Configuring Apache Load balancer URL

Problem Statement :

You have a clustered environment with 2 or more nodes or you have an Apache layer between the user and your application servers. The users access your application interfaces through the Apache layer, which is responsible for load-balancing, SSO, etc. But when you load the portal or admin console you find that some resources are directly referenced from the application server nodes instead of going through Apache.

Resolution :

Put the following into a file (101CustomLoadBalancer.xml) and place it at

/app/websphere/<DMGR_PROFILE>/config/cells/<CELL>/nodes/<NODE>/servers/<APP_TARGET_JVM>/process-<center/server>/config

<properties>
    <authoring-environment merge="mergeChildren">
        <images-prefix merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/teamworks</images-prefix>
        <portal-prefix merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/portal</portal-prefix>
        <servlet-prefix merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/teamworks</servlet-prefix>
        <webapi-prefix merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/webapi</webapi-prefix>
        <repository-prefix merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/ProcessCenter</repository-prefix>
        <process-help-wiki-url-view merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/processhelp/en/%TITLE%?teamworksTitle=%TEAMWORKS_TITLE%</process-help-wiki-url-view>
        <process-help-wiki-url-edit merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/processhelp/en/Special:Edit?topic=%TITLE%&amp;teamworksTitle=%TEAMWORKS_TITLE%</process-help-wiki-url-edit>
    </authoring-environment>
    <common merge="mergeChildren">
        <portal-prefix merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/portal</portal-prefix>
        <process-admin-prefix merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/ProcessAdmin</process-admin-prefix>
        <!-- Disable for Process Center -->
        <teamworks-webapp-prefix merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/teamworks</teamworks-webapp-prefix>
        <coach-designer-xsl-url merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/teamworks/coachdesigner/transform/CoachDesigner.xsl</coach-designer-xsl-url>
       
        <webservices merge="mergeChildren">
            <base-url merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/teamworks/webservices</base-url>
        </webservices>
        <xml-serialization merge="mergeChildren">
            <default-namespace-uri merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/schema/</default-namespace-uri>
        </xml-serialization>
    </common>
    <server merge="mergeChildren">
        <repository-server-url merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/ProcessCenter</repository-server-url>
        <email merge="mergeChildren">
            <mail-template merge="mergeChildren">
                <client-link merge="replace">https://<APACHE URL>/teamworks</client-link>
            </mail-template>
        </email>
    </server>
</properties>

CSS Override causing validation errors during migration from 6.2 to 7.5

Problem Statement

When you import any process artifact from Teamworks 6.2 into IBM BPM 7.5, that has coach(s) containing CSS override, it creates a validation error. The error is marked on an empty web-app file that looks similar to “&lt;#=tw.local.css#&gt;”.

Why is this problem encountered

In Teamworks 6.2, you could provide CSS overrides by providing path to the CSS file in the “CSS Override” field. Often this path was fetched from an EPV, local variable or localization resources. The value was passed using the “<#= #>” notation. An illustration of is shown below:

Whereas in IBM BPM 7.5, you cannot use variables (EPV, Localization or Local) to specify the CSS override. You select one of the “Managed Files” as your CSS override. This is outlined below :

Therefore, when you import a service with a coach from 6.2 and import it into 7.5, it tries to fetch the contents of the CSS file by using the contents inside the CSS override box. But, instead of evaluating the variable’s value, it uses it literally as it is. Hence, it cannot find the CSS file’s contents and ends up creating an empty managed file, with a pointer to that empty file in the coach.

 Using approach taken by IBM BPM 7.5 may not be preferable because of one or more of the following reasons:

1. Your CSS files are not maintained as managed files. Instead they are kept on the web-server or some content management system.
2. You want the flexibility of using different CSS files based upon the user preferences (Themes).
3. You want the look and feel to be uniform and easily customizable (hence you choose to store the CSS override file’s location in an EPV)

How to resolve the issue

The simplest way to resolve this is as follows.

1. Delete the empty file created through the import.
2. Note down the variable used for CSS override. For example “tw.epv.UAM.PNCCSS”.
3. Go to the CSS tab for the coach and use the @import syntax as shown below@import url('<#= tw.epv.UAM.PNCCSS + "" #>')
4. Remove the link to the empty file in CSS Override.

