Glossary


This glossary defines terms used within the Universal Automation Center for all products.
 

A


Action

An instruction that you can set for any task.

Context-sensitive menu containing a set of actions that you can take on a list of records or one or more individual records.

Active Cluster Node

In a Universal Controller High Availability environment, the Cluster Node that currently is performing all system processing functions. (See Passive Cluster Node.)

Active Task Instance

An instance that is not in any of these statuses: Skipped (180), Finished (190), Success (200).

Agent

A single installation of Universal Agent.

A user-defined group of Agents from which the Universal Controller selects an Agent to run the task in which the Agent Cluster is identified.

Apache Tomcat

(See Tomcat.)

API (Application Programming Interface)

A set of functions, procedures, methods, classes, or protocols that an operating system, library, or service provides to support requests made by computer programs.

Application Monitoring and Control

A feature of Universal Controller that allows you to use it as a network control and monitoring tool. You can use Application Monitoring and Control to start, stop, and query any application running on any machine where you have a Universal Agent installed and running.

Asynchronous Communication

Transmission of data or sending of messages without the need to wait for a reply from the destination before continuing with the next operation.

A record of a user interaction with Universal Controller.

Universal Agent components that start automatically when the Universal Broker starts and run until they are stopped manually.

B


Variables maintained by Universal Controller that provide information about task instances, triggers, agents, and Controllers (Cluster Nodes) and that can be used in free text fields on trigger variable values, tasks, task actions, and notifications (for agents, connectors, and cluster nodes).

Bulk Export

A Server Operation that exports all current record definitions when migrating data, in bulk, from an existing Universal Controller deployment to a new Universal Controller deployment (compare with List Export).

Bulk Import

A Server Operation that imports all data from an exported file when migrating data, in bulk, from an existing Universal Controller deployment to a new Universal Controller deployment (compare with List Import).

An installation package, available only for the AIX Operating system, that combines an Universal Controller with Apache Tomcat.

A Universal Controller feature that lets you bundle a group of Universal Controller records and promote (copy) them from one Universal Controller server to another.

A feature of Universal Controller that lets you organize data into groups of related information. This could be used for assigning permissions to users and/or user groups that belong to specific Business Services, sorting and displaying information on the user interface, generating reports.

Business Warehouse

An SAP system for which the Universal Connector component of Universal Agent enables the external automation of work using both Process Chains and InfoPackages.

C


CA (Certification Authority)

A trusted third-party organization that issues digital certificates used to create digital signatures and public-private key pairs, guaranteeing that the individual granted the unique certificate is, in fact, who he or she claims to be.

A Universal Controller record that defines business days, holidays, and other special days. Universal Controller uses calendars, in conjunction with triggers, to define when tasks are run.

Channel

Medium used to convey information from sender to receiver.

CLI

(See Command Line Interface.)

The fault tolerance feature of Universal Agent that allows Universal Connector to be shut down and restarted at a later time.

Cluster

(See Agent Cluster.)

Cluster Broadcast

Specification to run a task on all agents in an agent cluster. Each instance of the task, running on its own agent, becomes a separate task instance record in the database and displays separately in the Activity monitor.

Cluster Node

A single instance of an Universal Controller. A High Availability environment of Universal Automation Center contains a minimum of two cluster nodes.

A set of commands that perform specific actions on a Universal Controller.

Communications Protocol

A set of standard rules for data representation, signaling, authentication, and error detection required to send information over a communications channel.

A text file of options that defines Universal Agent component-specific information required by the Universal Broker.

Connection

A Universal Controller record that provides information about a server. There are three types of Universal Controller Connections: Email, Database, and SAP.

Container

An application environment that provides a runtime environment offering services such as security, authentication, transaction management, and deployment to an application developer, thus enabling a faster implementation and rollout.

Controller

(See Universal Controller.)

The user ID and password under which an Agent runs tasks on the machine where the Agent resides.

The ability to monitor the Critical Path (longest route) through a Workflow.

A Universal Controller record that defines a single one-time date, a repeating date, or a list of dates. Custom days are attached to calendars.

D


A Universal Controller user interface screen displaying user-selected Widgets that provide a composite look at information commonly referred to throughout the day.

