UC_SYSTEM_SETTINGS - System-Wide Settings

The predefined system VARA object UC_SYSTEM_SETTINGS is available in client 0 and contains settings that apply throughout an entire AE system.

Validity

Value

Restart required

AGENT_COUNT_PER_IP

This setting defines whether the IP address of agents should be used for checking the license.

Allowed values: "Y" (default) and "N"
"Y" - The IP address is used for checking the agent's license. The license is not counted if an agent of the same IP address is already logged on.
"N" - The IP address in not checked when the agent logs on. This saves time when numerous agents log on. Note that every agents requires its own license in this case.

No

AGENT_LOG_CHANGE_PER_MINUTE

The maximum number of log-file changes for agents (per minute).

Allowed values: 20 to n
Default value: 60

No

AGENTGROUP_CHECK_INTERVAL

The interval in minutes at which tasks that are waiting for the host of an agent group are checked.

Allowed values: 1 to 60
Default value: 10

No

AUTOMATIC_MQ_REORG

Determines if the message queue tables are to be reorganized automatically or not (Oracle databases only).

Allowed values: "Y" and "N" (default)

 
BACKENDVAR_MAX_ROWS

The maximum number of lines that a BACKEND-type Variable object returns.

Allowed values: 0 to 20000

Default value: 200

No
CANCEL_ALL_CHECK_ATTEMPTS

This value specifies how often the status of the workflow structure that is to be canceled recursively will be checked.

Allowed values: 1 to 100

Default value: 10

No
CANCEL_ALL_CHECK_TIMEOUT

This value specifies the interval (seconds) in which the status of the workflow structure that is to be canceled recursively will be checked.

Allowed values: 1 to 100

Default value: 5

No
CAU_PARALLEL_LIMIT

This key sets a limit for the number of agents that can be upgraded in your system at the same time during a Centralized Agent Upgrade (CAU).

The value is applied per platform (Windows or UNIX). Therefore, if you upgrade two different platforms at the same time, in each 1000 agents will be upgraded (default value).

If you set this value to "0" the CAU will be disabled and no agent will be upgraded. This only applies to manual upgrades initiated by AWI users and not to the automatic mechanism which currently cannot be disabled using this parameter. As a workaround you can rename the corresponding storage object in client 0.

Allowed values: 0 to 100000

Default value: 1000

No

CHANGE_LOGGING_DAYS

The time period in days after which the log files are changed.

Allowed values: 1 to 32767
Default value: 14

No

CHANGE_LOGGING_MB

The size in MB after which the log files are changed.

Allowed values: 1 to 32767
Default value: 20

No

COMBINED_ACTIVITIES_LIMIT

This value specifies the maximum number of tasks to be displayed in the task list.

Default value: 500

No
CONDITION_CHECK_INTERVAL

The time interval in seconds at which the Preconditions tab of workflows is rechecked.

Default value: 60

No
DEFAULT_REPORT_SCAN_MEMORY

The size in MB which is requested by default for the output analysis when you read a report.

Allowed values: 1 to 50
Default value: 2

No
DEFAULT_TASKLIST_TIMESPAN

The time frame in hours that is applied to show the executions that have been deactivated during this period of time. See also: Filtering by Time Frame

Allowed values: Integers
Default value: 12 (Only available when the Include deactivated tasks option is ticked, otherwise No Time Frame is the default setting)

 

DELETE_CHECKBACK_LIMIT

Determines if the system must check if objects to be deleted are used in other objects before deleting them.

Minimum value: 1
Default value: 10

No

DISABLE_USER_HEADER

No user-defined Include objects are called in the Headers and Trailers of Job objects that run on the platforms that are defined here.

Allowed values: BS2000, CIT, JMX, MPE, MVS, NSK, OS400, PS, SAP, SAPBW, SIEBEL, UNIX, VMS, WINDOWS or *ALL.

Separate values by using commas.

By default, all available Includes are executed.

No

EXT_DEP_ENDED_LOST_RUNNING

Handling of tasks in external dependencies.
The following values are possible:

N(o): Tasks with status ENDED_LOST are ignored in external dependencies.

Y(es): Tasks with status ENDED_LOST are handled like every other task in external dependencies.

Allowed values: "N" or "Y".

Default value: "N"

No
ERT_ADAPTIVE_JWP_TIMEOUT

The time in minutes after a system start that the system spends waiting for the availability of a JWP in order to calculate the adaptive ERT.

Allowed values: 1 to 60
Default value: 5

No

EXECUTE_ON_EXCEPTION

The object to start if a message is put into quarantine.

No

EXTERNAL_CHECK_INTERVAL

Interval in minutes at which external workflow dependencies are checked.

Allowed values: 1 to 1440
Default value: 10

No

GENERIC_ACTIVITIES_LIMIT

This value defines the maximum number of tasks returned for requests of the tasks list.

Allowed values: 0 to 20000
Default value: 5000

No

GENERIC_AUTO_FORECAST_LIMIT

The maximum number of Auto Forecast results to be displayed.

Allowed values: 0 to 20000
Default value: 5000

No

GENERIC_SEARCH_LIMIT

The maximum number of search results to be displayed.

Allowed values: 0 to 20000
Default value: 5000

No

GENERIC_STATISTICS_LIMIT

The maximum number of statistical records to be displayed.

