trigger, if the trigger is Inspect AssemblyLine Exit Code, we can enable Inspect Error Object. In the Value field, type the string we want for Error Object. Note that if the Value field is empty, then the rule triggers for every abnormal termination of an AssemblyLine. If Inspect Error Object is not selected, the trigger waits for the AssemblyLine to terminate and inspects the exit code for an attribute value (entered by the user). Type values for both the Attribute Name and Value. In the Inspect AssemblyLine Exit code trigger, the Action Manager no longer starts the AssemblyLine, and there is no polling. The trigger only checks the AssemblyLine result one time after the AssemblyLine runs.	"AssemblyLine name"; if "Inspect Error Object" is enabled, you only need supply "Value." If "Inspect Error Object" is disabled, values for "Attribute," "Condition," and "Value" are needed.
Time since last execution	A rule with this triggering type get triggered when the Action Manager detects that the specified assembly line has not run for the specified period. Note: This rule is triggered only once. After that Action Manager wait for receiving a Start AssemblyLine event before resetting the Rule back to Ready mode. This is done so that the rule does not repeatedly get triggered for a single occurrence of the triggering condition.	"AssemblyLine name", "Not Run Since" and "Unit".
Timer	A rule with this triggering type is triggered continuously within an interval defined by a number of units and the measure of seconds, minutes, hours or days.	"Interval" and "Unit."

When a rule gets triggered, the Actions associated with the rule are executed by the Action Manager sequentially. The following are the various types of Actions that are available in AMC:

Table 27. Action Manager actions

Action	Action Details	User Input for action
Start AssemblyLine	This action starts the specified AssemblyLine of the specified config file on the specified TDI server. The Config field should mention the complete path of the configuration on the remote server. The Config Password field is optional and is required only if the remote config is password protected.	"AssemblyLine", "Of Configuration", "On Server", "Config Password".
Stop AssemblyLine	This action stops the specified AssemblyLine of the specified configuration on the specified TDI Server. The Config field should mention the complete path of the configuration on the remote server.	"AssemblyLine", "Of Configuration", "On Server".
Enable/Disable Rule	This action Enable or Disable the chosen rule.	"RuleName" "State"
Execute Rule	This action cause the execution of the specified rule, which in-turn imply execution of all the actions specified in that particular rule.	"RuleName"
Notify Event	This action cause the Action Manager to emit an event with the specified details to the Server associated with the current Solution View. See the Session.sendCustomNotification() API for details.	"Event type", "Source", "Data".
Modify Property	This action cause the Action Manager to modify the selected property based on the specified operation.	"Property", "Operation", "Value".
Copy Property Value	This action cause the Action Manager to copy the value of the Source property to the Destination property.	"From Property", "To Property".
Write to Log	This action causes a log of the specified Severity/Message/Description to be logged into the Action Manager logs and the AMC database. The same log is shown when the user goes to the Monitor Status -> Solution View Details -> Action Manager Results table. It is advised to always have at least one Log action (containing descriptive text) in every rule.	"Severity", "Message", "Description".
Send Email	This action causes an email to be sent to the recipient you specify. You supply the content of the email. Along with the content, the Action Manager provides other details before sending the mail. In the content input area as well as in the subject line, we can specify the variable %EVENT_DATA% value. Specifying %EventData% inserts the actual value of the Eventdata variable when the mail is sent. %Action_Error% can also similarly be substituted here. If Attach Action Manager Log is enabled, the Action Manager logs (as specified in the am_logging.properties file) are sent as an email attachment.	"To", "From", "Subject", "Attach Action Manager Log" (Selected/Not Selected), "Content".
Modify local variables	This action causes the action manager to increment, decrement or set the value of the specified variable to the specified value.	"Variable", "Operation", Value".
Execute command	This action causes the specified command to execute on the target computer. The command can be any generic command or a TDI specific command.	"Target Machine", "Port", "Username", "Password", "Keystore", "Keystore Password", "Protocol", and "Command".

Rules that are configured for Solution Views in AMC, are stored in AMC's Derby Database. When the Action Manager is run, it connects to the AMC database in network mode, reads the Action Manager-related tables, and creates threads in memory for every rule specified. Each of these threads listens/polls for its respective triggering conditions. The moment any thread detects the occurrence of its respective triggering condition, it queries the database for the set of actions associated with the rule, and executes them sequentially.

The Action Manager runs the following threads in addition to the rule threads that are listening for trigger conditions:

1. HealthAssemblyLine - The Health AssemblyLine thread periodically triggers the Health AssemblyLine for querying the status of the solutions, and logging the status back into the AMC database. The health AssemblyLine must store the status in the "healthAL.result" and "healthAL.status" attributes of their final work entry.

2. ServerStatusListener - The ServerStatusListener thread is created for every server registered with AMC. This thread checks for the server accessibility. If the server has become inaccessible, all rules threads created for the server are terminated (except for those with triggering type ‘On Server API failure'). Similarly if the server becomes accessible, rule threads are created for any rules associated with this server.

3. ConfigLoadReloadListener - The ConfigLoadReloadListener thread is created for every running server registered with AMC. It is registered to the remote server for any config load unload events. Rule threads are appropriately terminated, created or refreshed depending on the config event.

4. ServerModificationListener - The ServerModificationListener thread checks for any updates to the set of servers registered in AMC. Depending on the type of change (added, removed, and so on.) rule threads are terminated, created or refreshed.

5. DatabaseModificationListener - This database listener thread continuously monitors addition, modification or deletion of rules. Whenever any changes in the rules are detected, the Action Manager threads are added/recreated appropriately at runtime.