A Universal Event Monitor server that is started by Universal Broker when the Universal Broker receives a request to do so from one of the UEM client applications (the Universal Event Monitor Manager or UEMLoad). Since a user request drives the start-up of the UEM Server process, the process is said to be executed on demand; hence the term demand-driven Server. (See Event-Driven Server.)

DH

A Public/private key.

DSS

A Public/private key.

E


EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) tools

Tools that are used for the unrestricted sharing of data and business processes throughout the networked applications or data sources in an organization.

A Universal Event Monitor Server that typically is started automatically during Universal Broker start-up. A UEM client application (the Universal Event Monitor Manager or UEMLoad) is not required to start an event-driven Server. (See Demand-Driven Server.)

Execution User

System-supplied ID of the user who manually launched a task.

Universal Controller tasks that have been set so that they are mutually exclusive (see Mutually Exclusive Tasks).

Export

(See Bulk Export and List Export.)

F


Fault Tolerance

The capabilities of specific Universal Agent components to recover or restart from error conditions. (See Fault Tolerance Implementation.)

A Universal Controller calculation of when triggers will be satisfied and which tasks will be run.

A type of Variable that calculates a value or performs a function.

G


Gadget

A type of Widget on the Universal Controller home page that displays Controller system information.

GLBA (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act)

A law enabling the consolidation of commercial banks, investment banks, securities firms and insurance companies.

Global Variable

A Universal Controller user-defined variable that is available for any Controller trigger, task, or workflow.

H


HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: a law that serves to protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs.

High Availability

A Universal Controller system containing multiple cluster nodes. At any given point in time, one cluster node is Active: it performs all system processing functions. One or more other Passive cluster nodes are available to become the Active cluster node.

The page that displays when you log in to Universal Controller. It contains a set of user-selected Widgets.

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)

A synchronous request / reply protocol, is the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web to define how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.

I


The Universal Enterprise Controller Client Application that provides end-to-end visibility of workload management activity throughout your Universal Agent environment via a graphical user interface.

The Universal Enterprise Controller Client Application that lets you maintain information on all Agents that Universal Enterprise Controller monitors and the SAP systems to which Universal Enterprise Controller has access.

The Universal Enterprise Controller Client Application that provides a graphical user interface for remote configuration of all Stonebranch Agents in an enterprise from a single machine.

Import

(See Bulk Import and List Import.)

Indesca

Former name (pre-5.2.0 release) of Universal Agent.

Infitran

Former name (pre-5.2.0 release) of Universal Data Mover.

Internet Application

A web application (webapp) that is accessed via a web browser over the Internet.

Internet Workload

Internet workload is any application, service, or function that operates in an Internet environment, such as web applications or container applications, and supports an Internet-based communication protocol such as HTTP or SOAP.

J


JMS (Java Message Service)

An API that provides a standard way for Java programs to access and interact with an enterprise asynchronous messaging system. JMS uses both point-to-point (queue-based) and publish / subscribe (topic-based) messaging patterns.

JMS Connector

Component that allows the sending and receiving of JMS messages between applications.

L


LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)

An application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an IP network. You can set up Universal Controller to use LDAP authentication for running tasks on Agents and for user logins.

Light-Weight Container Architecture (LWCA)

Combined with the Federated architecture of the current Universal Controller line, this architecture provides your enterprise with a loosely coupled, scalable, and secure solution to your enterprise workload management tasks.

List Export

An export of displayed information on a list into any of seven formats (compare with Bulk Export).

List Import

An import of valid XML files (usually from a List Export) from a user-defined location (compare with Bulk Import).

Listen MEP (Message Exchange Pattern)

A component that listens for a message from an application or service.

M


Maintenance Scripts

Name for Server Operations in pre-6.1.0 versions of Universal Controller.

The mode of operations for Universal Broker that "locks down" the configuration information for all Universal Agent components managed by that Universal Broker so that the information can be modified only via the I-Management Console. (See Unmanaged Mode.)

The fault tolerance feature of Universal Agent that allows Universal Command components to be shut down and restarted at a later time.

Managers

Universal Agent component that provides client services initiating requests on behalf of the user (for example, a Universal Command manager batch job requesting the execution of a command on a remote server).

Message

Abstract format, or container, for sending data between applications or services. No implementation is implied.

Message Hub

The Opswise Automation Center 5.1.0 Outboard component that relays messages from the outbound message queue from the Universal Controller to the Agents, and writes messages to the inbound message queue from the Agents to the Universal Controller.

