Overview

Universal Agent features are implemented via a set of inter-related components that provide for a complete independent scheduling agent business solution. One or more components provide the technical structure for the implementation of every feature.

This page provides a description of each component that comprises Universal Agent. Each description provides links to the technical documentation (Reference and Quick Reference Guides) specific to that component. Reference Guides provide detailed technical information about the usage, syntax, format, and values of component commands and configuration options, as well as other information specific to the component. Quick Reference Guides provide summary information on the usage, syntax, format, and values of component commands or configuration options.

Stonebranch also provides separate documents for the installation of operating system-specific component packages and for component-specific error messaging. For links to these documents, see Additional Documentation.

Universal Command

Universal Command (UCMD), the core component for Universal Agent's enterprise scheduling functionality, 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. Any type of program, command, or script file that can be run from the command line interface can be run by Universal Command.

The Universal Command interface is operating-system independent. The remote and local systems can be running two different operating systems.

Universal Command consists of two components:

Manager, on the local system, extends a command line interface to a remote system.
Server, on the remote system, executes commands on behalf of the manager.

The manager supplies input files to, and receives output files from, the remote command on the server in real-time. As long as the remote command is running, the manager runs. When the remote command ends, the manager ends with the exit status of the remote command. With standard out and standard error as well as the exit status of the remote command available from the manager, there is no need for access to or expertise on the remote operating system.

As such, Universal Command interfaces with your platform-specific job scheduling solutions, providing visibility and control throughout your entire enterprise. This enables you to have an end-to-end view of all workload activity.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Command, see the following documents:

Universal Command 7.8.x Reference Guide

Universal Command 7.8.x Quick Reference Guides

Universal Command Agent for SOA

Universal Command Agent for SOA - the SOA "Publisher" - lets you extend the workload execution and management features of Universal Agent to Internet and message-based workload. It receives its payload input from Universal Command through STDIN. When the parameters and data are passed in, the workload execution request is processed and any return data is passed back to Universal Command. It lets you invoke these workloads using protocols such as JMS, HTTP, and SOAP.

Universal Command Agent for SOA can be initiated from a variety of sources, regardless of platform, such as one or more job scheduling systems, workflow engines, or EAI tools, as well as from business applications and end users, enabling you to consolidate your Internet and message-based workload within your current enterprise scheduling environment.

Universal Command Agent for SOA enables you to:

Consolidate your Internet and message-based workload within your current Enterprise Scheduling environment.
Use your existing scheduler, or other workload management applications, along with your new or existing Stonebranch components.
Use your existing development, test, and production business processes.
Use a single point of workload execution that is not tied to specific vendor hardware or software platforms.

Note

Universal Event Monitor for SOA - the SOA "Listener" - is a file-based event monitoring component available for use with Universal Agent that can be triggered by internet and message-based events.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Command Agent for SOA, see the following documents:

Universal Command Agent for SOA 7.8.x Reference Guide

Getting Started with Universal Command Agent for SOA - MQ Connector

Getting Started with Universal Command Agent for SOA - XD Connector

Universal Data Mover

Universal Data Mover (UDM) is the core component for Universal Data Mover's managed file transfer functionality. In a secure and automated manner, it allows you to transfer data between any platforms in your environment and initiated from any platform.

Every Universal Data Mover transfer operation is comprised of three components: manager, primary server, and secondary server. The manager receives commands from the user through an interactive session and/or an external script file. It then establishes a transfer session, invoking the primary and secondary servers, which actually conduct the transfer operations. Data is transferred between the servers, with either able to act as the source in a transfer operation.

A transfer session can either be two-party or three-party:

In a two-party transfer session, the manager also serves as the primary transfer server. Transfer operations occur between the manager/primary server and the secondary server.
In a three-party transfer session, the manager acts solely as a control point for transfer operations, sending commands to the primary and secondary servers to be executed. Transfer operations take place between the two machines under which these servers are running.

The extensive integration capabilities of Universal Data Mover allow data to be pre- and post-processed.

Universal Data Mover exceeds current security and auditing requirements, including SOX, GLBA, and HIPAA. It supports the most modern security standards and methodology, including SSL/TLS encryption, X.509 certificates, and proxy certificates.

If there is a connection failure, Universal Data Mover ensures that all interrupted transfers resume without manual intervention. It integrates with your existing workload management solution to issue alerts if connections are not reestablished after an acceptable time interval.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Data Mover, see the following documents:

Universal Data Mover 7.8.x Reference Guide

Universal Data Mover 7.8.x Quick Reference Guide

Universal Event Monitor

Universal Event Monitor (UEM) 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.