How to get Snapshot ID of the current context

Use the call "tw.system.model.processAppSnapshot.id" to fetch the ID of the currently execution snapshot.

BPM 7.5 PO Type Codes

CODE	TABLE NAME	Common Name 1	Common Name 2
1	"LSW_PROCESS"	"process"	"Service"
2	"LSW_IC"	"integrationComponent"	"IC"
3	"LSW_CONNECTOR"	"connector"	"Connector"
4	"LSW_UCA"	"underCoverAgent"	"UCA"
7	"LSW_WEB_SERVICE"	"webService"	"WebService"
8	null	"webScript"	"WebScript"
11	"LSW_REPORT"	"report"	"Report"
12	"LSW_CLASS"	"twClass"	"VariableType"
13	"LSW_SCBD"	"scoreboard"	"Scoreboard"
14	"LSW_TRACKING_GROUP"	"trackingGroup"	"TrackingGroup"
15	"LSW_TIMING_INTERVAL"	"timingInterval"	"TimingInterval"
16	"LSW_TRACKING_POINT"
17	"LSW_TRACKED_VARIABLE"
20	"LSW_LAYOUT"	"layout"	"Layout"
21	"LSW_EPV"	"epv"	"EPV"
22	null	"globalVariable"	"GlobalVariable"
24	"LSW_PARTICIPANT"	"participant"	"Participant"
25	"LSW_BPD"	"bpd"	"BPD"
30	"LSW_PRIORITY"	"priority"	"Priority"
31	null	"calendar"	"Calendar"
40	null	"customStatus"	"CustomStatus"
42	null	"alertSeverity"	"AlertSeverity"
43	"LSW_INFOPATH_FORM"	"infoPathForm"	"InfoPathForm"
47	"LSW_SLA"	"sla"	"SLA"
49	"LSW_METRIC"	"metric"	"Metric"
50	"LSW_RESOURCE_BUNDLE_GROUP"	"resourceBundleGroup"	"ResourceBundleGroup"
51	"LSW_USER_ATTRIBUTE_DEF"	"userAttributeDefinition"	"UserAttributeDefinition"
52	"LSW_SIM_SCENARIO"	"simulationScenario"	"SimulationScenario"
53	"LSW_HIST_SCENARIO"	"historicalScenario"	"HistoricalScenario"
54	"LSW_ORG_CHART"	"orgChart"	"OrgChart"
60	"LSW_EXTERNAL_ACTIVITY"	"externalActivity"	"ExternalActivity"
61	"LSW_MANAGED_ASSET"	"managedAsset"	"ManagedAsset"
62	"LSW_ENV_VAR_SET"	"environmentVariableSet"	"EnvironmentVariableSet"
63	"LSW_PROJECT_DEFAULTS"	"projectDefaults"	"ProjectDefaults"
2001	null	"alertType"	"AlertType"
2005	"LSW_BREAKPOINT"
2006	"LSW_BPD_EVENT"
2007	"LSW_BPD_PARAMETER"
2013	"LSW_EPV_VAR"
2014	"LSW_EPV_VAR_VALUE"
2015	"LSW_FAVORITE"
2018	"LSW_IC_INPUT_PROPERTY"
2019	"LSW_IC_OUTPUT_PROPERTY"
2020	"LSW_TIMING_INTERVAL_BOUND"
2022	"LSW_LAUNCHER"
2023	"LSW_LAYOUT_PARAM"
2025	"LSW_PROCESS_ITEM"
2027	"LSW_PROCESS_LINK"
2028	"LSW_PROCESS_LABEL"
