Server Administration

This content describes how to use the Web Console to configure, operate, monitor, tune, and troubleshoot the Server. It is intended for server administrators, database administrators, and application developers.

The following Key Features are introduced in Release 7708/8203.

• Modernized Reporting Server Web Console. The Reporting Server Web Console and the Data Management Console have both been modernized to provide an easier way for you to view and sort your data. The Application page now lets you view content in various formats, such as icons or lists, while the redesigned Connect to Data page now shows an integrated view of your configured and available adapters. The Connect to Data page has also been enhanced to give you a more streamlined way to create or update synonyms.
• Debug Dialogue Manager Procedures on the Server. You can use the new Dialogue Manager Debugger tool on the Web Console to execute a procedure that contains Dialogue Manager commands, while watching and changing the values of the Dialogue Manager variables in the procedure. You can set and remove breakpoints in the procedure, step into each line of code, step over execution of external procedures, continue to a breakpoint, execute an ad hoc procedure, and open HOLD files created in the procedure. You can save the session information of one debug session.
• Support for World Administrative Boundaries. By default, the server hosts maps for 58 world administrative boundaries down to the postal code level.
• Geographic Configuration Tool. Enables you to add basemaps, context layers, and new geographic roles. Geographic roles can be based on Esri map services or shapefiles you upload to the server.
• Turn a Configured Server Into a Docker Container. A Docker container is a standalone executable package containing everything needed to run a piece of software while isolating it from the environment. The server now includes a UNIX/Linux shell script that you can use as a template for turning a configured server into a Docker container. Turning a configuration into a Docker container requires a working Docker environment where the server administrator is allowed to create and manage Docker containers.
• Use the New Git Integration with the WebFOCUS Reporting Server. Git, a Distributed Version Control System (DVCS), is now supported by the DataMigrator Server. Git can be used in the Reporting Server Web Console and in the Data Management Console. Git allows multiple developers to work on the same public repository, while locally having a full copy of the public repository. The new Adapter for Git allows you to create a local repository in your Application Directory. Now, using the Adapter for Git, you can work on your local repository in your Application Directory and share files between the local and remote repository.
• Configure Single Sign-on With Kerberos Authentication Enhancements. Kerberos, an authentication protocol that provides a strong authentication for computer networks, is supported by DataMigrator and the WebFOCUS Reporting Server, as well as various data sources, such as Apache Hive™ and Cloudera Impala®. This enhancement allows you to log in to your PC with your credentials, and then connect to our server without having to enter them again. This release has simplified how a Kerberos connection takes place. Now, instead of having to create a profile that contains your Kerberos credentials, you can connect to our server through a browser and then connect outbound to Hive (or other JDBC based adapters), using the same ticket.
• Cluster Manager Provides High Availability for the DataMigrator Scheduler. DataMigrator has been updated to include the Cluster Manager (CLM), a scalable workload manager that enables distribution of the requests across servers. The addition of CLM to DataMigrator, which automatically switches to other application servers in the event that the main server is unavailable, provides a sense of security to businesses by ensuring that essential functions can continue regardless of a service disruption.
• Use the Reporting Server on z/OS 64-Bit Version. The Reporting Server on z/OS is now a 64-bit version. This implementation allows a larger number of simultaneous agents and connections in a single server instance, provides performance improvements, and enables the server to access additional memory so it can take advantage of modern core language features that require a larger memory footprint. Starting in this release, there are no longer 32-bit versions of the Reporting Server on z/OS.

Data Management:

• Manage Your Data Using the Enhanced Wizard Workflows. Streamline how you upload, create, and modify your data with the enhanced Upload and Connect to Data wizards. The Upload wizard lets you preview and change your data before uploading to a target data source or appending to an existing target data source. A full ribbon-based interface provides various data modification options and preparation techniques. Connect to your choice of data sources using the Connect to Data wizard. You can now quickly and easily create base synonyms and select these base synonyms as facts and dimensions to create a cluster of synonyms in a single dialog.
• Built-in Statistical Functions: Visualize and Analyze Your Data. Newly built-in analytic, or statistical, functions are available within WebFOCUS, allowing you to quickly, and visually, analyze your data. From the Compute dialog box in InfoAssist or the Web Console, you can now quickly access data analysis options, such as K-means clustering, Multiple linear regression, R script execution, and more. Two statistical functions, Standard Deviation and Correlation, are available as verb objects during the aggregation stage of a request as well as in a Compute.
• Enhance Data Profiling With Forecast and Distribution Chart Options. Data Profiling provides data characteristics for the columns in a synonym. Two new options have been added to further enhance data profiling. The new Forecast feature allows data profiling on numeric fields, and displays both the actual data values and the forecasted values in a bar chart. The new Distribution Chart feature displays the most frequent values, along with a report that shows the basic data profiling statistics for the field.