Allowed values: 0 to 20000
Default value: 5000

No

GET_PROCESS_LINE_RTRIM

The handling of blanks in a line that is read by using the script function GET_PROCESS_LINE.

Allowed values: 0 and 1 (default)

0 - GET_PROCESS_LINE leaves blanks at the end unchanged.
1 - GET_PROCESS_LINE truncates blanks at the end.

No
JWP_KEYSTORE_PATH

Definition for an alternative keystore path the JWP should use instead of the JRE default keystore location. Paths can be local or network paths, use of the UNC format is possible.

Allowed value: <path_to keystore_file/filename>

Yes
JWP_KEYSTORE_LOGIN

Definition for the usage of a Login object which provides a password for type 'JWP_KEYSTORE'.
This password is needed for accessing the JWP keystore file defined with the key JWP_KEYSTORE_PATH.

Allowed value: <name_of_the_login_object>

No
KDC

Enables or disables Kerberos Distribution Center (KDC) authentication for a whole system.

Allowed values: "Y[es]" or "N[o]"

If this switch is not set, an internal default value of "N[o]" is assumed.

No

LAST_USE

The time delay in minutes after which the objects' usage counter is refreshed.

Allowed values: 0 to 10
Default value: 0
(no refresh)

No

LDAP

LDAP connection.

Allowed values: Y and N (default value)
Y - LDAP is used
N - LDAP is not used

No

LOG_TO_DATABASE

This saves the server log in the AE database.

Allowed values: Y (default value) and N

Y - The Automation Engine's log messages are saved in the AE database.
N - The Automation Engine's log messages are not saved in the AE database.

Server

MAX_EXPORT_COUNT

The maximum number of objects to be exported at the same time.

Allowed values: 0 to 1000000
Default value: 1000

No

MAX_IMPORT_SIZE

The maximum size (KB) of the XML file to be imported.

To use this setting correctly, you need also to set the maxMsgSize setting in the [TCP/IP] section of the UCSRV.INI file for the Automation Engine.

Allowed values: 0 to 30720
Default value: 30720

UserInterface

MAX_REPORT_SCAN_MEMORY

The maximum size in MB which is requested for reading an Output Analysis report.

Allowed values: 1 to 100
Default value: 10

No
MAXIMUM_STORE_RESOURCE_SIZE

The maximum size of resources attached to the Storage object, in bytes.

Allowed values: 0 to 71 MB (74448896 bytes)
Default value: 71 MB (74448896 bytes)

UserInterface

MIN_EVENT_INTERVAL

The minimum interval (minutes) at which events are executed.

Allowed values: 0 to 9999
Default value: 1

No

MQA_COUNT_BACK

The number of server messages to be buffered in the server computer's random access memory.

Allowed values: 0 to 1000
Default value: 0

No
MQ_BLOCK_COUNT

The number of blocks after which the message queue is to be reorganized (Oracle databases only).

Allowed values: 0 to 100000
Default value: 64

No
MQ_CHECK_TIME

The interval (seconds) at which message queues are checked (Oracle databases only).

Allowed values: 0 to 1000000
Default value: 600

Value 0 means that no check is made.

No
OBJECT_ACCESS_CLIENT_ZERO

Determines user access to objects in the system client from other clients in the Automation Engine system.

Allowed values: "Y[es]" or "N[o]"

Default value: "Y"

 

PASSWORD_EXIT

The name including the path of the generated server program library for an external password check.
Max. 256 characters

Server

PASSWORD_EXIT_PARAM

This serves to assign parameters for a password check.
Max. 256 characters

Server

PASSWORD_CHANGE

Modifies the password.

Allowed values: Y (default) and N
Y - The password can be changed.
N - The password must not be changed.

UserInterface

RECONNECT_TIME

The interval (seconds) at which the server processes attempt to establish a connection.

Allowed values: 10 to 3600
Default value: 60

Server

REPORT_BLKSIZE

The maximum size of the logging block (bytes) to be transferred at the same time.

Allowed values: 3600 to 8000
Default value: 8000

Server

REPORT_TIME

The interval (seconds) at which the server processes send the log to the AE system.

Allowed values: 5 to 3600
Default value: 30

Server

RESERVED_API_USERS

The number of licenses reserved for CallAPI users.

Allowed values: 0 to 32767
Default values: 0

No

RESOLVE_GET_VAR

Determines the behavior of the script function GET_VAR, which was changed in version 9SP4 of the Automation Engine.

Allowed values: "Y"(es) and "N"(o)

"Y"(es) (default): The script function GET_VAR will show the variable's value, i.e. the variable will be resolved (as of version 9SP4).

"N"(o): GET_VAR will not resolve the variable, but show the variable's name, for example: &var# (as customary in versions prior to version 9SP4)

No

SCR_LOOPCHK_TIME

The time period in seconds after which an endless loop is assumed in a script.

Allowed values: 1 to 32767
Default value: 5

No

SERVER_OPTIONS

Various server settings for performance improvement and trace outputs.

Format: 16-digit string

By default, all options are deactivated.

No

SHOW_REPORT_HIERARCHICAL

By using this parameter, you can display reports as subordinate tasks in the Activity Window.

Allowed values: "Y" (default) and "N"

"Y" - The Activity Window displays the report of a task as its child.

"N" - The Activity Window displays reports as individual tasks.

Use the Hierarchical view of the Activity Window in order to have reports displayed as subordinate tasks.