2029	"LSW_PROCESS_ITEM_PRE_POST"
2030	"LSW_REPORT_PAGE"
2031	"LSW_REPORT_CHART"
2032	"LSW_REPORT_DATASOURCE"
2033	"LSW_REPORT_DATASOURCE_IC_LINK"
2034	"LSW_REPORT_DS_LAYOUT_LINK"
2035	"LSW_REPORT_VARIABLES"
2036	"LSW_REPORT_EPV_LINK"
2037	"LSW_REPORT_TG_LINK"
2038	"LSW_RESOURCE_BUNDLE"
2039	"LSW_RESOURCE_BUNDLE_KEY"
2040	"LSW_SAVED_SEARCHES"
2041	"LSW_SCBD_RPT_LINK"
2044	"LSW_UCA_SYNC_QUEUE"
2045	"LSW_UCA_BLACKOUT"
2046	"LSW_UCA_PARM"
2047	"LSW_USR"
2048	"LSW_USR_XREF"
2049	"LSW_USR_ATTR"
2050	"LSW_USER_ATTR_DEF_VALUES"
2052	"LSW_WEB_SERVICE_OP"
2054	"LSW_PARAMETER_MAPPING"
2055	"LSW_PROCESS_PARAMETER"
2056	"LSW_PROCESS_VARIABLE"
2058	"LSW_EPV_PROCESS_LINK"
2059	"LSW_RESOURCE_PROCESS_LINK"
2060	"LSW_EXTACT_PARAMETER"
2061	"LSW_EXTACT_PROPERTY"
2063	"LSW_BRANCH"
2064	"LSW_SNAPSHOT"
2065	"LSW_DEPLOYMENT"
2066	"LSW_PROJECT"	"Process App"	"Process App"
2068	"LSW_SERVER"
2069	"LSW_PROJECT_DEPENDENCY"	"toolkit"	"toolkit"
2072	"LSW_BPD_INSTANCE"
2073	"LSW_BPD_INSTANCE_DATA"
2075	"LSW_USR_GRP_XREF"
2076	"LSW_RELEASE"
2077	"LSW_ENV_VAR_VAL"
2078	"LSW_TASK"
2079	"LSW_USER_FAVORITE"
2080	"LSW_FILE"
2081	"LSW_TASK_NARR"
2082	"LSW_TASK_ADDR"
2084	"LSW_TASK_EXECUTION_CONTEXT"
2085	"LSW_TASK_IPF_DATA"
2086	"LSW_TASK_EXTACT_DATA"
2087	"LSW_USR_ASSUME"
2089	"LSW_BPD_NOTIFICATION"
2090	"LSW_DEP_PATH"
2091	"LSW_PO_REFERENCE"
2092	"LSW_ENV_VAR_DEFAULT"	"environmentDefault"	"EnvironmentDefault"
2093	"LSW_ENV_TYPE"
2094	"LSW_ENV_VAR"	"environmentVariable"	"EnvironmentVariable"
2095	"LSW_RT_REFERENCE"
2096	"LSW_REPOSITORY_HISTORY"
2097	"LSW_TIME_PERIOD"
2098	"LSW_TIME_SCHEDULE"
2099	"LSW_HOLIDAY_SCHEDULE"
2100	"LSW_ACL_ENTRY"
2101	"LSW_SMART_FOLDER"	"SmartFolder"	null
2102	"LSW_REPORT_DATASOURCE_SRV_LINK"
2103	"LSW_INSTALLATION"
2104	"LSW_BLUEPRINT_SUBSCRIPTION"
2105	"LSW_REPORT_RBG_LINK"
2106	"LSW_ENV_VAR_TYPE"
2107	"LSW_SERVER_CAPABILITY"
2108	"LSW_CAPABILITY_TYPE"
6001	"BPM_CONTRIBUTION"	"contribution"	"Contribution"
6002	"BPM_CTRB_PROPERTY"
6004	"BPM_CTRB_DEPENDENCY"
6003	"BPM_ARTIFACT"	"artifact"	"Artifact"
6005	"BPM_PROC_ARTIFACT_REF"
6006	"BPM_CLS_ARTIFACT_REF"
6007	"BPM_BPD_ARTIFACT_REF"
6008	"BPM_MON_MODEL_DATA"

