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Opalis Robot Job Engine User Manual

1. C Select Interactive in the Execution mode list You may leave the other fields empty Task properties Getting Started 13 To Create a link between the event and the task lash Tj Backup time Backup Click on the square at the right of the originating event or task 12 iat Backup time Backup Drag the mouse pointer to the square at the left of the destination task Do not release the mouse button Backup time Backup When the square at the left of the destination task is highlighted release the mouse button to complete the link The last step is to refresh the Opalis JobEngine configuration To do this use the Apply Changes icon in the toolbar as shown below i Opalis JobEngine is now configured to back up the drive C every day of the week at 9 00 p m Getting Started 14 Chaining Tasks In many cases you will want to chain together jobs to run consecutively or simultaneously For example at the end of the backup procedure you may want to e mail the system administrator or restart services or applications that may have been stopped to complete the back up This section explains how to modify the configuration we have created so that Opalis JobEngine sends an e mail message to the system administrator once the backup procedure has finished This section assumes you know how to create tasks and links as explained in the previous section Please refer to the Opalis Jo
2. 35 50 51 53 W Wait 23 36 67 Index 73 Index 74
3. NO o A 17 19 20 20 21 25 28 36 39 39 44 46 48 49 50 51 54 55 56 57 57 UTILITIES ConsoleRunner StopShut Wait ADVANCED OPTIONS Service Started Event Service Started After Reboot Event Dynamic Data String Manipulation Functions Security External configuration Troubleshooting Messages TECHNICAL SERVICES Contact Information INDEX 58 58 59 59 60 60 60 61 63 66 68 69 71 72 72 73 GETTING STARTED System Requirements Service The Opalis JobEngine automation engine runs as a Service and is generally referred to as an Opalis JobEngine Service The minimum system requirements are Windows 2000 Windows NT 4 0 Service Pack 3 or later Windows NT 3 51 Service Pack 5 5 MB of free disk space Optional e TCP IP for SMTP e mail functions e ODBC 3 0 for ODBC database functions e Remote Access Service for Dial up Networking functions ODBC files are available from www microsoft com Client The Opalis JobEngine graphical user interface GUI is used to view or modify an Opalis JobEngine Service configuration It is generally referred to as Opalis JobEngine Client The minimum system requirements are Windows 95 98 Windows NT 3 51 Service Pack 5 Windows NT 4 0 Service Pack 3 or later Windows 2000 5 MB of free disk space Windows 95 98 Microsoft Remote Registry Services must be installed The installation files are located in the following locat
4. Note that the task completes as soon as an incoming packet is received from the remote computer and after sending the packets the task fails if no incoming packets were received Tasks 55 Trigger Opalis Object Task Name Nof Type Trigger Opalis object x T Inactive Opals Activity Options m Server C OpalisRobot v2 OpalisRobot v3 C OpalisRobot v3 on same server C OpalisRendezVous M Trigger Server name Event T ask Parameter Triggers events tasks or flows on local or remote OpalisRobot or OpalisRendezVous Services In the Server name field enter or use the button to browse the network and select the Windows NT 2000 computer that runs the OpalisRobot Service Type the name of the Event or Task you wish to trigger If the OpalisRobot v3 on same server option is selected you can use a drop down list to select the event or task Hints and Tips The Trigger Opalis Object task is ideal for cascading jobs on multiple Windows NT 2000 systems running the complete suite of Opalis products See www opalis com Tasks 56 THE DATE TIME EVENT Date Time Event Name Noll Type Date Time x T Inactive Date Time Activity Options Periodicity C At 12 00am C Every o Paen minutes fa Staring 0 minutes etter the Hour P Att w C Every p E Triggers the event depending on time or interval Select At to trigge
5. as the sender of the mail and at which you will receive the reply Use the button to set up the list of recipients To add a recipient enter an e mail address select a recipient type To Cc and Bcc blind carbon copy addresses in this field are not seen by the recipients then click Add At least one recipient must be entered You can attach as many files as you want to the mail by adding them on the Attachment list Tasks 46 SMTP simple The configuration is the same as SMTP except that only one recipient can be set and one file can be attached This allows you to use dynamic data in these fields For more information on dynamic data see Advanced Topics Dynamic Data MAPI You can send messages to one destination that can be a user or a group You can attach one file using the Attachment field The Connect tab is an area where you enter the user name for the user s mail account If the account is password protected enter the password in the Password confirm field Server Send mode 7 C Service Server type MAFI v ConsoleRunner Send mode e ConsoleRunner default This is used when messages cannot be sent from the Service especially when MS Mail tasks fail from logon errors When the task has been triggered Opalis JobEngine informs the ConsoleRunner utility which then sends the message In order to launch the task it is mandatory for ConsoleRunner to be runni
6. enter a list of calendar dates that can be used as activity templates to enter numerous days in one operation Service Options x General Add ons Licensing Activity Templates Closed Days 4 4 00 4 4 00 z add X Remove Ra April 2000 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 2 3 B5 67 8 9 10 JE a2 13 fiss 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 A 229 30 Z Today 4 4 00 To add a day on the list select it using the calendar window that appears when you click on the drop down arrow for the date field at the left then click Add To remove a day from the list select it and click on the Remove button Activity Templates Activity templates describe date and time settings to which you want to assign one or more events tasks The Client 32 To create a template click on the Create button then fill the template settings as desired ee Template Name Schedule Auto Download Regular days Exceptional days Hours Type Every Week s z Active da Days of the week Mon Tue wed Thu Fi Sat_ Sun The Activity dialog is composed of three tabs The Regular days tab allows you to enter a pattern describing when the regular days of the template should occur Possibilities are Every week on specific days of the week For example Monday and Tuesday Every month on days selected by week For example the first and second Monday of the month Every month on days selecte
7. first time it is not connected to any Service After the Wizards windows the first window should be similar to the window below Opalis JobEngine Service Edit Options Window Help 74 08 Jc Soa 69 Oo x 2 Messages Biel Es 3 24 00 11 22 45 3 24 00 11 43 18 3 24 00 11 47 55 3 24 00 11 58 40 3 24 00 12 08 10 Information Information Information Read Information Read Information Read Service OpalisRobot has started You are not connected to any Service but you can view Opalis JobEngine messages For more information on Opalis JobEngine messages see the section Messages Window You must connect to a Service before you can administer it You can use the e Service Connect To menu item e Connect To button in the toolbar e Most recently connected servers in the Service menu The Server View window displays the configuration of the server to where you are connected Please note that you can connect to several servers at the same time each with its own server view The Server View window can be opened in user low privileges or administrator full privileges mode For more details see the security section in the Advanced Topics chapter The Client 21 Server View The Server View is divided into three parts e On the left the Folder Tree e On the center the graph view of objects e On the right the Properties panel Opalis JobEngine ol x Service Edit Obj
8. means of special system objects that guarantee security robustness and low consumption of resources The Opalis JobEngine Service runs whether the Opalis JobEngine Client program is running or not An additional benefit of separating the Service from the Client is that the latter can remotely run from another computer This is especially convenient to manage a pool of Windows NT 2000 systems running the Opalis JobEngine Service Of course the Opalis JobEngine Client and the Opalis JobEngine Service do not have to run on separate computers You can administer the local computer In this case simply enter the local computer name in the Connect To dialog box Getting Started THE CLIENT The Opalis JobEngine Service runs whether the Client is running or not Architecture Italics in this section of the manual indicate the name of a field in a dialog box Components Opalis JobEngine is consists of two distinct programs e Opalis JobEngine Service the automation engine e Opalis JobEngine Client the graphical user interface The user interface is separated from the Service to minimize system load Additionally a single Client can remotely administer several Opalis JobEngine Services The Client 20 If you cannot connect to a Service check that you have sufficient rights on the system where the Opalis JobEngine Service is running Windows When you execute the Opalis JobEngine Client for the
9. output to be returned use ISQL with a Program execution type task The output file created by Opalis JobEngine will contain all the lines returned by file queries Tasks 53 System Restart Task Name Nol Type System restart a T Inactive Restart Activity Options Display Message text Options With delay force applications to close Daley ese fo With delay do not force applications to close Shuts down the system with automatic reboot Message to be displayed will be displayed on the system s screen when the system shuts down After the delay Restart options are e Delay force applications to close e Delay do not force application to close Delay is expressed in seconds with a minimum of 30 seconds You can send a general message to inform users that a system shutdown is imminent with a Send Message type task For safety reasons if the task is started less than ten minutes after a reboot it will wait one additional minute before initiating the system shutdown Hints and Tips You can abort the system shutdown by running the StopShut exe utility which can be found in the folder where Opalis JobEngine was installed Tasks 54 Ping Computer Task Task properties Sends Ping packets to a remote TCP IP host to check its availability Enter in the Number of packets field the number of times you want the task to send a Ping packet