It integrates with your workload management infrastructure to initiate both movement of the data to the appropriate platform and immediate processing of the data as soon as it is available; that is, by executing system commands and scripts based on the outcome of the events that it is monitoring.

Universal Event Monitor detects file creation in real-time on the operating system level and invokes a "handler" to take action on every file matching predefined criteria - whether it is renaming it, processing it locally, moving the file to another server, or notifying your job scheduling system to initiate further processing. It provides rule-based alerts and notifications that enable you to immediately handle any issues that may arise.

Universal Event Monitor can run in either of two modes: demand-driven or event-driven.

In demand-driven mode, the Universal Event Monitor manager provides the Universal Event Monitor server with event definitions and event handlers, which is a command or script that the server executes based on the outcome of the event. This can be initiated from any system running Universal Agent and scheduled through your scheduling engine.
In event-driven mode, a server monitors one or more system events simultaneously based on event definitions stored in its event definition database. The server monitors each event until it is no longer active, or until the event-driven server ends.
Universal Event Monitor supports the most modern security standards and methodology, including SSL/TLS encryption.

UEMLoad

The UEMLoad utility handles all event definition and event handler database management tasks, including adds, updates, deletes, and lists / exports. UEMLoad forwards database requests to a UEM Server, which validates the information.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Event Monitor and UEMLoad, see the following documents:

Universal Event Monitor 7.8.x Reference Guide

Universal Event Monitor 7.8.x Quick Reference Guide

UEMLoad 7.8.x Quick Reference Guide

Universal Event Monitor for SOA

Universal Event Monitor for SOA - the SOA "Listener" - lets you create file-based events from inbound Internet and message-based messages, and write the events to file.

It integrates Internet and message-based applications with systems management functions such as alerting and notification, incident and problem management, job scheduling, and data movement.

Note

Universal Command Agent for SOA - the SOA "Publisher" - is a workload execution component available for use with Universal Agent.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Event Monitor for SOA, see the following document:

Universal Event Monitor for SOA 7.8.x Reference Guide

Universal Enterprise Controller

Universal Enterprise Controller (UEC) provides alerts for activity and availability of the Universal Agent components installed throughout your enterprise. It prevents jobs from starting and files from being transferred or processed during hardware failures or network issues.

Universal Enterprise Controller issues alerts when a component becomes unreachable or unavailable, as well as when the component is again available. These alerts can be picked up by your automation tool and used to pause the submission of jobs and file transfers for nodes that are unavailable, and resume submission once network connectivity or system availability has been reestablished, without manual intervention. You can route these alerts to your existing automation console. This allows for a simple, quick and comprehensive integration, as these systems can remain unchanged when additional agents are added to your infrastructure.

Universal Enterprise Controller installs on a single, central platform, providing the management layer that enables the Universal Event Subsystem, I-Activity Monitor, I-Management Console, and I-Administrator to centralize visibility and management of your workload infrastructure.

UECLoad

UECLoad is a command line application that permits Universal Enterprise Controller users to add, delete, and view Agents in the Universal Enterprise Controller database.

Via UECLoad, a user can add or delete individual Agents, or supply an Agents definition file (deffile) with definitions to be added or deleted from Universal Enterprise Controller. UECLoad also can be used to export audit and history records created with the Universal Event Subsystem to multiple formats including text, html, and csv.

Universal Event Subsystem

The Universal Event Subsystem (UES) records, routes, and manages event messages generated by Universal Agent components. Event messages are generated whenever a component performs an action that impacts the computing environment on which it executes. The records are stored centrally and can be exported for audit and history reporting, as well as for archival.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Enterprise Controller, UECLoad, and the Universal Event Subsystem, see the following documents:

Universal Enterprise Controller 7.8.x Reference Guide

Universal Event Subsystem 7.8.x Event Definitions

UECLoad 7.8.x Quick Reference Guide

Universal Enterprise Controller Client Applications

Universal Enterprise Controller Client Applications are a suite of three stand-alone client applications for Windows operating systems used to manage and provide visibility to the Universal Agent infrastructure:

I-Activity Monitor
I-Management Console
I-Administrator

I-Activity Monitor

The I-Activity Monitor client application provides you with end-to-end visibility of workload management activity throughout your Universal Agent environment.

It provides a graphical user interface for displaying information about the current status and posted alerts for all Agents and SAP systems being monitored by Universal Enterprise Controller.

Whether the workload consists of regular jobs, scripts or commands, I-Activity Monitor lets you see where all processes are executed, as well as when, where, and how they were initiated.

I-Activity Monitor also identifies Universal Data Mover file transfer jobs, the current state of each transfer, and every instruction executed in a file transfer script. This enables you to know exactly which files have been transferred and which files are still pending.