Message-Based Application

Accesses a target application by sending a message to a queue that is controlled by the target application. This queue must be known and accessible to the application sending the message. Application accessed via a web browser over the Internet or Intranet.

Message-Based Workload

Any application, service, or function that supports a message-based communication protocol such as JMS or MQ.

Message Exchange Pattern (MEP)

The pattern of messages required by a communications protocol in order to establish or use a communication channel.

MQ Connector

Supports workload execution via the MQ messaging protocol using synchronous and asynchronous communication.

Universal Controller tasks that have been set so that they cannot run at the same time.

N


Network Fault Tolerance

The fault tolerance feature of Universal Agent that allows Universal Command, Universal Connector, and Universal Data Mover components to recover from network errors.

Notification

Either a message attached to a task that is sent by that task via email or SNMP when triggered by an event to that task, or a message sent by a Universal Automation Center component (Agent, OMS Server, or Cluster Node) via email or SNMP when triggered by a status change (Offline to Active, or Active to Offline) to that component.

O


OMS

(See Universal Message Service.)

OMS Clients

Universal Automation Center Agent (UAG) and the Universal Controller product components of Universal Automation Center that utilize OMS.

Opswise Controller

Former name of Universal Controller.

Outboard

The Automation Center 5.1.0 Message Hub, Transporter, and Command Line Interface (CLI).

P


Passive Cluster Node

In a Universal Controller High Availability environment, a Cluster Node that is available to perform all system processing functions but currently can perform only a limited number of processing functions. (See Active Cluster Node.)

Per-machine Installation

Agent installation available for all user accounts on the the machine where the Agent is installed.

Per-user Installation

Agent installation available only for the user account that performed the installation.

A set of user-defined Universal Controller records that controls user access to a type of Universal Controller record, such as a task or trigger and the types actions can be taken on that type of record, such as create or delete.

PKI (Public Key Infrastructure)

A system of digital certificates, CAs, and other registration authorities that verify and authenticate the validity of each party involved in an Internet transaction.

Promoting

(See Bundling and Promoting.)

The means by which you configure Universal Controller.

Proxy Certificates

A certificate that is derived from, and signed by, a normal X.509 Public Key End Entity Certificate or by another proxy certificate for the purpose of providing restricted proxying and delegation within a PKI-based authentication system.

Publish

Create a URL of an existing Universal Controller report.

Publish MEP (Message Exchange Pattern)

An asynchronous outbound workload execution event that sends a message from an application or service to a target destination. This means that you can request execution of a workload using the JMS protocol to a target JMS provider.

Q


Query

A request made by the Universal Agent Universal Query utility to any Universal Broker for Broker-related and active component-related information.

R


RACF

Resource Access Control Facility: an IBM security system that provides access control and auditing functionality for the z/OS operating system.

An entry in the Universal Controller database created via the user interface.

Starting and stopping a Universal Broker, which refreshes it.

Directing a Universal Broker to read its configuration data and update its current configuration settings after one or more configuration files have been modified in order for the modified values to take effect.

The ability to initiate work from a manager on a local system that executes on a server on a remote system. The Universal Command component of Universal Agent is used to execute work on a remote system. Universal Data Mover provides access to Universal Command remote execution via its exec command.

Remote Interfaces

The remote interface features of Universal Controller: Command Line Interface (CLI) and RESTful Web Service API.

Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

The most common messaging pattern in SOAP. In RPC, one network node (the client) sends a request message to another node (the server). The server immediately sends a response message to the client. This type of transaction also is known as "request / reply."

Request / Reply MEP (Message Exchange Pattern)

An outbound request to a target workload followed by an inbound reply from a target workload. This is a synchronous operation, as the calling party waits, or blocks, for the reply to come back before releasing its resources and moving on to the next task.

Universal Controller records that define your Universal Automation Center system and that you set up to help facilitate operations. Agents, Cluster Nodes, and OMS Servers (among others) are all defined as Universal Automation Center resources.

An API that lets you perform Universal Controller tasks.

A pre-defined collection of administrative functions that can be assigned to users and/or user groups.

RSA

A Public/private key.

S


Universal Controller feature that allows you to store scripts and SAP definition files in its database for execution on a remote target.

Operations that help you maintain and administer your Universal Controller installation.