10. the Opalis JobEngine log The Client 37 The Multitask mode option controls the multitasking behavior of multiple instances of a task that is how a started task behaves if another task of the same name is running e When the option is set to Parallel execution default several tasks with the same name can concurrently run e When the option is set to Queued execution only one instance of a given task can run at any time If more than one instance of a given task is started they are serialized A task must wait for the completion of the running task before executing e When the option is set to Single execution only one instance of a given task can run at any time and if more than one instance of a given task is started newer tasks are simply not executed they terminate without executing any work This choice may conflict with the use of dynamic data Parameters for the Date Time Event Event properties x Name Backup No221000 Type Date Time J T Inactive Date Time Activity Options After hen eves tigpmed N Message recipient In the After block you can set the event to send a message when it occurs The message can be sent to the Event Log to the screen Popup message or to the Opalis JobEngine client The two latter options require a destination Enter a computer or a user name Popup or a computer name Opalis JobEngine message If you enter the message wil
11. you to change the sound from the default system beep to any WAV file The Client 35 Options amp Parameters The nactive option is common to all tasks and the Date Time Event It is used to deactivate the object without deleting it When it is turned on the object will not be used e Date Time Event the event will not be triggered in fact the condition is not tested at all When inactive the event will not start any task e Task the task will not start even if an event triggers it A simple date time event link task chain will not work unless all three objects are active The length of names is limited to 60 characters You should use explicit names For example choose cheap rate and connection over ev1 and tk1 Duplicate object names are allowed but not recommended Object names are not case sensitive that is Test and test are the same objects Activity tab Name Backup NoJ231000 Type Date Time J T Inactive Date Time Activity Options Occurs amp Ever day On days of template C On days defined by Custom Range Occurs first datestime 8 11 98 z 03 05pm Occurs Jast datetime 3 24 40 gt 03 05pm The Activity tab lets you assign an activity template to a task or event This template can be one of the existing global templates the ones listed in the Activity Templates tab of the Service Options dialog or a c
12. 53 54 57 59 76 ConsoleRunner 47 54 66 75 Control Panel 11 22 30 75 77 D Database Execution 59 60 Date Time Event 13 14 18 43 45 65 Dialog 33 E E mail 20 37 53 Event 14 34 43 Event Log 14 44 45 55 Event Viewer 37 60 76 78 Example 15 Execution mode 18 47 50 F File Management 36 51 Folder 15 26 27 28 31 Follow the Guide 16 20 installation 9 10 11 L License 10 Link 15 21 35 48 49 Log 14 27 28 32 37 44 45 47 52 55 77 78 Menu 29 30 31 32 33 Message 28 32 33 48 49 50 53 55 61 Messages 26 28 32 33 41 55 78 MS Mail 54 75 Multitask mode 44 O Objects 13 27 31 ODBC 9 11 12 13 58 60 75 77 78 P Parameters 18 43 44 45 56 Periodicity 18 Ping 62 print 13 30 51 52 R RAS 57 75 77 Remote 9 11 13 24 57 75 76 Requirements 9 11 Return Values 47 S Security 23 73 74 76 Server License 10 Service 9 11 13 14 21 22 23 24 25 26 29 30 31 32 37 44 47 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 63 65 66 68 69 73 74 75 76 77 78 Shutdown 61 62 67 73 SQL 58 75 78 StopShut 62 67 System Restart 67 T Task 13 14 18 34 36 43 46 51 53 55 56 57 58 61 62 63 77 78 Technical Services 2 37 76 78 79 Technical Support 78 Trigger 31 47 63 65 Troubleshooting 76 U UNC 34
13. New Folder Apply Changes Paste Delete selection Select All Align Horizontally Align Vertically Show Properties v Show Folder Tree Shift Ctrl N Ctrl S Ctrl V Ctr To create an event that is triggered every day at 9 00 p m Right click on the folder where you want to insert the event select New alternatively you can select New in the Edit menu This opens the following New Object dialog box as shown in Figure 6 Depending on what is installed on the server this dialog lists the different objects you can create G eneral Advanced G e y Wizard Date Time event Task Select Date Time Event and click New Getting Started 12 Event properties Peckup ime Date Time ooo E m To create a task to backup the hard drive C Fill in the event name such as Backup time and select the type of event Date Time which is the default value Enter 9 00 pm in the Periodicity At field as shown below Right click in the folder where you want to insert the task and select New alternatively you can select New in the Edit menu This opens the New Object dialog box Select the Opalis JobEngine Task icon and click the New button A window similar to the Event Window now appears Name the task Backup seems appropriate and select the type of task you want Program execution in this case Program is NTBackup exe and Parameters is
14. OK button If the key is incorrect you get an error message e Restart the Service If You Cannot Connect to a Server Please check the following points e lf you are using Windows 95 check that the Microsoft Remote Registry Services is installed on the system It is available on the Windows 95 CD ROM under the folder Admin Nettools Remotereg e If you are using Windows 98 check that the Microsoft Remote Registry Services is installed on the system It is available on the Windows 98 CD ROM under the folder tools reskit netadmin remotereg e If you have sufficient rights to connect see the Security section Advanced Options 69 If a Task Does Not Start or Fails Please check the following points Opalis JobEngine Services can be configured to execute under the LocalSystem account This account is not a regular one and has limitations for example it cannot connect to a remote computer Change the account used by the Service with an Administrator s account or one of your accounts To do so use the Services applet of the Control Panel Startup button select Log On As This Account Check that the required software for this task is installed on the server RAS for RAS functions TCP IP for SMTP e mail and ODBC for ODBC functions If the required software is not installed the log will display an alert log entry for each object that failed to start The Active Inactive option for objects in the automatio
15. Opalis JobEngine User s Manual Version 3 50f Copyright c Opalis Group b v 1995 2000 All rights reserved Published in Canada Information in this document is subject to change without notice Opalis is a registered trademark of Opalis Group B V Microsoft and MS are registered trademarks Windows and Windows NT 2000 are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation Transact SQL is a trademark of Sybase Inc Other products and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders Contact information Opalis Software Inc Opalis Software B V 833 Oxford Street 2nd floor Engelandlaan 180 Toronto ON M8Z 5X4 Zoetermeer 2711 DW Canada The Netherlands Phone 416 253 9383 Phone 31 79 346 2910 Toll free 1 888 OPALIS1 Fax 31 79 346 2911 Fax 416 253 7646 Web site www opalis com Technical Services 1 416 253 1750 support opalis com General information info opalis com Table of Contents GETTING STARTED System Requirements License Structure Five Minute Installation Guide Overview Concept The Service Remote Administration THE CLIENT Architecture Windows Menus Dialog Boxes Options amp Parameters TASKS Program Execution Task File Management Task Send E mail Task Send Message Task Action on Windows NT Service Task RAS Action Task Database Execution Task System Restart Task Ping Computer Task Trigger Opalis Object Task THE DATE TIME EVENT Date Time Event
16. Services Messages From SQL Server Messages from SQL Server are identified by the SQL_error code These messages contain a severity number and a message explaining the error For more information about SQL Server error messages please refer to the Microsoft SQL Server for Windows NT documentation and especially the SQL Server Troubleshooting Guide Messages From ODBC Messages from ODBC are displayed on the Task Log The message is uSually preceded by the ODBC driver name Advanced Options 71 TECHNICAL SERVICES Contact Information The Opalis JobEngine free Technical Assistance Service is available in several ways In all cases we will strive to quickly and thoroughly answer your questions Please note that Technical Services is also available to users who are evaluating Opalis JobEngine We will be happy to assist you during the evaluation period Electronic Mail Contact Opalis engineers by sending electronic mail to support opalis com World Wide Web Browse through the technical information and obtain the latest files from our Web site at www opalis com Phone Our Technical Services department can be reached at Tel 416 253 1750 Fax 416 253 7646 Technical Services 72 INDEX A Advanced 12 26 36 54 68 Architecture 25 B Backup 18 21 C Chained 12 Chaining 20 Client 9 11 16 20 24 25 28 30 32 34 40 55 74 75 76 78 Connect 16 24 26 29
17. ame set up in the SQL Client configuration utility program in the SQL Server for Windows NT 2000 group MS Mail The MS Mail user s input in the task configuration must exist when the task is executed The Opalis JobEngine Interface program does not check that this user exists at the time of the input Since MS Mail for Windows NT s development kit is available the Simple MAPI interface is used to send MS Mail letters Experience shows that sending several mails simultaneously can cause errors The use of ConsoleRunner is recommended when you want to send E mails using MAPI When setting up a MS Exchange task enter the profile name in the user name field The profile must exist in the configuration of the account assigned to the Service Advanced Options 68 Troubleshooting If Opalis JobEngine Fails to Start Please check the following points e Check recent error messages on the Windows NT 2000 Event Viewer e The server is running Windows NT version 3 5 or later e Contact us See the Technical Services section If Opalis JobEngine Runs in Evaluation Mode instead of Retail To be sure that the Opalis JobEngine license information is properly entered e In the Client program connect to the server in administrator mode Select Options Service Licensing click on the Opalis JobEngine field and enter the serial number and key If the key is correct there is no message when you click the
