Configuring DataBridgeAgent

Introduction

This page describes how to configure DataBridgeAgent to load data for a process app in Process Mining.

Configuring DataBridgeAgent

Follow these steps to configure DataBridgeAgent.

1. Download DataBridgeAgent. See Loading data using DataBridgeAgent.
2. On the server, create a folder for the DataBridgeAgent. For instance, D:\processmining\P2P_data\.

Note: In the remainder of this guide, we will refer to this directory as <EXTRACTORDIR>.

1. Place the installation package in the <EXTRACTORDIR> folder.
   • Right-click on the installation package.
   • Select Extract All….
2. Right-click on the file <EXTRACTORDIR>\datarun.json and select Open.

3. Enter a value for the following settings:

   • azureURL
   • connectorWorkspace
   • connectorModuleCode
   • Input type
   • Use credential store

Generic parameters

Below is an overview of the generic parameters for DataBridgeAgent.

Parameter	Description
azureURL	The SAS URL of the Azure blob storage to which the extracted data needs to be uploaded. See Note: The azureURL is not used when loading data for use in Process Mining on-premises (Automation Suite). Make sure this field is left blank.
endOfUploadApiUrl	The API that is called to start data processing in Process Mining, once all data has been uploaded. Note: The azureURL is not used when loading data for use in Process Mining on-premises (Automation Suite). Make sure this field is left blank.
connectorWorkspace	The name of the workspace of the connector used to load the data and to create the dataset.
connectorModuleCode	The module code of the connector used to load the data and to create the dataset.
Input type	Can be either: • SAP see SAP parameters • CSV see CSV parameters • ODBC see ODBC parameters Note: depending on the preferred input type, you must enter the settings in the corresponding section.
Use credential store	Indicate whether or not a credential store is used for password storage. Note: if set to true you specify the password identifier in de SAP Password or ODBC Password field.
Reporting currency	The currency in which price-related values are displayed.
Exchange rate type	The exchange rate type that is used for currency conversion.
Language	The language in which data is extracted from the source system.
Extraction start date	The start date of the extraction period of the data. Note: In cases where only a subset of the data is needed, it is recommended to limit the amount of data loaded, while this may improve the loading times.
Extraction end date	The end date of the extraction period of the data. Note: In cases where only a subset of the data is needed, it is recommended to limit the amount of data loaded, while this may improve the loading times.

SAP parameters

Below is an overview of the parameters that can be used for SAP datasources.

Parameter	Description
SAP Host	The hostname or IP address of the SAP application server.
SAP SystemNumber	The two-digit number between 00 and 99 that identifies the designated instance.
SAP Username	The username of the account that is being used to log in to the SAP instance.
SAP Password	The password of the user above. Note: If you use a credential store, you must enter the password identifier from the credential store, instead of the password.
SAP Client	The client that is being used.

CSV parameters

Below is an overview of the parameters that can be used for CSV datasources.

SAP Setting	Description
CSV Data path	Data path in the Server Data that points to the place where the .csv files are stored. For example P2P/ if all files can be found in the folder named P2P.
CSV Suffix	A regular expression containing the files extension of the file to read in. May contain a suffix up to 2 digits that are added to the name of the table.
CSV Delimeter	The delimiter character that is used to separate the fields.
CSV Quotation character	The quote character that is used to identify fields that are wrapped in quotes.
CSV Has header	Indicate whether the first line of the .CSV file is a header line.

ODBC parameters

Below is an overview of the parameters that can be used for ODBC datasources.

Parameter	Description
ODBC Driver	The name of the ODBC driver to use for this connection.
ODBC Username	Username to be used to connect to the external datasource.
ODBC Password	Password to be used to connect to the external datasource. Note: If you use a credential store, you must enter the password identifier from the credential store, instead of the password.
ODBC Connection parameters	Any other parameters are passed as specified to the ODBC driver. Use the format param1=value1 (;param2=value2)

Creating the dataset and upload it for use in Process Mining

To load the data and upload it to Azure for use in Process Mining you must run the EXTRACTORDIR\datarun.bat file.

The time taken for this task will depend highly on the data volumes loaded.

The output is uploaded to the SQL Server database using CData Sync for use in Process Mining on-premises (Automation Suite). See Configuring CData Sync.

Starting the file manually

Follow this step to start the data run.

1. Double-click on the EXTRACTORDIR\datarun.bat file to start the data run.

Schedule a task for the data run

Instead of running the file manually, you can use Windows Task Scheduler to schedule a task that runs the batch script for automated data refreshes.

Note: It is recommended to select the local SYSTEM user account for running the task and to select the Run with highest priority option in the Create Task window when creating the task in Windows Scheduler.

The output is uploaded to the SQL Server database for use in Process Mining Automation Suite.

Important: If you add an interval for which there is no data available, the dashboards will show an error message.

Troubleshooting

The data run also creates a log file that can help in case of unexpected results or if the data upload with DataBridgeAgent fails. The file <EXTRACTORDIR>\datarun.txt contains the logs of the last data run.