Servers

Universal Agent component initiated either by a client or the Universal Broker. All servers are started by the Universal Broker. A manager can request that the Broker initiates a server on its behalf, and the manager and server then work together to perform a service, or a server can be started automatically by the Broker when the Broker starts and stopped when the Broker stops.

slushbucket

Allows a user to select multiple items from a list of available items. A slushbucket has two columns: the available items on the left and the selected items on the right.

SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol: an Internet-standard protocol for managing devices on IP networks. The Universal Controller SNMP Manager is a network manager to which SNMP Notifications can be sent.

SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture)

Provides methods for systems development and integration where systems group functionality around business processes, and package these as interoperable services. SOA also describes IT infrastructure, which allows different applications to exchange data with one another as they participate in business processes.

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)

A lightweight XML-based messaging protocol used to encode the information in web service request and response messages before sending them over a network. SOAP messages can be transported using a variety of Internet protocols. SOAP is used predominantly to provide an interface to web service-based workload or legacy workload with a web service interface.

SOAP Connector

Component that allows the sending and receiving of SOAP messages.

SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act)

A law enacted to ensure accurate financial reporting by public companies.

SSL encryption

An encryption method that uses SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol to encrypt private documents for transmission via the Internet. SSL uses two keys to encrypt data - a public key known to everyone and a private key known only to the recipient of the message.

STDIN, STDOUT, STDERR

Standard data streams between a computer program and its environment: standard in, standard out, and standard error.

sudo

A program for Unix-like operating systems that allows users to run programs with the security privileges of another user (normally the superuser). Its name is a concatenation of the su command (which grants the user a shell of another user, normally the superuser) and do (take action).

sys_id

System ID field in the database for a Record. (See UUID.)

Method of installing Universal Agent that uses UNIX operating system vendor installation tools to install the Agent in the vendor-recommended installation directories. (See User Mode Installation.)

T


A Universal Controller record that defines a process to be executed on a local or remote machine.

Task Instance

A task that has been launched (selected to be run). Once a task has been launched, its task instance can be in any of multiple statuses.

Tomcat

Third-party software that serves as a container for the Controller.

For pre-5.2.x release of Universal Controller; the enterprise bus for the Universal Controller Unified Server Processes as well as the TCP/IP transport layer for the #Outboard components.

A Universal Controller record that specifies times and/or events that trigger the launching one or more tasks.

U


UAG Crossgrade

(See Crossgrade.)

A Universal Enterprise Controller utility that provides a command line interface enabling you to add, delete, view, and export data from the Universal Enterprise Controller database tables.

A Universal Event Monitor utility that manages the Universal Event Monitor event definition and event handler database files.

Universal Agent

(aka: Agent) The Universal Automation Center solution that provides for cross-platform job scheduling. Each installation of Universal Agent, commonly referred to as an Agent, is comprised of comprised of Universal Broker, Universal Automation Center Agent, and one or more other Universal Agent components (such as Universal Command and/or Universal Data Mover).

A set of Universal Agent utilities, included in every Universal Agent installation package, that let you perform a variety of functions for one or more operating systems.

Universal Automation Center

The Stonebranch enterprise workload automation solutions comprising Universal Controller 6.7.x and Universal Agent 6.7.x.

The Universal Agent component that provides agent services for a Universal Controller, enabling the Controller to schedule workload, transfer files, and monitor events on the Agent system.

The Universal Agent component, required on all systems running the Agent, that manages all other Agent components. It receives requests to start (or restart) a component on behalf of a user (person or component), and tracks and reports on all components that it has started until their completion.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you create digital certificates and private keys.

The core component for Universal Agent's enterprise scheduling functionality that allows you to extend the command line interface of a local operating system to the command line interface of any remote system that can be reached on a computer network.

The SOA "Publisher" that lets you extend the workload execution and management features of Universal Agent to Internet and message-based workload.

A command line interface that lets you manage PeopleSoft background processing tasks from any scheduling system on any platform.

A command line interface that lets you manage SAP background processing tasks from any scheduling system on any platform.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you start and stop Universal Agent components, and to refresh component configuration data.

The Universal Automation Center solution that provides workload automation and job scheduling; commonly referred to as the Controller.

Universal Controller for Agent Management (UCAM) is a special version of Universal Controller configured to provide Agent Management functions.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you copy files from either Universal Agent manager-to-server or server-to-manager.