Fetch Duplicate Artifacts in BPM 7.5

Get a list a artifacts duplicated across Process-App or Toolkits (Oracle 11g and up only)

WITH po AS ( 
    SELECT distinct
      ver.PO_NAME,
      ver.PO_TYPE,
    /*  snap.is_default,
      snap.name AS "Snapshot Name",
      snap.acronym AS "Snapshot Acronym",
      snap.is_archived AS "Is Snapshot Archived",
      proj.name AS "Process App",
    */ --LISTAGG(TO_CHAR(proj.short_name), '; ') within group( order by proj.short_name) AS "PROCESS APP ACRONYM",
    TO_CHAR(proj.short_name) AS short_name
    FROM bpi_procc_shr_shr.lsw_branch brnch,
      bpi_procc_shr_shr.lsw_po_versions ver,
      bpi_procc_shr_shr.lsw_snapshot snap,
      bpi_procc_shr_shr.lsw_project proj
    WHERE ver.branch_id       = brnch.branch_id
    AND brnch.tip_snapshot_id = snap.snapshot_id
    AND snap.project_id       = proj.project_id
    AND proj.short_name     NOT IN ('TWSYS', 'TWP', 'HSS', 'LSWPSC', 'SACOMMC', 'BDS2', 'SAPAPPS', 'OF_DEM')
    AND ver.PO_NAME IS NOT NULL
    AND snap.name IS NOT NULL
    AND
      -- ver.po_name like 'Submit Requisition' and
      snap.is_archived = 'F'-- and
      -- ver.end_seq_num is null
    ORDER BY ver.PO_NAME
    --group by ver.PO_NAME
)
select
  po.PO_NAME,
  po.PO_TYPE,
  LISTAGG(po.short_name, '; ') within group(order by po.short_name) AS "APP_LIST",
  count(1) "DUPLICATE COUNT"
--  po.short_name
from po
group by po.PO_NAME, po.PO_TYPE
having count(1) > 1
;

Calling services in iFrame

In version 6.2 to invoke any service in an URL we used the “teamworks/process.lsw? zWorkflowState=5&zProcessName=” pattern. But in version 7.5 we need to use “/teamworks/executeServiceByName?processApp=<APP-ACRONYM>&serviceName=” pattern. As you could notice it takes an extra parameter for “processApp”, which is used to identify the process-app or toolkit in which the service resides.

           

Along with the change in URL pattern, we need to follow the new convention for passing input values in URL. 7.5 uses “.” notation instead of “_”. Simply put if you used “tw_local_userName” in 6.2 to pass the username parameter as input, you need to modify that to “tw.local.userName” in 7.5.

To make any service callable through URL it needs to be a “Human service” and also has to be set as an “Exposed Service” in the “Overview” tab. Appropriate access control has be provided while exposing a service. If the service is supposed to be called via URL, the “Exposed As” parameter must be set as “URL”.

Types of GROUPs in IBM BPM 7.5

In IBM BPM 7.5 the user -groups can be categorized into 3 types:

1. Groups that exist and managed in external directory services like LDAP.
2. Groups that are created in the environment through Admin Console.
3. Groups that are dynamically created by virtue of task allocation.

Groups that exist and managed in external directory services like LDAP

Such groups are created and managed in external directory services like LDAP. Such groups are imported into the BPM database when an user logs in for the first time. Such groups have a GROUP_TYPE as "0" in the table LSW_USR_GRP_XREF. Such groups cannot be edited or deleted through the default Process Admin Console. 

TODO : Verify that the group memberships are synced automatically.

Groups that are created in the environment through Admin Console.

These groups are created and managed through the Process Admin Console. Since these groups are not represented in the centralized directory services like LDAP, these are purposed to be used inside BPM applications only. These are analogous to Teamworks logical roles in Teamworks 6.2. These groups have a GROUP_TYPE as "3" in the table LSW_USR_GRP_XREF.

Groups that are dynamically created by virtue of task allocation.

Groups are dynamically created when a new task is routed to a lane participant (Participant Group) or assigned to a list of users (Ad-hoc group). Dynamic groups corresponding to Teamworks logical roles are also created during import from a 6.2 environment. These groups are not visible on the Process Admin console, hence cannot be managed. Dynamic groups that are created from Participant Groups or Logical Roles have GROUP_TYPE as "1" in the table LSW_USR_GRP_XREF, where as the dynamic groups crated from list of users have GROUP_TYPE as "2" in the table LSW_USR_GRP_XREF.

Dynamic groups are not reused hence are good candidates for purging once the task has been completed.