The Action Manager also updates the AMC database with its run details. Whenever an Action Manager rule is triggered, Action Manager logs an entry into the AMC database, registering the rule name that got triggered, and the triggering time. Also, if any Log action is configured for the rule, then that also gets logged into the AMC database. These database entries are used to show the appropriate status in Monitor windows of AMC.

Enabling Action Manager

The Action Manager is installed in the TDI_install_dir/bin/amc/Action Manager folder. It contains the following files:

• am_logging.properties - This file controls Action Manager logging properties. Just like AMC, it also follows the java.util.logging logging standard.

• am_config.properties - This is the configuration file for the Action Manager.

• testadmin.jks - This is the ActionManager's truststore and keystore file.

  This is a sample truststore and keystore file; for added security, we should generate our own.

The Action Manager connects to AMC's Derby database using the Network Mode driver.

The following properties (in am_config.properties) must point to the Administration and Monitoring Console's database:

com.ibm.di.amc.am.jdbc.database=jdbc:derby://localhost:1528/C:/Program Files/IBM/AppSrv/profiles/amcprofile/tdiamcdb;create=false
com.ibm.di.amc.am.jdbc.driver=org.apache.derby.jdbc.ClientDriver
com.ibm.di.amc.am.jdbc.urlprefix=jdbc:derby:
com.ibm.di.amc.am.jdbc.user=APP
{protect}-com.ibm.di.amc.am.jdbc.password=APP
com.ibm.di.amc.am.jdbc.start.mode=automatic
com.ibm.di.amc.am.jdbc.sysibm=true
com.ibm.di.amc.am.jdbc.networkserver.host=localhost
com.ibm.di.amc.am.jdbc.networkserver.port=1528

Both AMC and AM support alternative databases, like MS SQL, Oracle and so forth. In order for AMC and AM to connecto to one of those alternative databases, the configuration statements in amc.properties and am_config.properties will look very different.

When the Action Manager is started, it attempts to connect to AMC's database. If it fails in performing any initial setup tasks, it exit with an exception message. Check the am_config.properties file to ensure it points to the correct database. If the database settings appear to be correct, then ensure that the database that Action Manager is attempting to connect to is running in network mode and that AMC can connect to the same database. You may use the startNetworkServer.bat(sh) to start the Derby DB in network mode.

SSL settings and encryption properties for AM are configured in the following set of properties:

# Action Manager SSL properties
javax.net.ssl.trustStore=TDI_Install_dir/serverapi/testadmin.jks
{protect}-javax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword=administrator
javax.net.ssl.trustStoreType=jks
javax.net.ssl.keyStore=TDI_Install_dir/serverapi/testadmin.jks
{protect}-javax.net.ssl.keyStorePassword=administrator
javax.net.ssl.keyStoreType=jks
# Action Manager encryption properties
com.ibm.di.amc.am.encryption.keystore = TDI_Install_dir/testserver.jks
com.ibm.di.amc.am.encryption.key.alias = server
com.ibm.di.amc.am.encryption.keystoretype = jks
com.ibm.di.amc.am.encryption.transformation = RSA
com.ibm.di.amc.am.stash.file = TDI_Install_dir/idisrv.sth

These properties are similar to the encryption properties used by the server. For convenience the location of the stash file has been added as a property: com.ibm.di.amc.am.stash.file. By default the AM will reuse the server's keystore and stash file for encryption/decryption of AM protected properties.

Further configuration of run-time rules, triggers and actions is described under Action Manager.

Action Manager status in real time

When you login to AMC, a one line Action Manager status displays in the Welcome to AMC panel. The Welcome to AMC panel displays the Action Manager status in a link, for example, "Action Manager is running" or "Action Manager is not running." To launch the Action Manager Status window, click the hyperlink. The Action Manager Status window displays Action Manager Status in real time, as well as thread details and trigger details. This window displays status information in real time. This window shows:

• Action Manager Status, for example the Boot Time

• Action Manager Thread Details

• Action Manager Trigger Details

The AMC directly queries the Action Manager using the APIs exposed by Action Manager. If AMC cannot establish a session with the Action Manager, the AMC concludes that the Action Manager is not available because the Action Manager has stopped. In addition to Action Manager status, AMC displays details of thread information and trigger details.

Action Manager creates a number of threads. Some Action Manager threads monitor the essential functionality of the Action Manager such as the Database Modification Listener and the ServerStatusListenerThread. Moreover, from these threads the Action Manager creates threads for each of the trigger rules that is configured in AMC. With the Remote Method Invocation (RMI) Layer, AMC can query the status of the various trigger-related threads. Using the RMI based query, AMC knows the state of these threads, thread priority, and so on. AMC can also query the triggers that have been executed over a period of time.

Two new properties belong to the Display real time Action Manager Status requirement. The properties that allow AMC to display the Action Manager status in real time are am.api.host and am.api.port. Action Manager status used an RMI layer around the Action Manager that exposes an API to be used by AMC for querying the Action Manager for its status.

AMC force trigger for a given rule

AMC allows users to force a trigger for a specific rule. Forcing a trigger gives the user an idea of what the Action Manager does when the rule is triggered. When we select Disable Rule, the selected rule is disabled. When we select Force Trigger, actions configured for the selected rule are executed.

Action Manager can execute a set of actions configured for a particular trigger (rule) explicitly. The AMC user does not have to wait for the triggering condition of a rule to be satisfied before the configured actions are carried out. Users can define actions that are to be executed so that they can test those actions. Users can execute all of the supported actions using Force Trigger. However, the Revert action is effective for only some (a subset of) the supported actions.

• Modify Property

• Copy Property

• Write to Log

• Enable Disable Rule