In addition, I-Activity Monitor can display activity regardless of whether it was initiated by a scheduling system, workflow engine, business application, or end user.

I-Management Console

The I-Management Console client application provides a graphical user interface for remote configuration of all Agents in an enterprise. From a single machine, you can configure a single Agent's components or, simultaneously, multiple Agents.

With I-Management Console, you can define standard security access and authentication policies and ensure that they are active across all servers. You can define which users are allowed to change the policies. An audit log lets you determine when changes were made - and who made them.

I-Management Console lets you distribute configuration information to any server, regardless of its operating system or Universal Agent release level. It knows which properties apply for each individual Agent based upon release level and operating system, and will only send the appropriate properties to each Agent.

I-Administrator

The I-Administrator client application lets you maintain information on all Agents that Universal Enterprise Controller monitors and the SAP systems to which Universal Enterprise Controller has access. It lets you add, modify, and delete users, Agents, groups, and SAP systems.

I-Administrator also lets you maintain Universal Enterprise Controller users and their permissions.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Enterprise Controller Client Applications, see the following document:

Universal Enterprise Controller Client Applications 7.8.x User Guide

Universal Connector for SAP

Universal Connector for SAP (USAP) is a command line interface that controls background processing within an SAP system, allowing any computer on a network to manage SAP background processing tasks from any scheduling system on any platform.

When Universal Connector is told which SAP system to connect to and what background processing tasks to perform, it connects to that SAP system and processes the request.

Universal Connector provides the functionality to integrate SAP systems into both local administrative tools and enterprise system management infrastructures. It lets you extend your existing scheduling tools to SAP batch workloads, enabling you to manage all of your scheduling activities from one tool.

Certified by SAP, Universal Connector uses standard SAP interfaces only, such as XBP3.0, without installing any modules into the SAP environment or onto a SAP server. It installs on a single central platform and connects to any number of SAP systems.

Universal Connector integrates with your output management tools to provide central audit and archive capability for both SAP joblogs and spoollists. Additionally, error messages logged to the SAP system log during the job's execution are copied to its joblog, enabling you to identify and resolve SAP batch issues without requiring access to the SAP system.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Connector, see the following documents:

Universal Connector for SAP 7.8.x Reference Guide

Universal Connector for SAP 7.8.x Quick Reference Guide

Universal Broker

Universal Broker (UB), required on all systems running Universal Agent, manages Universal Agent components.

It receives requests to start (or restart) a component on behalf of a user (person or component). Universal Broker tracks and reports on all components that it has started until their completion.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Broker, see the following documents:

Universal Broker 7.8.x Reference Guide

Universal Automation Center Agent (UAG)

Universal Automation Center Agent (UAG) provides agent services for Universal Controller, the Stonebranch, Inc. workload automation solution that performs job scheduling, file transfer, and event monitoring across all server platforms in the enterprise.

UAG enables the Controller to schedule workload, transfer files, and monitor events on a Universal Agent system, integrating with the Controller to provide distributed, workload automation throughout the enterprise.

UAG automatically starts when the Universal Broker starts and stops when the Universal Broker stops.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Automation Center Agent, see the following documents:

Universal Automation Center Agent 7.8.x Reference Guide

Universal Message Service (OMS)

Universal Message Service (OMS) is the network communication provider between Universal Controller 7.8.x and Universal Agent 7.8.x.

OMS can be configured to automatically start/restart when the Universal Broker starts/restarts and stop when the Universal Broker stops. It also can be configured to start/restart manually.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Message Service, see the following document:

Universal Message Service (OMS) 7.8.x Reference Guide

Universal Controller Command Line Interface

Universal Controller Command Line Interface (CLI) is a set of commands that perform specific actions in a Universal Controller for executing work on an Agent.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Controller Command Line Interface, see the following documents:

Universal Controller Remote Interfaces

Universal Agent Utilities

Universal Agent Utilities perform a variety of functions for one or more operating systems (some utilities are operating-system specific).

Universal Certificate

Universal Agent supports X.509 version 1 and version 3 certificates to securely identify users and computer systems. Although implementing a fully featured PKI infrastructure is beyond the scope of Universal Agent, if your organization has not yet established one, you can use Universal Certificate (UCERT) to create digital certificates and private keys.

Universal Control

Universal Control (UCTL) provides the ability to start and stop Universal Agent components, and to refresh component configuration data.

Universal Copy

Universal Copy (UCOPY) provides a means to copy files from either manager-to-server or server-to-manager. (For full-featured managed file transfer, see #Universal Data Mover.)