18. are not archived that is all messages are deleted when you close the client program You can also use Opalis JobEngine messages to exchange information between system administrators working from different sites You can broadcast messages like lm configuring gateway to process incoming messages to your colleagues or Let s go eat The Client 24 If you stop the Service when tasks are being executed they will be interrupted except Program Execution tasks If you attempt to do so you will be prompted for confirmation Menus Service Menu Connect To connects to an Opalis JobEngine Service It opens a dialog box E Object Opt where you can type a computer name or Connect to Ctr 0 choose it from a list box Reconnect gt Apply Changes Ctrl S Under the Reconnect menu item is listed aro ER the name of recently connected Services Select one of them to quickly connect to Print Ctrl P the server without using the Connect To Exit dialog Apply Changes applies last modifications or creation of new objects to the running Service Start Stop starts or stops the Opalis JobEngine Service The current status is displayed in the status bar Please note that the status does not immediately change depending on the time the Service needs to start or stop This function is not available on Windows 95 98 Restart checks inside the Service that no task is running and that no replacemen
19. ask selected occurs or completes e Timeout see Multiple Links in the Advanced Topics chapter e Wait before triggering task is a period of time in seconds that will elapse by the link before launching the resulting task Service Options Service Options x General Add ons Licensing Activity Templates Closed Days Loggini T Log out of Activity VV Extended log General Options Log out of activity when selected Opalis JobEngine sends a message to the Event Viewer when a task is triggered and is outside of its activity range See Activity Templates section later in this chapter Extended log when selected Opalis JobEngine records extended information about its operation in a file named op_joben log This file may be required for Technical Services Log History Opalis JobEngine deletes log entries and their associated detail file older than the number specified 0 means no purge Add on Options This tab lists the installed Service Add ons and their respective version The Client 31 If the selected Add on has Service side options the Configure button is enabled and you can use it to access the configuration dialog of the Add on Note that Opalis JobEngine does not support purchased add ons such as the Call Add on E mail Add on SNMP Add on and Script Studio Add on These are only available with OpalisRobot See www opalis com for details Closed Days The Closed Days tab lets you
20. at are available from the New Object window and upon start up These will assist you in creating several configurations that many administrators use This section assumes you are already familiar with the Windows NT 2000 interface If any buttons menus trees or mouse functions are new to you please refer to the MS User s Manual i E ek Z es e ue A Getting Started 9 Concept Tasks A task is an action Opalis JobEngine can perform You can think of tasks as small procedures Typically Opalis JobEngine can execute tasks in response to the Date Time event to be introduced shortly A task is the unit of action in Opalis JobEngine You can run any program or system command from Opalis JobEngine Opalis JobEngine also offers numerous other built in tasks e File and directory operations copy move and print files from Opalis JobEngine e SQL and ODBC queries send queries to databases or files from Opalis JobEngine e Remote access connect to other computers from Opalis JobEngine e Network messaging send messages such as alerts from Opalis JobEngine e Service manipulation start stop or pause NT Services from Opalis JobEngine Typical tasks include the ability to Back up hard drive C Transfer data from a flat text file to your relational database Process EDI messages Query a database Move files from a public directory to a protected one What is an Event Events are triggers for tasks O
21. bEngine Client section if you are unsure To create a Send E mail task Task properties x Name Backup completed email Nof Type Send e mail z T Inactive E mail Connect Activity Options Server 53 mode C Service Server type MAPI z ConsoleRunner Recipients Attachment To administrator el VV Fail if attachment is missing Message Subject fp ackup completed Message text Backup has completed successfully z C Eile name E Create the link between the Outer square at the right of the task icon of the Backup task and the Backup completed e mail task you just created This result should look like Figure 12 kieh Backup time Backup Backup completed email Figure12 Use the Apply Changes command to have your changes taken into account Getting Started 15 You may want to link this task to a different message if it fails To do this you will have to create a new link and then edit that to change its characteristics by double clicking on it Link properties Figure 13 The Edit Link dialog box as shown above in Figure 13 allows you to select which condition you want the link to test an event occurrence a task completion or failure Depending on its type a task can return a given value when it successfully completes using this feature a link can chain to another task if this value meets certain crite
22. blank causes the connection to run in integrated security mode Name GetSales0 uantity Nof Type Database execution v I Inactive Database Connect Activity Options Connect information Source name SQLsRVRt User name Password Contirm By using multiple Database Execution tasks it is possible to link the creation and deletion of stored queries procedures together in the design 15 pan Bs f Atidam GstSalesQuantity EmailS alesResult 4 of p E E Create_SP_GetSalesQuantity Delete_SP_GetSalesQuantity With the combination of Database Execution tasks running SQL scripts from files and parameterized queries it is possible to extend the functionality of the Dynamic Data in this task Tasks 52 Opalis JobEngine does not check the syntax of the query at the time the query is entered it simply passes it onto the SQL database or ODBC driver On execution of the query the status from the server or driver is passed back to the Opalis JobEngine log It is helpful to check your queries with a tool from your data provider before you execute them from within Opalis JobEngine such as the Access query builder the Queries tab for Access tables or the SQL Query Window Analyzer for SQL Server Just copy and paste the query into a file or the query text box The Database Execution task generates Dynamic Data of its own that can be used within other objects in your design A common technique is to casca
23. d by number For example every 1 2 11 12 21 and 22 of the month Exceptional days for example the user can select not to run on December 24 but to run on January 1 To add a day on the Exceptional days list select it using the calendar window that appears when you click on the drop down arrow of the date field at the left Next select Active or Inactive and then click on the Add button An icon representing a red cross will appear at the left of an inactive day and a green check mark will appear at the left of an active day To add to the list of closed days in the Exceptional days tab section click on the Add closed button To toggle a day from Active to Inactive select it from the list and click the Invert button Hour range for example from 8 am to 10 am and from 2 p m to 6 p m or from 8 p m to 6 am The Client 33 How it works Depending on what you have entered there is a possible conflict between Regular and Exceptional days Exceptional days will always be evaluated before the regular days If the day should be active set by to the Regular days options but is marked as Inactive in the Exceptional days list then this day will be ignored For example a job that should run every Monday on December 1 1997 a Monday and is marked as Inactive the job will not run during this day If the day should not be Active set by the Regular days settings but is marked as Active in the Excep
24. de say several new files the given task will be launched once for each instance of the data If a task uses several dynamic data codes from different tasks and if any one particular piece of information is missing the task is not launched Viewing the result of the Process files automatically Wizard is a good way to learn how to use dynamic data Advanced Options 62 String Manipulation Functions Opalis JobEngine s string manipulation functions can be used to extract parts of a dynamic data code You can use these functions in all character fields Instr Instr function and arguments are replaced by the position of the first occurrence of one string within another Syntax Instr string1 string2 String1 String expression being searched String2 String expression sought If string2 is not found the function and arguments are replaced by 0 If string2 is found within string1 the function and arguments are replaced by the position at which match is found Right Right function and arguments are replaced by a specified number of characters from the right side of a string Syntax Right string length String String expression from which the rightmost characters are returned If string is empty the function and arguments are replaced by an empty string Length Numeric expression indicating how many characters to return If 0 function and arguments are replaced by an empty s
25. de tasks that can be configured to derive lookup values These values can then be inserted into later queries using Dynamic Data codes Bep s0 AtSpm Get WokID Clear ReportT able Be i Set ProductID RunRepott ml h p 4 ie e YEE Get CustomerlD Populate ReportT able EmailReportT oS alesAndMarketing The Populate ReportTable task in this example refers to Dynamic Data supplied by the preceding two Database Execution tasks Using the Opalis JobEngine Counter objects or by designing loops all rows of a table can be processed in this way Hints and Tips SQL Server lf database is left empty queries will be executed in the default database for the SQL user Go is not a Transact SQL SQL Server File the queries contained in the query file must be order It is a query separated by the go order which must be located at the beginning eae ae mens of a new line do not put go in comments In the f an error occurs in such as ISQL query field choose the required behavior either stop or continue Warning stopping due to A SQL execution error or a RAISERROR call may stop a query an error will not rollback If you choose Continue the number of failed queries will be written previously executed into the task execution log Furthermore SQL errors that occur during transactions in the same execution are written into the Windows NT 2000 Event Viewer file Note If you would like the