This setting does not affect the statistical information as it always displays reports as child tasks.

No
SMGR_AUTO_SCAN

If set to NO, new agents are not automatically scanned for their Service-Manager connection.

Default value: YES

No
SMGR_PORT_RANGE

Indication of a port number or a port area to be searched for ServiceManager services.

Default value: 8871 (default port of the Service Manager)
Port area: maximum of 10 port numbers

No
SNMP_REFRESH

This setting controls the time interval (in seconds) at which SNMP refreshes the information about blocked workflows.

Allowed values: 0 (= always) to 600
Default value: 10

No
SQLVAR_INTERNAL

This permits the creation and editing of Variable objects of the types "SQL - internal" and "SQL - internal SECURE".

Allowed values: YES and NO (default value)
YES - Internal SQL variables can be created, edited and used.
NO - It is not allowed to create variables that access the AE database. The use of internal SQL variables is not allowed.

No
SQLVAR_MAX_ROWS

The maximum number of lines that can be returned by SQL-type and SQLI-type variables.

Allowed values: 0 to 20000
Default value: 200

The maximum number of rows must be equal or higher than the number of agents in use. Otherwise, the following error message will be displayed (example):

Job Status: FAULT_OTHER - Start impossible. Other error.

Message: U00003900 Error in object 'PCK.AUTOMIC_FILESYSTEM.PUB.ACTION.CREATE_DIR' (RunID '0001358760') prompt 'PCK.ITPA_SHARED.PRV.PROMPTSET.OVERWRITE_AGENT': Invalid value.

No
SUPPRESS_AGENT_MESSAGES

This parameter allows you to suppress messages while connecting or disconnecting an agent to avoid performance issues.

Allowed values: Y and N (default value)

No
SYNC_BLOCK_COUNT

The number of Sync objects whose log is to be changed per block.

Allowed values: 1 - 1000
Default value: 100

No
SYNC_CHECK_RESTART

Determines whether Sync objects are checked when restarting a canceled job without an Abend action.

Allowed values: Y and N
Y - Sync object is checked when restarting a canceled job without an Abend action.
N - Sync object is not checked, a job is restarted immediately.
Default value: Y

No

TRASHBIN_SHOW_MAX

The maximum number of objects to be displayed in the Recycle Bin.

Allowed values: 0 - 20000
Default value: 5000

No

UNREAD_MESSAGES

The output of unread administrator and security messages.

Allowed values: Y and N
Y - Messages are displayed in the Message Window.
N - Messages are written to the database without being displayed.

No

UNREAD_MESSAGES_BUFFER

The maximum number of unread messages to be kept.

Allowed values: 10 to 5000
Default value: 500

No

VAR_SECURITY_LEVEL

Security level for the replacement of variables in dynamic Variable objects.

Allowed values: "0" (default), "1", "2" or "3"
0 - Variables in VARA objects are not replaced.
1 - Predefined variables can be used provided that they cannot be modified (such as the system date or the RunIND).
2 - Predefined variables can be used provided that their values can be influenced by the user (such as a client's title).
3 - Placeholder for Variable objects, PromptSet variables (in dynamic PromptSet elements).

No
VARIABLE_SERVICE_CHECK_INTERVAL

The interval in minutes at which the resolving of SQL variables is repeated if their values are not available due to an error (for example, the database is not available or incorrect data is specified in the Connection or Login object). The tasks that use these variables are in a waiting condition.

Minimum: 1

Maximum: 60

Default value: 10

No

VERSIONS_SHOW_MAX

The maximum number of objects to be displayed in Version Management.

Allowed values: 0 - 20000
Default value: 5000

No

WORKLOAD_DEFAULT_FT
WORKLOAD_DEFAULT_JOB

The resources that a file transfer or job is to use by default.

Allowed values: 1 to 100000
Default value: 1

No

WP_MIN_NUMBER

Systemwide variable object that determines the minimum number of server processes per node name to be used as work processes (WP) next to the primary work process (PWP). Any additional running server processes are used as Dialog Processes (DWP).

When this number is increased or a work process (WP) shuts down, the existing dialog processes (DWP) are switched back to work processes (WP) until the minimum number of work processes (WP) is reached again.

Format: node name1=number;node name2=number

Allowed values for the numbers: 2 up to the maximum number of work processes

Default value: 5

The node name is defined in the INI file of the Automation Engine.

No

XML_ENCODING

The encoding of the XML files.

Allowed values: ISO-8859-15 (default value), ISO-8859-1 and WINDOWS-1252

No

XML_ENCODING_CHECK

This checks the encoding during the import process.

Allowed values: "Y" or "N"
Default value: "Y"

Y - The import files must have the encoding which was assigned with the key XML_ENCODING.
N - Encoding of the XML files is not checked.

No

ZERO_DOWNTIME_UPGRADE

Enables or disables a mode, which prepares the system for a version upgrade without system downtime.

Allowed values: "Y" or "N"
Default value: "N"

Y - A database upgrade is allowed while the system is fully up and running. New CPs/WPs can be started for working in a compatibility mode, with their peers of a pre-installed version.
N - Database upgrade not possible, if the system is running. All CPs/WPs must have the same version.

During the period of time where, ZERO_DOWNTIME_UPGRADE = Y the system performance will be reduced, because certain system optimizations are not possible in this mode.

 

Description

This variable is supplied in client 0000. Its settings apply for the whole AE system and can only be changed in client 0000.