The Universal Agent component that facilitates the secure transfer of data, initiated from any platform in your environment, between any platforms in your environment.

The Universal Agent utility that allows you to dump one or more databases for backup and restore purposes.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you restore a database that has been previously dumped.

The Universal Agent utility, available for the IBM i operating system only, that lets you read job log files, write them to standard out, and delete the files after they are read.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you encrypt the contents of command files into an unintelligible format (for privacy reasons).

The Universal Agent component that provides alerts for activity and availability of Workload Automation components and Agents installed throughout your enterprise. It prevents jobs from starting and files from being transferred or processed during hardware failures or network issues.

A suite of three stand-alone client applications (I-Activity Monitor, I-Management Console, and I-Administrator) for Windows operating systems that are used to manage and provide visibility to the Universal Agent infrastructure.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you select records from one of the Windows event logs and writes them to a specified output file.

The Universal Agent component that provides a platform-independent means of monitoring local and remote system events, and executing system commands and scripts based on the outcome of those events.

The SOA "Listener" that integrates Internet and message-based applications with systems management functions, letting you create file-based events from inbound Internet and message-based messages, and write the events to file.

A subsystem of Universal Enterprise Controller that records, routes, and manages event messages generated by Universal Agent components.

Network communication provider between Universal Controller 6.7.x and Universal Agent 6.7.x. OMS is installed as a component of Universal Agent 6.7.x.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you translates error messages into return (exit) codes based on a user-defined translation table.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you merge options and values from one component configuration file or component definition file with another.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you query any Universal Broker for Broker-related and active component-related information.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you end a process with a return code that is equal to its command line argument.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you list database records. The functions that Universal Spool List provide are required for possible database clean-up or problem resolution at the direction of Stonebranch, Inc. Customer Support.

The Universal Agent utility that lets you remove component records from the Stonebranch databases. Universal Spool Remove should only be used at the direction of Stonebranch, Inc. Customer Support.

This Universal Agent utility is a command for the iSeries environment that lets you encapsulate the IBM Submit Job (SBMJOB) command.

A type of Universal Controller Task that executes a user-defined script contained in the Universal Template on which the task is based.

A Universal Controller record containing a user-defined script that is executed by a Universal Task based on that template.

This Universal Agent utility is a command line utility for the z/OS UNIX System Services (USS) environment that lets you issue messages to z/OS consoles.

The default mode of operations for Universal Broker that allows it - and the Universal Agent components managed by it - to be configured either locally (by editing configuration files) or remotely (via the I-Management Console). (See Managed Mode.)

User-Defined Variable

An Universal Controller variable defined by a user.

Method of installing Universal Agent that uses a Stonebranch script to install the product in user-selected directories. The user mode method supports multiple installs of differing versions or the same versions. (See System Installation.)

Utility Agent

A Windows, Linux/Unix, or z/OS Agent that communicates with an Indesca Agent.

UUID

Label in the user interface Metadata for a #Record. (See sys_id.)

V


A variable, either user-defined or built-in by Universal Controller, that can be used in free text fields within Tasks.

A Universal Controller resource that allows you to set up a throttling scheme that will manage the number of specific tasks that can run at one time.

W


Web Services Description Language (WSDL)

An XML-based language that provides a model for describing Web services. WSDL is often used in combination with SOAP and XML Schema to provide web services over the Internet.

WebSphere XD (Extended Deployment) Environment

An environment designed to set up, operate, and integrate e-business applications across multiple computing platforms using Java-based Web technologies.

User-selected information displayed on the Dashboards.

A task that is a set of Universal Controller Tasks and/or sub-workflows.

Workflow Editor

The Universal Controller graphical interface that lets you create and modify workflows.

Workflow Monitor

The Universal Controller graphical interface that lets you monitor the status of running workflows.

Workload

Jobs, processes, applications, and services that require execution, usually in a scheduler or automation-based environment.

X


X.509 certificates

Digital certificate issued by a CA that is defined according to the X.509 standard for defining digital certificates.

XBP (eXternal Background Processing) 3.0

The primary SAP interface used by Universal Agent.

XD Connector

Supports workload execution within the WebSphere Extended Deployment environment using synchronous communication via the SOAP protocol.

Z


z/OS USS

z/OS UNIX shell and utilities that provide an interactive interface to z/OS and for which Universal Agent for z/OS can be installed.