26. e resulting task when the initial task completes or fails Returns the resulting task is launched if the return value of the initial task is the same as the entered value Returns more than the resulting task is launched if the return value of the initial task is greater than the entered value Returns less than the resulting task is launched if the return value of the initial task is lower than the entered value Returns a value between the resulting task is launched if the return value of the initial falls in the entered range values Program execution Return value of the program File management See File Management Task in the Events and Tasks chapter Database execution First row of the first line returned by the query if a numeric value Return values are not taken into account when a task fails If the task does not return a numeric value the list has the following items Completes select this item if you want to launch the resulting task when the initial task successfully completes Fails select this item if you want to launch the resulting task when the origin task failed Completes or fails select this item if you want to launch the resulting task when the initial task completes or fails The Client 30 Options for a link are e Inactive if selected the link is inactive and will not be evaluated at run time This means that the task selected in the Then field will not be launched if the event or t
27. e a path in UNC format would be entered instead of a local path Hints and tips Not all programs or commands produce return values You can test for return values by creating a situation where you know the result will be good Using the Program Execution task launch the program or command and check the return value in the Opalis JobEngine log Then create a situation where you know the result is bad Again using the Program Execution task launch the program or command and check the return value in the Opalis JobEngine log If the return values are different then Opalis JobEngine can use them to make decisions If a task fails return values are not taken into account However you can make decisions if a task fails A batch file will only produce a return value for the last program or command executed Split your batch file into different Program Execution tasks to evaluate other return values Some programs or commands wait for user input If such programs or commands are launched by Opalis JobEngine they will never terminate Some commands have optional switches to override the waiting for user input Be aware of the fact that Opalis JobEngine cannot directly simulate keystrokes However it could drive a 3 party application to do so NTBackup and automatic mode Make sure that a cartridge is loaded in the tape drive before running the program Otherwise NTBACKUP may be blocked and you may have to reboot
28. e the Opalis JobEngine Service is running as the account you assigned to the Service and define the DSN from here Using a System or File DSN does not require a user specific context for the connection In other words any user or Service can access the DSN even if you created it from your own logon account Enter a SQL statement directly in the Query field or you can select a file if the database you are connecting to is a SQL Server Execution Query se LECT CustomerName FROM tblSales WH Database name SALE S Tasks 51 When using the query field be aware this is limited to 255 characters The use of Dynamic Data is supported in this field so you can substitute values from other Opalis objects such as date and file names As Dynamic Data is substituted when the task is running it is possible to run out of space in this field as the Dynamic Data expands the query over the 255 character limit With a data source that supports stored procedures use parameterized queries instead of full SQL statements so that the query uses as few characters as possible Execution Query Exec CountS ales Varl 299000 param Database name S4LES An example of a Stored Procedure is CREATE PROCEDURE CountSales Var1 INT AS Select Count From tblSales Where SaleType Var1 On the Connect tab section enter the server name or DSN for the database to be connected to With SQL Server leaving the User Name field
29. ect Options Window Help ZS OW Go KIJI 09 5 yellow Tasks amp Events Log 1 Opals JobEngine Objects Properties Ready Running 3 50882 The Folder Tree is used to manage folders When you click on a folder the graph view displays any objects contained in this folder Using the right click popup menu or Objects menu you can create or rename folders Using Drag n Drop you can move folders to another location You can hide or show this panel using the popup menu The graph view of objects is used to manage objects contained in the selected folder You can move objects within or outside the folder using Drag n Drop You can add or delete objects and folders using menus or shortcuts The Properties panel displays a summary of the selected object configuration You can hide or show this panel using the popup menu The Client 22 Log and alerts Service Edt Object Options Window Help 76 OW Jo NII 09 5 yellow Tasks amp Events Log Log of all folders I Log of all folders I Show alerts Name Start Time Ready Running 3 502 The log contains the history of task execution Each time a task is launched with the No Log option not set a new log entry is created You can sort log entries by clicking on the label of each column You can view the detail of a log entry by double clicking on it or pressing Enter when the entry is selected If
30. ed to create new objects Nees EN _ New Folder Shift Ctrl N o Modify New Folder creates a new folder in the current Jie P folder or the root if no folder is selected in the Tigger Cult Folder Tree be v Show Properties v Show Folder Tree Modify displays a dialog box to modify the configuration of the selected object Active indicates whether the selected object is active or not Trigger asks the Service to launch the selected task or to simulate that the selected event has occurred Show Properties toggles on and off to display the Properties panel Show Folder Tree toggles on and off to display the Folder Tree The Client 26 Options Menu windo Service displays a dialog box to edit the Serice Service side options of installed modules MEn G Log filter gt e Log Filter sets filtering options for the log Client Depending on which items are checked Tasks that are Completed Failed Interrupted Running are displayed in the log e Client displays a dialog box to edit the client side options of installed modules Windows Menu EE te e The Refresh command updates the content Refres F5 of the selected folder or log by requesting fit new data from the server Send Message Clear Messages e Toolbar if selected the Toolbar is visible Eeeade Tile Horizontal i Tile Yertical e Send Message displays a dialog to type Arrange Icons and send an Opalis JobEngine me
31. ent to the Service when it starts Unlike the Windows NT 2000 Service manager the parameters are retained after execution of the task If the action is not performed during the Time allowed then the task is considered as failed Hints and Tips If a Service cannot start within 2 minutes default value Opalis JobEngine considers the Service not started If a Service has many dependencies it needs to start other Services before it can be started the Time allowed should be incremented Of course the same rule applies to stopping a Service as well Starting or stopping a Service requires Administrative privileges Make sure the Opalis JobEngine Service runs under an Administrative account Tasks 49 RAS Action Task Task properties x Name I Nof Type Ras action z T Inactive RAS Connect Activity Options Type Connection C Disconnection f Connection Phonebook Entry Name 7 If connection busy or failed Number of retries fi Interval between retries feo Establishes or releases a connection with a remote site using the Remote Access Service This Service must have been configured beforehand Connect to the Phonebook entry name as it appears in the Remote Access Service or Dial up Networking program The Domain is used for user authentication You can enter the User name and Password Confirm in the connect information if they are required by the phonebook
32. entry You can specify what happens if the line is busy or the modem is not available e Fail e Retry Number of tries Using the Remote Access Service program you can test your connection parameters Opalis JobEngine checks the state of the connections before attempting to establish a new connection or disconnect If the connection is already set up when the task is started the task will immediately and successfully terminate We recommend that you always link the failure of a Connection task with a Disconnection task Otherwise if the connection is unexpectedly interrupted it may temporarily leave the port in an unusable state Tasks 50 Database Execution Task Task properties x Name Noll Type Database execution x T Inactive Database Connect Activity Options gt Mode Query C File Database type ODBC z Query Database Heme f Execution Options Executes a query or a file containing queries SQL Server only in an ODBC or SQL Server database The Database type can be any ODBC compliant source or SQL Server When using ODBC sources it is the Opalis JobEngine Service account that is actually making the ODBC connection In other words if you define a User Data Source Name then the user is in fact the user account you have defined to run the Service The best way to check the connectivity in this situation is to log on to the local system wher
33. ice is executed under the user account where the Opalis JobEngine Service runs The File management task is no exception if a File management task keeps failing with Access Denied messages determine if the user account used by the Opalis JobEngine Service has sufficient rights at the destination You should always use the UNC format when specifying a shared drive or folder Mapped drives cannot be guaranteed to be available to the Opalis JobEngine Service Tasks 45 Send E mail Task Name Nof Type Send e mail vj T Inactive E mail Connect Activity Options m Server Server type SMTP x Recipient To m M Message Subject Message text C File name ha Sends e mail using e SMTP any SMTP compliant mail server UNIX based Lotus cc Mail Novell GroupWise Microsoft Exchange and so on e MAPI Microsoft Mail e Exchange Microsoft Exchange servers The message can be text that you type in the Message text box limited to 256 characters or a text file Use the File name option to specify a plain text file The benefit of having a text file as message text is that the message can be formatted Entering text in Subject field is not mandatory but recommended SMTP The Connect tab is an area where you enter the SMTP relay address the name or IP address of your SMTP mail server and the Sender address the name that will identify you