AE monitors all the values that this variable includes. The administrator receives a message if an attempt is made to store an invalid value in this variable. This message is also written to the Automation Engine's log file. The default value is used instead of the invalid value. If the invalid value is a value range, the system uses the maximum value if the specified maximum value is exceeded. The minimum value is used if a value that lies below the minimum value has been found. The variable's contents remain unchanged.

AGENT_COUNT_PER_IP

An agent's license will be checked when it logs on to the Automation Engine system. By default, the system also verifies whether an agent that is already logged in uses the same IP address. If so, the agent that has newly logged on does not require a separate license.

Checking numerous agents (approx. 1,000) can increase the time that it takes to log on to the system. For this reason, you can also deactivate the IP address check by using the setting AGENT_COUNT_PER_IP.

Every agent that logs on requires its own license when you deactivate this check. Whether or not the IP address has already been used is irrelevant in this case.

 AGENT_LOG_CHANGE_PER_MINUTE

The more agents an AE system contains, the higher the chance is that log-file changes are required for a large number of agents at the same time. Use the setting AGENT_LOG_CHANGE_PER_MINUTE to improve system performance by limiting the number of log files to be changed per minute.

AGENTGROUP_CHECK_INTERVAL

Tasks such as jobs or file transfers can run within an agent group. The task's status changes to "Waiting for Host" if no agent is available that is part of this agent group. The setting AGENTGROUP_CHECK_INTERVAL defines the interval at which the system checks whether a particular agent is active, and if so, it initiates the start for the waiting tasks.

The value for this setting should not lie below the interval at which the agent attempts to establish a connection to the AE system. This value can be specified with the option RECONNECT_TIME in the variable UC_HOSTCHAR_DEFAULT.

BACKENDVAR_MAX_ROWS

This setting determines the maximum number of lines that BACKEND-type VARA objects can return.

Note that selecting a high value can result in a longer time taken to resolve backend-type variables.

CHANGE_LOGGING_DAYS and CHANGE_LOGGING_MB

These files can be changed on a time- and size-dependent basis in order to ensure that the log files can be handled smoothly during high workload times for Automation Engines and agents. You can also archive and reorganize this data in the AE database, although the Automation Engine and the agents are active for several months without interruption in the best case.

You can also specify temporary log-file changes in the Properties tab in the System Overview. Here, you can directly specify server settings for the log-file change of work processes. These modifications are valid until the system reboots. Use the script element CHANGE_LOGGING in order to trigger a forced log-file change.

To avoid endless reports for events, RemoteTaskManagers, Sync objects, and Schedule objects, their reports are also changed and a new statistical record begins. In this case, only the setting of CHANGE_LOGGING_DAYS is relevant.

CHANGE_LOGGING_MB only works if the setting LOG_TO_DATABASE is set to the value Y. For the Automation Engine, define this setting in the variable UC_SYSTEM_SETTINGS, and for agents, use UC_HOSTCHAR_DEFAULT. CHANGE_LOGGING_DAYS does not depend on this option.

The log files of all work processes are automatically changed if the logging of a work process (WP, DWP, PWP) changes.

The logging of tasks that start on a recurring basis is changed on a daily basis or if the period settings are modified.

COMBINED_ACTIVITIES_LIMIT

This parameter allows you to define the number of tasks to be displayed on the task list.

The list displays records according to the specified filter settings (see About the Process Monitoring Perspective). If a search result returns more tasks than the value entered here, the system indicates it on the list, next to the value defined.

For example, if the COMBINED_ACTIVIES_LIMIT uses the default value and the search resulted in more than 500 tasks, the top left corner of the list shows Tasks (500+).

CONDITION_CHECK_INTERVAL

The Preconditions tab, which is available in the properties of workflows, can be used to define conditions and statements. These are regularly checked and executed before the tasks start. This process (evaluation cycle) is repeated until the last start time or a final statement has been reached. Use this key to change the time interval. By default, an evaluation takes place every 60 seconds.

DEFAULT_REPORT_SCAN_MEMORY and MAX_REPORT_SCAN_MEMORY

Use DEFAULT_REPORT_SCAN_MEMORY to define the memory size to be requested in order to read reports using a Filter object. The Automation Engine doubles this size if the report to be read is larger. For complex reports, the memory is doubled until the value specified in MAX_REPORT_SCAN_MEMORY has been reached. The task ends with the status FAULT_OTHER if this value is exceeded.

Example:

A report has a size of 10 MB, the default memory is 3 MB, the maximum is 30 MB.

The Automation Engine recognizes that 3 MB is not sufficient to read the report and increases the memory: 3 MB -> 6 MB -> 12 MB. The maximum value for memory has not been exceeded and the report can now be read.

DELETE_CHECKBACK_LIMIT

When you delete an object, the system uses the Search for Use function to check if the object is referenced by other objects. This process can take some time, depending on the number of objects to be deleted simultaneously. With this variable you determine the following:

DISABLE_USER_HEADER

Job runs also consider Headers and Trailers. These special objects are available in system client 0000 and can be used to call user-defined Include objects. More detailed information is available in the documentation about job includes. If user-defined Include objects should not be used, you can either specify particular platforms or *ALL. Resultantly, these Include objects are not searched, which avoids unnecessary database accesses and improves performance.