Universal Database Dump

Universal Database Dump (UDBDUMP), tailored specifically for Stonebranch databases, allows you to dump one or more databases for back-up and restore purposes.

Universal Database Load

Universal Database Load (UDBLOAD), tailored specifically for Stonebranch databases, allows you to restore a database that has been previously dumped.

Universal Display Log File

Universal Display Log File (UDSPLOGF) is available for the IBM i operating system only, lets you read job log files, write them to standard out, and, optionally, delete the files after read.

Universal Encrypt

Universal Encrypt (UENCRYPT) encrypts the contents of command files into an unintelligible format (for privacy reasons).

Although all Universal Agent command line options can be encrypted using Universal Encrypt, most organizations use it to encrypt and store authentication credentials such as userid or password. The encrypted command file can be decrypted only by Stonebranch product programs. No decrypt command is provided to decrypt the command file.

Universal Event Log Dump

Universal Event Log Dump (UELD) lets you select records from one of the Windows event logs and write them to a specified output file.

All records from a log can be dumped, or event records can be selected according to the date and time that they were generated. Universal Event Log Dump can be run any time as a stand-alone application. It also is designed to work with Universal Command, which provides centralized control from any operating system and additional options for redirecting output.

Universal FTP Client

Universal FTP Client (UFTP) transfers files to and from servers using any of the following file transfer protocols: FTP, FTPS, SFTP, and TFTP.

UFTP on a local machine (localhost) communicates with FTP Server software on a remote host and transfers files specified on its command line to another file on the client/server.

Files can be listed using a comma as a delimiter (a comma-delimited list of files). The transfer result is never concatenated in a single file; each file copies to a file of the same name.

Universal Message Translator

Universal Message Translator (UMET) translates error messages into return (exit) codes based on a user-defined translation table.

Every command ends with a return code that indicates the success or failure of the command execution. Typically, a return code of 0 indicates success; all other codes indicate failure. However, a small number of commands do not set their return code under failure conditions; instead, they issue error messages. Based on the user-defined translation table, Universal Message Translator translates these error messages into return codes.

Universal Install Merge

Universal Install Merge (UPIMERGE) merges options and values from one component configuration file or component definition file with another.

UPIMERGE runs automatically during a Universal Agent installation upgrades on UNIX and Windows. During the install, UPIMERGE combines options and values from existing configuration and component definition files with the options and values in the most recent versions of those files (delivered with the distribution package). The result of each merge is a single file, with preserved options and values residing alongside any new options and values that were introduced to support new Universal Agent features.

Universal Query

Universal Query (UQUERRY) queries any Universal Broker for Broker-related and active component-related information. You can issue Universal Query from any Universal Agent installation to query any Universal Broker in the Stonebranch infrastructure.

Universal Return Code

Universal Return Code (URC) is a Windows utility that performs the function of ending a process with a return code that is equal to its command line argument.

The return code of a Windows batch script is the return code of the last command executed. You can use Universal Return Code as the last command to set the return code of the batch script to something different than the return code of the last command executed.

Universal Spool List

Universal Spool List (USLIST) 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.

Universal Spool Remove

Universal Spool Remove (USLRM) lets you remove component records from the Stonebranch databases. However, you should use Universal Spool Remove only at the direction of Stonebranch, Inc. Customer Support.

Universal Submit Job

Universal Submit Job (USBMJOB) is a command for the IBM i operating system that encapsulates the IBM Submit Job (SBMJOB) command.

Universal Submit Job builds on the functionality of SBMJOB by providing a job submission command that better suits the needs of a remote user issuing IBM i commands via Universal Agent.

Universal Write-to-Operator

Universal Write-to-Operator (UWTO) is a command line utility for the z/OS UNIX System Services (USS) environment.

Universal Write-to-Operator lets you issue two types of messages to z/OS consoles:

Write-To-Operator (WTO) messages
Write-To-Operator-with-Reply (WTOR) messages.

Technical Documentation

For detailed information on Universal Agent Utilities, see the following documents:

Universal Agent Utilities 7.8.x Reference Guide

Universal Certificate 7.8.x Quick Reference Guide

Universal Control 7.8.x Quick Reference Guide

Universal Query 7.8.x Quick Reference Guide

Additional Documentation

In addition to component-specific documentation, Stonebranch also provides the following documentation for Universal Agent:

Installation and Administration

Universal Agent 7.8.x Installation, Upgrade, and Applying Maintenance

Universal Agent 7.8.x Administration

Universal Agent 7.8.x Installation Requirements and Summary

Universal Agent 7.8.x Installation Quick Start Guides

Messages and Codes

Universal Agent 7.8.x Messages and Codes

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