34. in user mode a user must have e Access to the Security registry key the key MUST exist e Either a Read access to the hidden share of the drive on which the Opalis JobEngine Service is installed or to the Opalis JobEngine3 folder using a share named Opalis JobEngine Advanced Options 67 The SQL Server pack contains a client kit Please call your Microsoft or Sybase dealer if you would like more information about SQL Server licenses External configuration Remote Access Service To install Remote Access Service use the Network icon in the Control Panel Add Software command select Remote Access Service For more information on installing Remote Access Service see Windows NT 2000 documentation Input names used in the configuration of RAS tasks are the names that you enter in the Windows NT 2000 Remote Access Service also called Dial up Networking program ODBC The latest ODBC drivers can be obtained from http www microsoft com data odbc SQL Server An SQL Server for Windows NT 2000 client must be installed before you can use Opalis JobEngine SQL Server functions The Microsoft Windows NT 2000 SQL Client can connect to Microsoft or Sybase databases The purchase of Opalis JobEngine does not include any SQL Server client licenses If you use TCP IP sockets to connect to the SQL Server the name to input in the Server field in the Edit event task screen is the n
35. ion e Windows 95 CD ROM Admin Nettools Remotereg e Windows 98 CD ROM tools reskit netadmin remotereg Differences between Windows 95 98 and Windows NT 2000 for the Client The executable is the same but some functions are not available on Windows 95 98 because they are part of the advanced Windows NT API such as restarting the Service remotely Getting Started License Structure Server License Opalis JobEngine is licensed per Windows NT 2000 system For each Windows NT 2000 system where Opalis JobEngine s functionality is required a license is also required An Opalis JobEngine license is generally referred to as an Opalis JobEngine Server License Server License does not mean that Opalis JobEngine only runs on a Windows NT Server It can run on both a Windows NT Workstation and a Server as well as Windows 2000 For an Opalis JobEngine Server License a serial number and key must be entered during the software installation or at a later stage Getting Started Five Minute Installation Guide Installation Insert the Opalis CD ROM into the CD ROM drive From here you can install the software On the CD ROM you install the Opalis products by launching the self extracting ZIP files Refer to the README TXT on the CD ROM for more information on files and their locations If you run the setup program from a Windows 95 98 computer you can only install the Client program From a Wind
36. ion task and the Send Message task that sends the file found message The Link properties window will open Tasks 41 Link properties Fiioney cours The Link properties window now reads If dirtest returns 0 then file found Modify the link between the Program Execution task and the Send Message task that sends the file not found message This time select Returns and change the value from 0 default to 2 file not found Apply changes If the Program Execution task is triggered and the file is available you will get a message that reads file found If not a message file not found will be displayed To automate this process we can add a Date Time event which is triggered every 5 seconds Type Date Time 00am HUTS m minut stating o iat PSESE Tasks 42 Use of mapped drives is not recommended as they cannot be guaranteed to be available to the Opalis JobEngine Service If we link the Date Time event to the program execution task we have automated this process JEG J12 a fie found kilda 5 Oe every 5 secs dirtest o EG file not found Every 5 seconds the Program Execution task will be triggered Depending on the result a Send Message task will be triggered A process like this could be used to determine the existence of a specific file on a remote computer connected to the Windows network in this cas
37. ks run a program SQL executions ODBC data transfers and queries file management connection disconnection of remote access links send electronic mail or network message and so on Benefit from the right tasks being completed in the right order and on time with full logging capability Flexible Automation Opalis JobEngine offers a single solution to automate virtually any network administrative task The sophisticated calendar facilities and multiple tasks enable IT professionals to design custom automation solutions that address the specific needs of their organization Notification Advanced notification and alerting features via standard communication channels enable immediate response to system malfunctions Opalis JobEngine delivers user defined corrective actions and multiple methods of notification to alert administrators about problems that can result in downtime Getting Started Opalis JobEngine is extremely easy to use because it is built on three intuitive concepts e Tasks e Events Date Time Event only in Opalis JobEngine e Links Opalis JobEngine treats tasks date time event and links as objects You can create as many objects as needed and combine them to create scheduled processes This first section is a crash course through Opalis JobEngine objects Even if you do not want to read this manual from cover to cover we urge you to take the time to read this section We also urge you to try the Wizards th
38. l be sent to all computers in the domain The Client 38 TASKS You can use the Command mode to run programs However it is not recommended since it uses more system resources Program Execution Task Task properties x Name Nof Type Program execution 7 I Inactive Exec Activity Options Mode Program execution C Command execution Program Po BE Parameter s Working folder E Execution Options Execution mode Background normal priority 7 Terminate after 0 minutes Executes the Program with optional Parameter s on the command line The program can be a batch file or any executable that Windows NT 2000 can launch DOS Windows 16 bit Windows 32 bit etc If the file is a batch or command file you can edit it by clicking on the E button at the right of the field If the Command execution mode is chosen the command line is passed to the command interpreter CMD EXE We recommend using this option for executing bat or cmd files Working directory starts the program in a different working directory By default the working directory is the program directory After Terminate after minutes the program is terminated In this case the task is considered as Failed We recommend that you use this option carefully because a clean exit is not performed and DLLs loaded by the program are not unloaded which can lead graphical programs to ha
39. n sequence Incorrect dynamic data codes can prevent the task from being started when they are not replaced Make sure that the codes used in the task configuration actually correspond to the date time event or tasks that triggers it If You Cannot Obtain the Results You Want Please contact us We will be pleased to assist you whether you are a novice an experienced user or in the process of evaluating Opalis JobEngine See Technical Services at the end of this manual Advanced Options 70 Messages The messages described in this section may occur in the Opalis JobEngine Client or in the Event Viewer Opalis JobEngine Client Messages The message number is located in the title of the message window Opalis JobEngine Service Messages Opalis JobEngine Service messages are sent to the Application section of the Windows NT 2000 Event Viewer The message number is displayed between square brackets at the beginning of the text message for example 173 The Event Viewer is located in the Administrative Tools group You can also click n its toolbar button Task Log Messages When a task fails to execute an explanation of the failure is added in parenthesis in the task execution status Messages Beginning with INT Messages that have a name beginning with INT should not occur during normal use of Opalis JobEngine If you see such a message please write down all the steps that preceded it and then contact Technical
40. n as a matching filter is encountered the file may be accepted depending on the nclude Exclude value Tasks 44 When the file already exists in the destination directory Opalis JobEngine can e Overwrite it and delete the old file e Create a new file with a different file name Opalis JobEngine appends date time at the end of the file to create new unique file names e Fail Destination file date can be modified to the transfer date or keep its original date default You can add a global filter based on the file age expressed in days Since Opalis JobEngine appends date time at the end of the file name to create new and unique file names the file system on the target machine must support long file names This task has the following return values file s Situation Status in Log Return value File s successfully w completed Number of file s successfully copied moved copied moved deleted deleted renamed or renamed or printed that is a printed value greater than 0 No file s to copy v completed 0 move delete rename or print Unable to copy move x failed The task will fail if destination delete rename or print folder is not accessible that is network problem insufficient rights or share not available Please note that the return values are not taken into account when a task fails Hints and Tips Every task that is executed by the Opalis JobEngine Serv
41. ng on the system console e Service In general sending messages through a Service is not supported by MAPI However in some situations it can work We recommend using the default option Note to send MS Mail messages when MS Exchange is installed you must create a special profile for MS Mail connection and enter this profile name in the user profile name field When used with ConsoleRunner this profile must exist in the configuration of the currently logged on account Destination can only include one MS Mail User name or a group name Exchange To directly send messages via Microsoft Exchange use this option Make sure the user profile name field on the Connect tab contains a valid profile name This profile must exist in the account configuration of the assigned to the Opalis JobEngine Service Tasks 47 Send Message Task Task properties x Name Noo Message Activity Options Type Severity On screen popup OpalisRobot Client C Windows NT Event Log Type Send Message vj D Inactive User or computer name pas Cancel Help Send a message to a user computer or the Event Log Message type On screen popup The transport type is WinPopup The WinPopup program for Windows computers or the Messenger Service for Windows NT 2000 must be running in order to receive messages Type in the User Computer name field to send the message to all users in the wo