Example:

Validity

Value

DISABLE_USER_HEADER

BS2000,MVS,WINDOWS

ERT_ADAPTIVE_JWP_TIMEOUT

A Java-based work process (JWP) calculates the adaptive expected runtime. If there is no JWP, the ERP cannot be calculated by using this adaptive method.

Use the setting ERT_ADAPTIVE_JWP in order to determine the time in seconds after a system start that the system spends waiting for the adaptive ERT calculations until a JWP is active. After this period of time and when there still is no JWP, the system uses the alternative ERT calculation method which is specified with the setting ERT_ADAPTIVE_FALLBACK_METHOD (UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS).

If the JWP becomes available at a later point, the system will apply the adaptive ERT calculation again.

Note that this setting is only relevant when you intend to calculate the ERT by using the "adaptive" calculation method.

At least one active JWP is needed for the adaptive ERT calculation method.

EXECUTE_ON_EXCEPTION

By default, invalid messages which cause a server process to crash are put into quarantine. Use this key to define that an object should start if such a message is sent. Enter its name as the relevant value.

Note that the object is searched and activated in all clients. System client 0000 is exempted because no objects can be activated in it.

EXTERNAL_CHECK_INTERVAL

This setting determines the frequency at which the status of external dependencies is checked in workflows. The workflow first checks its external dependencies when it starts. The task automatically reports its status when it has ended.

GENERIC_ACTIVITIES_LIMIT

This parameter defines the number of tasks returned by the Automation Engine that will be available for requests on the task list of the Process Monitoring Perspective.

Please note that, in AWI, the number of activities is further restricted by COMBINED_ACTIVITIES_LIMIT. If the value of GENERIC_ACTIVIES_LIMIT is higher than the value defined in COMBINED_ACTIVITIES_LIMIT, only part of the tasks available for requests on the task list will actually be displayed on the task list.

GENERIC_AUTO_FORECAST_LIMIT

Auto Forecast filter criteria are very complex. The entry GENERIC_AUTO_FORECAST_LIMIT can be used to limit the maximum number of search results.

GENERIC_SEARCH_LIMIT

In the Explorer, you can search for objects or particular folders. Include the various options in your search. Complex selection criteria can result in a large amount of results and cause long searching times. Therefore, Automic recommends limiting the number of results to be displayed with the entry GENERIC_SEARCH_LIMIT. If the search result is above the value defined here, a message is displayed and only the specified maximum number of results is output.

GENERIC_STATISTICS_LIMIT

Statistical records are automatically created when objects are processed. Selective statistics can be used to search for objects using various options. Complex selection criteria can result in a large amount of results and cause long searching times. To specify a maximum number of records to be displayed, use the entry GENERIC_STATISTICS_LIMIT. A message is displayed if the search result exceeds the value defined here.

GET_PROCESS_LINE_RTRIM

The script function GET_PROCESS_LINE reads a line of a data sequence (such as a report). Use the entry GET_PROCESS_LINE_RTRIM to determine whether blanks used at the end of the line should be truncated.

JWP_KEYSTORE_PATH

By default the JWP uses the keystore of the JRE (e.g. c:\program files\java\jdk1.8.0_31\jre\lib\security\cacerts). If the JWP(s) should use a centrally located keystore file instead, the path including the file name has to be defined here. If the defined path is invalid or not accessible, a log message will be written and the JWP will use the default keystore.

LAST_USE

The Header tab of each object contains information about the object's creation and last modification time. It is also possible to display the date of its last use and the total number of executions. The entry in LAST_USE indicates the time in minutes since the last refresh. Executions are not counted if no value or 0 has been specified.

LDAP

LDAP can be used to query information from a directory service such as the Microsoft Active Directory. Users logging in to the AE system can authenticate themselves using this directory service.

LOG_TO_DATABASE

This setting can be used to determine whether the Automation Engine also writes log-file messages to the AE database. Value Y indicates that log messages are saved in the Server object's report. Value N indicates that logging is only performed in the log file. This setting improves the performance of your AE system.

The variable UC_HOSTCHAR_DEFAULT contains a setting of the same name which can be used to specify the agent's log behavior.

MAX_EXPORT_COUNT

During the exporting process, information about the objects highlighted in the Explorer (name, attributes, etc...) is written to a common XML file. To limit the maximum number of objects that can be exported at the same time, use the entry MAX_EXPORT_COUNT. Exceeding this value means that the process has failed. A corresponding error message indicates this.

MAX_IMPORT_SIZE

Use this entry to limit the maximum size of an XML file which should be imported. The import does not take place if the file exceeds the specified value.

MIN_EVENT_INTERVAL

For each event, you can specify a minimum interval (minutes) for its execution in the corresponding Event tab. To define a lower limit, use the entry MIN_EVENT_INTERVAL. The interval specified here is applied if an event contains a value below this limit. AE uses the value specified in the variable UC_JOB_CHECKINTERVAL if 0 is entered here.

MQA_COUNT_BACK

Use this key to define the maximum number of server messages to be buffered for further analysis. Only messages which have been sent or received by work processes (PWP, DWP, WP) are affected. These messages are saved in the random access memory (RAM) of the computer on which the Automation Engine is running.

Open the latest messages that have been buffered via the System Overview -> Automation Engine section. Here, select the Workload menu item in a WP's context menu.