42. ows NT 2000 system you have three installation choices e Client and Service e Client only e Remote Installation Choose this option to install the Opalis JobEngine Service on another Windows NT 2000 computer if you wish to install just the Service it will also work locally You must have administrative rights on the remote computer Note that the installation does not require a reboot and that you can immediately start to work with Opalis JobEngine after the installation See Requirements Section Account Used for the Service The installation program allows customization of the account used by the Opalis JobEngine Services It is possible to ignore this feature and run Services under the local system account context However if you plan to use ODBC functions you must modify this account to a well known administrative account for example yours To do this from the Services applet in the Control Panel press the Startup button see also the Online help Getting Started Overview Description Opalis JobEngine is an advanced job scheduling and automation tool for Windows NT 2000 environments The Opalis JobEngine improves productivity by automating routine tasks and multi step job sequences It delivers the sophisticated parallel scheduling capabilities necessary to automate complex IT processes saving administrators time while lowering Total Cost of Ownership Job Scheduling With Opalis JobEngine you can schedule tas
43. palis JobEngine contains only the Date Time Event Note for more events such as Monitor File System Windows NT 2000 Service Windows NT 2000 Event Log Database Processes Computers Disk Space please contact Opalis to inquire about OpalisRobot You can link this event to tasks links are introduced shortly Here is how it works after you define the conditions Opalis JobEngine efficiently tests them and when it detects that the date time condition is met the associated Task to the Date Time event is triggered and Opalis JobEngine performs the task Getting Started Here are some typical events e tis Friday it is 9 00 pm e It is the last Monday of the month e Itis the 15 of the month What is a Link Links associate tasks to events A link enables Opalis JobEngine to run a task in response to the Date Time event The Data Time Event and tasks by themselves are not sufficient it is the combination of the event and tasks that will perform the actual work What is a Folder As an added convenience Opalis JobEngine lets you arrange events tasks and links in folders to help you visually organize your configuration Each folder has an associated log which only tracks messages regarding folder tasks The scheduler does not use folders so you are free to organize your configuration to suit your tastes or working habits Please note that the objects defined in one folder are available to objects in all folders A Sim
44. palis JobEngine was installed This can be done only on the computer that is performing the shutdown Wait Wait is a command line utility that simply waits during a given time It can be found in the folder where Opalis JobEngine was installed Syntax of the wait utility is Wait lt number of seconds to wait gt Example Wait 30 will wait for 30 seconds The wait utility can be used to delay the execution of commands within batch files 59 ADVANCED OPTIONS The Advanced tab from the New Object window contains advanced objects that can be helpful during the creation of automation flows Service Started Event New Object x General Advanced v Service Started aft Cancel Heb The Service Started event is triggered when the Opalis JobEngine Service is started You can use this event to start or continue an automation sequence as soon as the Opalis JobEngine Service starts Service Started After Reboot Event New Object x General Advanced Service Started cont The Service Started after Reboot event is triggered when the Opalis JobEngine Service is started within 10 minutes after a system reboot You can use this event to continue or start an automation sequence after a system reboot Advanced Options 60 Don t worry There is no waste The dynamic data information is saved internally only if a task is using it You can only
45. ple Example Let s say you want to use Opalis JobEngine to automate your backup of drive C every day at 9 00 p m with Opalis p JobEngine The first step is to determine Ce a Akoe day of the week the task In this case you at 9 00 pm pm backyy want to start the backup that is run the NTBackup program with C as a parameter Opalis JobEngine supports program execution tasks that run arbitrary programs including NTBackup The next step is When to start the task In this example we want to perform a backup every day at 9 00 p m Opalis JobEngine s built in Date Time event is ideal for this job The last step is to associate the event and task with a link This tells the task starting the back up when to start the event Getting Started Creating Job Processing with Opalis JobEngine In the previous section we described the concept and objects used to create an automated job This section explains how to configure the automated job using the Opalis JobEngine interface and menus First run the Opalis JobEngine Client program and connect to the Opalis JobEngine server You can use the Server Connect To menu item and enter the server name in the dialog box This opens a window with a view of the configuration on your server If you want more information on a precise aspect of the Opalis JobEngine client program please refer to the Client section in this manual
46. programs MS Office or 16 bit applications that need to access shared memory When the task has been triggered the Opalis JobEngine Service informs the ConsoleRunner utility which then executes the task In order to launch the task it is mandatory for ConsoleRunner to be running on the system console when the task is triggered To be sure that ConsoleRunner is always running you may want to add its shortcut in the Startup group of the user usually logged on the system console You can also use the Auto Logon function of Windows NT 2000 For more details about the Auto Logon feature consult Microsoft Knowledge Base article No Q97597 How to Enable Automatic Logon in Windows NT and Q114615 Bypassing Automatic Logon in Windows NT To protect the logged session against unwanted manipulation it is possible to lock the console pressing Cirl Alt Del then Enter or to use a password protected screen saver Utilities 58 StopShut StopShut is a utility that interrupts the system shutdown during the countdown preceding it A minimum countdown of 30 seconds always occurs when the System Restart is used System Shutdown Ba This system is shutting down Please save all work in progress and log off Any unsaved changes will be lost This shutdown was initiated by MYCOMPANY Admin Time before shutdown 00 00 30 T Message To stop the current system shutdown run StopShut exe from the folder where O
47. r Administration messages are received see the Client Options dialog Edit Event Task To create modify tasks and the date time event use the Edit Event Task dialog box The screen is divided into three parts e The Name field e The Type field e The Tab sections In the Name field you enter the name of the task event Duplicate object names are allowed but not recommended The Type drop down list allows you to select an eveni task type All the available types are listed in the Events and Tasks chapter with appropriate explanations Choose the Type of the event or task at creation time Please note that you cannot change it when modifying an object The Client 28 UNC is short for Universal Naming Convention You need to create the task s and or the event s before creating the link Tabs The last part of the screen is the configuration tabs They will dynamically adapt to the object type The directory explains how to configure those parameters The Properties tab holds the most common configuration option for the task event The other tabs hold specific or advanced options These options default to a safe value If you are not sure of the meaning of these options it is safer to leave the default settings You can see the internal number in the Properties tab for the object or in the title bar of the Edit Event Task dialog in the modification mode This number i
48. r the event at a specific time of the day or Every to enter a time interval expressed in hours minutes or seconds Trigger Options for interval expressed in minutes or hours At time slices within the hour interval expressed in minutes only allows the event to be triggered regularly within the hour For example if the interval is 5 minutes the event will trigger at 0 5 10 15 20 etc instead of immediately after the Service startup and then every 5 minutes Starting x Minutes after the hour interval expressed in hours only allows triggering of the first event using the minutes entered For example if the interval is 2 hours the Minutes field is 45 and the Service is started at 8 20 am the event will trigger at 8 45 am 10 45 am and so on instead of immediately after the Service startup and then every two hours the Date Time Event 57 UTILITIES ConsoleRunner s Opalis ConsoleRunner 3 50erc2 Mm E 3 2 00 11 20 59 AM J643 Initializing E eel 3 27 00 11 20 59 AM 643 OpalisRabot directory is C Program Files Opalis OpalisRabat3 3 27 00 11 20 59 AM 643 Reading registry 3 27 00 11 20 59 AM 653 Waiting for a new request ConsoleRunner is a graphical application that communicates with the Opalis JobEngine Service and launches tasks from the system console when the Service requests it It is useful for programs that do not run properly when launched by a Windows NT 2000 Service such as some VB
49. ria Getting Started 16 Starting or stopping Windows Services requires administrative privileges The Service The Opalis JobEngine is a Windows NT 2000 Service Windows Services are background processes that normally run without a console Services do not necessarily run under the user logged in the system In fact Services can run even when no user is logged into the system Also you can configure these Services to automatically start when the system boots default configuration Like all other Windows Services Opalis JobEngine can be started stopped and configured from the Services applet located in the Control Panel as shown below ad Control Panel Services Once the Services icon is selected a screen window appears Services Service Status Startup x Network DDE Manual Network DDE DSDM Manual Start NT LM Security Support Provider Manual Opalis JobEngine Started Automatic Stop OpalisRobot3 Started Automatic Pause Plug and Play Started Automatic Protected Storage Started Automatic fannie Remote Procedure Call RPC Locator Manual Remote Procedure Call RPC Service Started Automatic Server Started Automatic xf Sate Heleki Hw Profiles Startup Parameters oO Ix a Le The Startup button displays the Service dialog box Getting Started 17 Service X EA Pok LocalSystem From the Service dialog box you can cont
50. rk group You can enter a computer or a user name Opalis JobEngine Sends Message as an Opalis JobEngine message to all or one computer on the network The message is displayed on the Messages window of the Opalis JobEngine Client You can choose the Message type on the list Error and Administration messages can generate a sound on the Opalis JobEngine Client The message type is for information only Type in the User field to send the message to all computers in the work group Windows NT Event Log Sends Message to the Windows NT 2000 Application Log You can choose the severity of the message Information Warning or Error Note depending on the application it can be easier to use the After option of the previous task in the job instead of this task Tasks 48 Action on Windows NT Service Task Task properties x Name Noll Type Action on Windows NT Service 7 I Inactive Service Activity Options Action Start service C Pause service C Stop service Service name El eee Parameter s f Execution M Time allowed for completion Time allowed min 2 This function is also compatible with Windows 2000 Starts stops or pauses the Service identified by Service name Use the button to display the list of installed Services and select the required Service name not supported on Windows 95 98 Parameters that are passed to the program are s
51. rol the behavior of your Service at system startup A Windows Service can either e Automatically start when the system boots e Wait until you manually start it Start button net start command or Action on NT Service Opalis JobEngine task We recommend You can also change the user account of the Service from the same that you do not dialog This allows you to fine tune the security of the Service The run Opalis Service will never be able to bypass the rights of the user s account JobEngine under the system account rather under an administrative account Getting Started 18 Remote Administration One of the most exciting features of Opalis JobEngine is that you can remotely manage the Opalis JobEngine Service The Opalis JobEngine Client program and the Opalis JobEngine Service work in true client server fashion The Opalis JobEngine consists of two separate programs e Opalis JobEngine Service the core of Opalis JobEngine s functionality e Opalis JobEngine Client the program used to view or modify the Opalis JobEngine Service configuration The Opalis JobEngine Service makes full use of Windows NT 2000 multitasking capabilities Most objects are implemented in the form of Opalis JobEngine Service threads thereby allowing it to simultaneously perform many different actions The Opalis JobEngine Service consumes practically no system resources for its internal operation Threads are synchronized by
52. rt Character position in string at which the part to be taken begins If start is greater than the number of characters in string the function and arguments are replaced by an empty string Length Number of characters to return If there are fewer than length characters in the text the function and arguments are replaced by all characters from the start position to the end of the string Len The Len function return the number of characters in a supplied string Syntax Len string String String expression for which the length is sought If string is empty the function returns zero Advanced Options 65 Security Service Security Windows NT 2000 provides the security for actions performed by the Opalis JobEngine automation engine File access rights and other permissions system shutdown etc depend on the account assigned to the Opalis JobEngine Service If you do not enter a valid user name or press Cancel in the Service account dialog at install time the account assigned to the Service is the System account It is recommended that you change this user because it has rights only on the local machine Client Security By default the security is not activated and anyone running the Opalis JobEngine Client will have administrator access to a freshly installed Opalis JobEngine Service By creating a registry key on the server called Opalis JobEngine Security ke
53. s used in replacement codes that is when you want to share data between tasks See Using Replacement Codes in Tasks For files located on network drives file names must be expressed into UNC notation The UNC notation is independent of drive names and used for files located on network drives UNC file names are expressed in the following format computer_name share_name directory file_name When you enter a password you must confirm it in the field at the right Edit Link M Properties Value fp Max 19 And iNone Occurs X Value 1 Max p Then zop M Options T Inactive IF Timeout secs fo I Wait before triggering task secs fo Cancel Help To create a link proceed as described in the Five Minute Guide chapter To modify the options of a link simply double click on it This brings up the Edit Link dialog The Client 29 If list When the initial object of a link is an event the only choice is that the event occurred When the initial object of a link is a task the f list can contain two different sets of items If the task returns a numeric value after completion the list has the following items Completes select this item if you want to launch the resulting task when the initial task successfully completes Fails select this item if you want to launch the resulting task when the initial task fails Completes or fails select this item if you want to launch th
54. se of course Mode Program execution Command execution Execution Command air c test txt Trigger this task and switch to the Log view The log entry detail double click the log entry for this task will look similar to this Tasks 40 Output File D Program Files Opalis OpalisF Retum Value 2 Parameters Yolume in drive C has no label Yolume Serial Number is 787C 4D3F Directory of c File Not Found Note that the Return Value is 2 which means the file does not exist Create the file test txt or rename an existing file and trigger the task again The log entry detail will show you VUPI IS VAM MUO WSs pA supa Return Value 0 Parameters Yolume in drive C has no label Yolume Serial Number is 787C 4D3F Directory of co 04 21 99 04 55p 2 675 test txt 1 File s 2 675 bytes 243 975 680 bytes free Now the Return Value is 0 which means the file exists Opalis JobEngine can make decisions based on these return values by evaluating the links originating from a task Create two Send Message tasks which send a message to your computer or user name One task should have a message that reads file found the other should have a message that reads file not found Link the Program Execution task to both Send Message tasks mec file found 5 o dirtest a d file not found Double click the link between the Program Execut
55. ssage TA j v 2 yellow e Clear Messages removes all the Messages in the window e Cascade cascades windows Tile Horizontal horizontally tiles windows Tile Vertical vertically tiles windows e Arrange Icons arranges window icons e The last items in the menu display all opened windows Selecting one of these items will bring the corresponding window to the front Help Menu Opalis JobEngine e About displays the version i copyright and other information Diagnostics about Opalis JobEngine About Popup Menus Context sensitive popup menus are displayed on the Configuration Tree when you click on the right button of the mouse on objects The Client 27 Messages are only received on those computers that are running the client Dialog Boxes Send Message Send Message x To fan z Type Administration Message 7 The Send Message dialog box sends messages through Opalis JobEngine s proprietary message protocol The messages are prompted in the Messages window of the Opalis JobEngine client You can send To a particular computer in the network or to all computers including yourself You can send messages of different types Information Warning Error and Administration The Message type is informative only Please refer to the Messages window section for a more complete discussion of Opalis JobEngine messages Depending on the Client settings a sound can be played when Error o
56. t code is waiting to be used and then if possible it stops and restarts the Opalis JobEngine Service This command can be used to validate changes in Service Options This function is not available on Windows 95 98 Print prints the contents of the currently selected object It opens a dialog box where you can choose the printer the number of copies the print to a file function the printing font and precisely the object or list of objects you want to print Exit terminates the Opalis JobEngine Client Please note that any connected Opalis JobEngine Service if started continues to operate To stop the Service use the Start Stop command or the Control Panel The Client 25 You can use toolbar buttons or shortcuts to create new folders tasks and events Edit Menu Paste copies the object s stored in the Object Options clipboard to the current configuration Cut Chex Copy Ctrl C Delete removes the selected object s from Paste Ciri y the current configuration Delete Select All Ctik Select All selects all objects and folder of the currently selected folder Purge log erases all entries of the log currently displayed Purge log Cut copies the selected object s to the clipboard and removes them from the current configuration Copy copies the selected object s to the clipboard without removing them from the current configuration Objects Menu New displays the New Object dialog box Toes us
57. the Log of all folders option is selected the list will contain all the log entries of the server Otherwise the list will contain the log entries of each task that is located in the currently selected folder in the Folder Tree If the Show alerts option is checked the list will also contain alerts Alerts keep you aware of general problems or incorrect execution of the date time event In the Priority list you can select what type of log entries you want to view By default all log entries are displayed To set the log priority of a task use the Log priority option in the Options tab of the task configuration The Client 23 This messaging system is based on mail slots Therefore it will not go though routers unless you use a Virtual Private Network VPN Messages Window Messages ol x Te Status__ sTECH2 3 24 00 11 22 45 __ Information Read 3 24 00 11 43 18 Information 3 24 00 11 47 55 Information 3 24 00 11 58 40 Information 3 24 00 12 08 10 Information Service OpalisRobot has started Opalis JobEngine supports a proprietary network messaging system The Opalis JobEngine Client must be running to receive Opalis JobEngine messages In this respect Opalis JobEngine messages work like Network messages WinPopup Users can send messages using the Send Message dialog Please refer to the Send Message dialog section for more information Unlike logs messages