MQ_BLOCK_COUNT, MQ_CHECK and AUTOMATIC_MQ_REORG

In Oracle databases, the Automation Engine checks the block size of the message queues MQPWP, MQWP, MQDWP, MWRWP, MQOWP and MQCPnnn at the interval specified in MQ_CHECK_TIME .Optionally, if the block size exceeds the value specified in MQ_BLOCK_COUNT, you can set AUTOMATIC_MQ_REORG to Y and have the Automation Engine automatically reorganize the message queue, thus improving the performance of your AE system.

PASSWORD_EXIT

This entry facilitates a password exit. The value to be specified is the name and path of the generated program library.
Example: PASSWORD_EXIT c:\AUTOMIC\pwexit\bin\xuc4pass.dll

PASSWORD_EXIT_PARAM

If parameters need to be assigned, do so using the PASSWORD_EXIT_PARAM key.

PASSWORD_CHANGE

Use this key to define whether the password can be changed.
Example: PASSWORD_CHANGE NO

RECONNECT_TIME

This entry specifies a time interval during which the server processes try to establish a connection. This affects the connection attempts for a restart or after a lost connection.

REPORT_BLKSIZE and REPORT_TIME

Use these entries to determine the report size in bytes. You can also specify the interval (seconds) at which the report will be refreshed.

RESERVED_API_USERS

Every user who uses the CallAPI needs a free dialog license. These dialog licenses are shared with the users who log in to AE via the UserInterface. The number of dialog licenses specified here is reserved for CallAPI users. In doing so, the CallAPI cannot be blocked due to a lack of free dialog licenses.

Example: "5" is entered in the variable and there are 20 licenses available for the dialog. No further logins would be allowed after the fifteenth login via the UserInterface. It is possible for five additional users to log in to the Automation Engine via the CallAPI. If there are enough available dialog licenses, more users than defined here can use the CallAPI at the same time.

Logging in to system client 0000 is possible even if all dialog licenses are in use. The administrator can always log in to the AE system.

SCR_LOOPCHK_TIME

This setting affects scripts whose generation takes longer than specified here. In such cases, script generation repeatedly pauses for in order to avoid unnecessary Automation Engine loads. Use this method to avoid endless loops.

Use SCR_LOOPCHK_TIME to define the frequency at which the script is interrupted. The subsequent waiting time is always 1 second at the start. This time is doubled after every interruption. The longest waiting time is 128 seconds. After this value has been reached, the waiting time is always 128. It is no longer doubled.

Example for SCR_LOOPCHK_TIME 3:

Intervals for Script generation

Script starts

Generation starts

after 3 seconds

Generation pauses

Waiting time

Duration: 1 second

Script continues

Generation continues

after further 3 seconds

Generation pauses

Waiting time

Duration: 2 seconds

Script continues

Generation continues

after further 3 seconds

Generation pauses

Waiting time

Duration: 4 seconds

etc.

 

Script generation always stops every 5 seconds, regardless of the value specified in SCR_LOOPCHK_TIME. Doing so ensures that the script can be canceled without blocking other tasks. A higher value for SCR_LOOPCH_TIME affects the waiting time interval (see above).

SERVER_OPTIONS

This key can be used to handle server settings regarding performance improvements and trace outputs. Its value is composed of a 15-digit string with each digit representing a particular server setting. These values can be read using the script function GET_UC_SETTING.

Position

Character

Description

1st digit

S

Avoids deadlocks especially when starting workflows with DB2.

This digit is only relevant for DB2.

2nd digit

P

Avoids deadlocks especially when deactivating workflows with DB2.

This setting is ignored, the behavior always corresponds to the value "P".

This digit is only relevant for DB2.

3rd digit

S

With this setting, the statistical records are not checked when a server cold start is performed. This improves the booting performance of large Automation Engine systems (especially in combination with Oracle databases) because in most cases, the statistical records remain unchanged.

This is an update statement against the database and using a NULL value column and as far we know in Oracle databases null values are not within the index.

This update will set the timestamp4 for all records within AH where we do not have any EH anymore and the timestamp4 is null.

In large systems, this simple update could take up to 10 minutes on start-up. To avoid this, it can be turned off. There is no hard and fast definition for a large system. A large system could consist of tens of thousand sof activities, but it depends on many factors such as database speed and IO.

4th digit

M

Extends traces so that memory leaks are found more easily.

5th digit

X

XML messages (for example, OS messages) can contain invalid characters. With this setting, an additional message and the relevant XML message (memory dump) are written to the server log file.

6th digit

U

An additional way to avoid deadlock, especially for DB2.

This digit is only relevant for DB2.

7th digit

G

Configuration for the restart behavior of tasks.
In manual restarts, the "Generate at runtime" setting is ignored. Therefore, the processing in Script objects and Sync objects that use this setting is swapped over. This option prevents the "Generate at runtime" setting from being deactivated.

8th digit

E

Avoids DB2 database problems especially when activating file transfers.

9th digit

D

If you activate this option, agents are no longer disconnected. Instead, a warning is printed to the log in the frequency of KEEP_ALIVE as long as this connection is inactive. The value KEEP_ALIVE is taken from UC_HOSTCHAR_*.

10th digit

S or A

Configuration for report lengths in Sync object reports.
Checks, accesses, and modifications of Sync objects are described in detail in the task's reports. Exact logging can negatively affect performance when many Sync objects are in use. Use this server option to handle report lengths, thereby improving performance. It is used to reduce the amount of LOGGING=IO for the database to increase the speed of the Automation Engine.