58. the system We recommend that you set the Execution mode to Interactive for NTBACKUP tasks Tasks 43 File Management Task Name Nol Type File management v I Inactive File Advanced Activity Options Action File copy hd Folders Origin folder El T Include sub folders Mask or file name o Filter Destination folder El Copy move delete rename or print the files in the Origin folder that correspond to the Mask or file name or Filter The Origin folder and Destination folder entry fields accept local paths or path in UNC format Use of mapped drives is not recommended as they cannot be guaranteed to be available to the Opalis JobEngine Service For the Print option the printer name must be entered in UNC format server_name printer_name Otherwise the UNC format is required only when the destination folder resides on a remote computer Printing sends the file to the printer Therefore the file must be pre formatted for the printer or must be in ASCII format ASCII files e The font name and font size can be selected e A line wrapping value can be set After specifying the number of characters a new line is created for the remaining characters of the line Filters e Filters can include wildcards the or character but not folder names e Order of filters is important The filters are evaluated from the top to the bottom As soo
59. tional days list then the job will run during this day For example a job that should run every Monday on December 2 1997 a Tuesday and is marked as Active the job will run during this day The hour range is evaluated at the end No matter what time it is a job will not run if the day is not activated by the Days settings Client Options Client options A Noty Add ons The Client 34 General Check Reconnect to Previous Session Servers if you want the client at startup to automatically reconnect to the servers that were opened at the end of the previous session If Refresh views every is checked the current folder or log is refreshed at the specified interval in seconds If Hide parent folder is checked the Parent folder icon that displays the parent folder when you double click on it is not displayed in the folders If Only folders are allowed in the root folder is checked only new folders can be created in the root folder You cannot add any new event tasks or links in the root folder only in other folders Notify Confirmation Messages When checked Opalis JobEngine asks for a confirmation before executing major commands You should leave it to Checked until you become familiar with Opalis JobEngine The Play Sound options control whether a sound is emitted or not when the Messages window does receive Error or Administration messages Sound allows
60. tring If greater than or equal to the number of characters in string the function and arguments are replaced by the entire string Advanced Options 63 Left The Left function and arguments are replaced by a specified number of characters from the left side of a string Syntax Left string length String String expression from which the leftmost characters are returned If string is empty the function and arguments are replaced by an empty string Length Numeric expression indicating how many characters to return If 0 function and arguments are replaced by an empty string If greater than or equal to the number of characters in string the function and arguments are replaced by the entire string Trim functions The trim functions and arguments are replaced by a copy of a string without leading spaces LTrim trailing spaces RTrim or both leading and trailing spaces Trim Syntax LTrim string RTrim string Trim string The string argument is any valid string expression If string is empty the trim function and arguments are replaced by an empty string Advanced Options 64 Mid The Mid function and arguments are replaced by a specified number of characters from a string Syntax Mid string start length String String expression from which characters are returned If string is empty the function and arguments are replaced by an empty string Sta
61. ursor is in a character field of the configuration of a task and select Insert code Advanced Options 61 Event T ask properties x Dynamic data codes x Done Name Type Active objects No 191000 J Inactive Interactive event Message Activity Options Monitor Incoming folder Unless you are familiar with Opalis JobEngine it is better to use the Insert code dialog to add a code to a field Type Severity Cale On screen popup nomerini Charmap OpalisRobot Administrator Warning nae one Windows NT Event Log Notepad test CS file size folder file extension file name no path file name UNC format file name local format Trigger date in short format This opens the Insert code dialog In the above Dynamic data code dialog box select the event or task from which you want to use dynamic data Then select in the lower list of the dialog the type of dynamic data that you want to use and click the OK button A special code is then inserted in the configuration field of the task This code will be replaced where it is by the run time value of the given data The code is composed of the event or task number and a variable length code that identifies the type of data You can use dynamic data codes in all character fields of the configuration of tasks If there are several instances of the same co
62. use dynamic data codes in tasks Dynamic Data Dynamic data allows you to create dynamic jobs that is jobs that have a generic configuration and can adapt to the context dynamically Let s take an example Say you have a file processing program that requires the name of the file to process as a parameter in its command line and you want to launch it each time a file is new or modified in a monitored folder Unless the file name is always the same which is a big limitation in functionality in today s powerful platforms you would need to create a job for each possible file name This is fine if there are only three different possibilities but what if the file name changes ten times a day Fortunately with the dynamic data feature you do not need to know the name of the files when you create the job You just have to insert a special code using the Insert dynamic data dialog and the code will be replaced at run time by the actual name of the new or modified file How it works Each event or task publishes data that can be used for the following tasks For example the date time event and tasks publish information about the time at which they were triggered File management tasks publish information about the file they manage name folder size Service management tasks publish information about the Service they manage name status and so on To insert a dynamic data code use the right button of the mouse when the c
63. ustom one that will be attached to the current event or task The Client 36 If you need to apply the same activity template to several objects it is better to create a global template For more details about activity templates refer to the Activity Templates section A first and last date time can be set The object will never run before the first date time and never after the last date time Parameters for Tasks Name Backup Nof 01000 Type Exec Activity Options After If task succeeds inone z Message recipient kaprer Send a popup message If task fails Send a message to the OpalisRobot Client Message recipient Log Log Priority Medium z Execution mode Multitask Paralel execution z In the After block you can set the task to send a message after it completes and or fails The message can be sent to the Event Log to the screen Popup message or to the Opalis JobEngine client The two latter options require a destination Enter a computer or a user name Popup or a computer name Opalis JobEngine message If you enter the message will be sent to all computers in the domain The Log Priority option controls the level of importance given to the task in the log For more details about how to view the Opalis JobEngine log please refer to the Log and alerts section If No log is selected the execution of the task will not generate any trace in
64. y and managing security of this key the system administrator manages accesses allowed to the Opalis JobEngine Clients The access can be denied in user mode or in administrator mode To create and modify the rights of the Opalis JobEngine Security key use the REGEDT32 EXE program warning be cautious when editing the registry and create a key not a value called Security under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Software Opalis Robot3 To manage security once the key is created select the key and use the Security Permissions command How it works When the key does not exist the user has access in administrator mode If the key exists the access depends on how the user can open the key If the access assigned to the user account is e Full control the server window of the Opalis JobEngine Client is opened in administrator mode e Read the server window of the Opalis JobEngine Client is opened in user mode If the user is not listed or not a member of any authorized Windows NT 2000 group the access is denied Advanced Options 66 Summary To access Opalis JobEngine in administrator mode a user must have e Access to the Opalis JobEngine Security key with Full control access if it exists e Either a Read Write access to the hidden share of the drive on which the Opalis JobEngine Service is installed or to the Opalis JobEngine3 folder using a share named Opalis JobEngine To access Opalis JobEngine
65. zardous graphical behavior on the console Tasks 39 Program execution mode Background normal priority when the program does not need any user input or when the program runs in character mode Background low priority when the program does not need any user input or when the program runs in character mode Interactive only if the program interacts with the user this option is not recommended because it can interfere with the execution of the program on the system console Launched by ConsoleRunner this option is designed for programs that cannot be launched by a Service such as some applications in MS Office VB programs or 16 bit applications that require shared memory When the task has been triggered Opalis JobEngine passes information about it to the ConsoleRunner utility and then launches the program In order to launch the task it is mandatory for ConsoleRunner to be running on the system console when the task is triggered ConsoleRunner must be launched manually or at logon time using the Startup folder Example Return Values When the Program Execution task completes it produces a return value Return values can be used to make decisions To find out if a file is available or not you can use the return values of the dir command Create a Program Execution task set Mode to Command execution and type dir c test txt as the command You can change c test txt to something el

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