S - The Automation Engine does not create Sync object reports.
N - Only Sync object modifications are logged.
A - The Automation Engine logs Sync object modifications and unsuccessful Sync object checks in the report.

11th digit

Number

Extended output of time-critical database accesses in the log file.

The Automation Engine logs the bind parameters of all time-critical database accesses whose select statements take more seconds than specified in this server option. Any number between 1 and 9 can be specified.

Note that regardless of this setting, bind parameters will not be logged in insert statements.

When this option is used, 3 is often recommended. This way the bind parameter of all selects that take more than 3 seconds will be logged. Therefore, the Automation Engine logs the BIND VARIABLES for long running SQL statements within the LOG file without the need for a trace.

12th digit

Y or N

Used to determine whether report messages for import/export processes are written to the client report.

N - Report messages for import/export processes are written to the client report.
Y - Report messages for import/export processes are skipped.

In previous versions to the documentation, "I" was listed as the character to enter when you wanted report messages for import/export processes to be skipped. If you enter an "I" or any character here other than "N", it is the same as entering a "Y".

13th digit

S

Alternative method for Oracle databases in order to read server messages from the queue. This method is slower than the default method.

14th digit P

This option has the effect that the output of the script statement :PRINT is also written to the Automation Engine log if you activate the tasks

  • using the "Generate at runtime" setting,
  • via the script function ACTIVATE_UC_OBJECT, or
  • as an alarm object.

Doing so can result in extensive reports and log files. Deactivate this server option in order to increase the performance of your AE system.

15th digit Y

Affects the naming of wildcard file transfers from or to z/OS if the source file name includes several wildcard characters.

For example:

Source is UC4*A.AAA.AA.AAA.A????.A????.A??????
Target is UC4*

Y - The target file name is correctly built according to the wildcard characters. After the transfer, the file UC4ZZA.AAA.AA.AAA.A1111.A1111.A111111 is given exactly the same name.

N - The characters that start with the first wildcard until the last character minus one are ignored. After the transfer, the file UC4ZZA.AAA.AA.AAA.A1111.A1111.A111111 is given the name UC41.

Whatever you specify, this option is ignored in the new file transfer protocol. Wildcards are always correctly resolved.

16th digit N Not used.

Activate the particular settings by inserting the respective letters in the relevant positions. The character N is used to deactivate a server option. By default, all Server options are deactivated (NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN).

In the example shown below, options 1, 2, 6 and 8 are activated:

Key

Value

SERVER_OPTIONS

SPNNNUNENNNNNNNN

 SMGR_PORT_RANGE

If a Service Manager is used, you can execute its commands such as starting or stopping a process directly via the AE system. The relevant commands can either be executed directly from the Process & Usage page of the Administration perspective in the Automic Web Interface or by using the script element MODIFY_SYSTEM.

To be able to execute Service Manager commands, the AE must know the details of the respective Service Manager-managed process:

• The host name where the Service Manager process is running. This is inferred from the respective server or Agent object.

• The port number on which the Service Manager is listening

• The phrase that is used to start the Service Manager

• The name of the process that is started by the Service Manager

You can manually specify these details by editing the respective server or Agent object in the system client 0000. They can also be discovered automatically through a Service Manager scan.

The SMGR_PORT_RANGE key specifies the port number or a contiguous range of port numbers that will be scanned during a Service Manager scan. When a Service Manager scan is initiated, the AE will connect to the specified port or range of ports, and will attempt to discover the above details about the selected server or agent process automatically.

The AE system automatically scans for a Service Manager when the server processes start for the first time. Subsequently, this scan can be executed manually by using the Verify connection to Service Manager command in the Administration perspective of the AWI.

To specify a range of port numbers, provide the start port and end port, separated by a comma, and enclosed in parentheses. The range of port numbers is contiguous, and includes both the start and the end port. The range of port numbers must not exceed 10 port numbers. It is not possible to specify multiple non-contiguous port numbers or multiple ranges or port numbers.

For example: (8871,8873). Make sure that there is no blank space after the comma.

Default value: 8871

SNMP_REFRESH

Use this setting to define the interval at which the display for the blocked workflows for SNMP is refreshed. The default value is 10 seconds.

SQLVAR_INTERNAL

By default, the creation of Variable objects of the type "SQL - internal" / "SQL - internal SECURE" is deactivated. This is due to security reasons, as the execution of SQL statements on the AE database enables system-wide access to objects and other data. Important data records can also be modified or deleted.

Set SQLVAR_INTERNAL to the value YES in order to create, edit, and use internal SQL variables on a system-wide basis. To do so, a user must have the "Create and modify SQL-Internal variables" privilege.

NO has the effect that the objects cannot be created anymore. The variable type SQLI is no longer listed in the Templates dialog (new object).

The internal SQL variables that are supplied by default in client 0 are not affected by this setting and can always be used.

SQLVAR_MAX_ROWS

Databases often supply huge amounts of data. Therefore, you can limit the number of lines to be retrieved by Variable objects with the source SQL and SQLI. Specifying a very high value has the effect that it takes correspondingly longer to resolve Variable objects.

This setting does not have any effect on variables of the types Filelist and Multi.

SUPPRESS_AGENT_MESSAGES

In order to avoid performance issues it is possible to suppress agent messages while connecting and disconnecting an agent.

The following messages will not be displayed in the message window but will be written into the server log:

SYNC_BLOCK_COUNT

For performance reasons, log-file changes of Sync objects are performed by block. This means that the log files of a specified number of Sync objects are changed. The log files of the remaining Sync objects are changed in the next blocks.

This setting can be used to determine the number of Sync objects whose logs are to be changed per block. The lower the value, the longer the process will take as a whole. However, a value that is too high can negatively affect the performance of the AutomationEngine.

TRASHBIN_SHOW_MAX

The value that is specified here determines the maximum number of objects to be shown in the Recycle Bin. The current date serves as the basis for this, i.e., the last n objects are visible.

UNREAD_MESSAGES and UNREAD_MESSAGES_BUFFER

The setting here determines the further handling of administrator messages which occur during operation without a user being logged in with the privilege to view them. "N" means that the messages are written to the database without being displayed again. In this case, use the category messages in the System Overview to view these messages at a later point. "Y" indicates that messages are kept and displayed in the Message Window for the next user with a suitable privilege.

Use the UNREAD_MESSAGE_BUFFER to determine the number of unread messages to be kept. The oldest entry will be overwritten once the number of messages is exceeded.

When the Message Window has displayed its unread entries to a user, these are marked as read and removed from the input buffer.

Note that unread messages are lost when:

Messages are always written to the database. Activating this function causes unread entries to be highlighted so that they can be displayed in the Message Window at a later point in time.

VAR_SECURITY_LEVEL

You can use this key to determine whether variables can be used in VARA objects, and which ones.

This affects the replacement procedure of variables that are used within SQL statements (VARA types: SQL and SQLI) and OS commands (VARA type: Backend).

The documentation about the dynamic PromptSet dialogs describes the positions where PromptSet variables can be replaced (security level 3).

The following table lists the variables and the security levels at which they are replaced:

Security level Variables
Predefined variables

(User cannot directly change the value)
Predefined variables
(User can change the value)
Placeholder for VARA objects PromptSet variables
0        
1      
2    
3

Note for security level 3: You can execute all SQL statements and OS commands that are included in the value to be inserted in the specified Variable object.

A script is used to change the content of the variable VARA2 whose value will be inserted in the SQL statement:

:PUT_VAR VARA2, '*', 'Value; DELETE * FROM x;'

An additional SQL command has been inserted in the SQL variable VARA1 (value replacement) because the content of the Variable object VARA2 has been changed. This was possible although VARA1 has not directly been changed (for example by a user without the corresponding rights) and can also lead to unintended database accesses (in this case: the deletion of data).

The setting VAR_SECURITY_LEVEL has no effect if you access Variable objects of client 0. In this case, they can always be used.

VARIABLE_SERVICE_CHECK_INTERVAL

Dynamic variables can either be used as predefined variables or via script elements in objects. Their values are dynamically retrieved from the data source (database, Variable object or file-system directory) at runtime. If the database variable (source: SQL) runs into an error while resolving the variable because the database is not available or due to incorrect connection or login data, the task switches to a waiting condition ("Waiting for continuation of variable resolving").

Variable resolving can be repeated as soon as the particular error has been cleared (for example, the database name in the connection object has been corrected). The interval at which this attempt is to be repeated is specified by the setting VARIABLE_SERVICE_CHECK_INTERVAL.

Note that you cannot cancel tasks that are in the condition "Waiting for continuation of variable resolving".

VERSIONS_SHOW_MAX

The value that is specified here determines the maximum number of objects to be shown in Version Management. The current date serves as the basis for this, i.e., the last n objects are visible.

WORKLOAD_DEFAULT_FT and WORKLOAD_DEFAULT_JOB

These two settings determine the resources a file transfer or job uses by default. This value can be individually specified in the corresponding objects and overrides the default value specified in the variable.

XML_ENCODING and XML_ENCODING_CHECK

The XML encoding influences the display of characters in the UserInterface. Use the key XML_ENCODING to specify the encoding to be used for your AE system. The second key affects the verification of imported XML files.

ISO-8859-15 (Latin 9) contains the Euro (€) character and Western-European country-specific special characters. The table below lists additional differences:

Characters Š š Ž ž Œ œ Ÿ ¤ ¦ ¨ ´ ¸ ¼ ½ ¾
ISO-8859-15

A4

A6

A8

B4

B8

BC

BD

BE

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

ISO-8859-1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

A4

A6

A8

B4

B8

BC

BD

BE

WINDOWS-1252

80

8A

9A

8E

9E

8C

9C

9F

A4

A6

A8

B4

B8

BC

BD

BE

OBJECT_ACCESS_CLIENT_ZERO

Setting this key's flag to Y allows users to access system client objects in write protected mode. By using the context menu in a Script object or the UserInterface you can open those objects in write protected mode to check their reports or statistics.

JWP_KEYSTORE_PATH

By default the JWP uses the keystore of the JRE (e.g. c:\program files\java\jdk1.8.0_31\jre\lib\security\cacerts). If the JWP(s) should use a central located keystore file instead, the path including the file name has to be defined here. If the defined path is invalid or not accessible, a log message will be written and the JWP will use the default keystore.

JWP_KEYSTORE_LOGIN

By default the JWP uses the default password of the JRE keystore for accessing the keystore file. If the JWP should use a different password, you have to define it here.

Also see:

UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS
Overview of all the variables in table format

Variable