Deploying and Maintaining Workflows :: SAS(R) Workflow Studio 1.3: User's Guide, Second Edition

Overview

Workflow diagrams defined using SAS Workflow Studio can be stored as flat files in XML format. Alternatively, SAS Workflow Studio supports persistence and versioning of the workflow templates using SAS Content Services. Users can also activate a specific template version stored in the workflow repository. Activation results in uploading the specified version as a formal workflow definition into the SAS Workflow Services for instantiation by end-user client applications. See Workflow Lifecycle for more details.

Note: Only one version of a workflow definition is active at a time. Workflow template changes made in SAS Workflow Studio do not take effect until the new version is uploaded and activated. After a new workflow is uploaded and activated on the workflow server, any new instances that are started use the newly activated version. Any currently running instances continue using their respective version of the workflow definition.

CAUTION:

It is strongly recommended that administrators do not delete workflow templates from the repository.

Deleting a workflow template can cause unpredictable results when instance information is accessed and displayed using SAS Workflow Administrator.

Saving a Workflow Template

To a save the current workflow template to the local file system, follow these steps:

Select FileSave or Save As.

Alternatively, click the Save icon ().
Navigate to the desired directory in a dialog box.
Enter the filename for the workflow definition, or select an existing file to replace.
Select Save to close the dialog box and return to the diagram editor.

Opening a Workflow Template

To open a workflow template on the local file system, follow these steps:

Select FileOpen from the menu bar.

Alternatively, select the Open icon () on the toolbar.
Navigate to the desired directory in the dialog box.
Select the desired file.
Select OK to open the template in the diagram editor.

Logging On to the Server

With SAS Workflow Studio, you are limited to managing locally stored workflow templates on your system until you have logged on to the SAS platform. After you have logged on to the server, you can access additional workflow templates stored in the SAS content repository.

To log on, follow these steps:

Select ServerLogon from the menu bar, or press F9.
In the Log On dialog box, enter the host name.

The address used is prepopulated based on the SAS platform environment properties file. The main system configuration file, SASHome/sassw.config, defines the environment variable SASENVIRONMENTSURL. This environment variable specifies the location of the environment configuration file that defines the host properties.
Enter your user name and password.
Select Log On.

Note: By default, the available host properties are configured in the sas-environment.xml file. This file is hosted by the SAS Web Server (SASENVIRONMENTSURL=http://host_name:port/sas/sas-environment.xml).

<environment name="serverName" default="false" 
   platform-version="9.4">
   <desc>SAS Environment: serverName</desc>
   <block-desc>Default SAS Environment</block-desc>
   <service-registry>
      http://serverName:7980/SASWIPClientAccess/remote/ServiceRegistry
   </service-registry>
   <service-registry interface-type="soap">
      http://serverName:7980/SASWIPSoapServices/services/ServiceRegistry
   </service-registry>
</environment>

For details about this configuration, see SAS Intelligence Platform: Web Application Administration Guide.

Managing Workflow Template Authorization

Workflow Roles and Privileges, and Template Permissions

In previous versions of SAS Workflow Studio, any SAS platform user could upload, download, or activate workflow templates. Beginning with SAS 9.4, administrators can do the following to control users' access to workflow templates:

Assign users or groups to SAS Web Infrastructure Platform roles. Each role is associated with a set of privileges. These privileges determine which actions users can perform with regard to template creation and management.
Grant users or groups specific permissions on a particular workflow template. These permissions supplement the access that is provided through role assignment.

Administrators can use the SAS Web Administration Console to assign roles to users and groups and to edit the privileges that are associated with a role. By default, there are three workflow template management roles. The following table lists the default roles and the privileges associated with each role.

Workflow Roles and Privileges
Workflow Template Management Role	Default Workflow Privileges
Workflow Viewer	Read
Workflow Editor	Read, Edit, and Manage
Workflow Administrator	Read, Edit, Manage, and Activate

The following table lists the general abilities associated with each of the default workflow privileges.

Workflow Privileges and Abilities
Privilege	Abilities
Read	Log on to the server. Get a local copy of a template.
Edit	All of the Read abilities. Plus: Edit local copies of templates, and save the changes locally.
Manage	All of the Read and Edit abilities. Plus: Check out templates, edit the templates, manage tags, and save (upload) the templates to the repository.
Activate	All of the Read, Edit, and Manage abilities. Plus: Activate an uploaded template. Plus: Assign template ownership to other users.

See SAS Intelligence Platform: Middle-Tier Administration Guide for more information about SAS Web Infrastructure Platform roles and privileges and the SAS Authorization Service.

Administrators must explicitly grant users access via privileges before the users can update, upload, and activate workflow templates to the content repository. To upload and activate templates, a user must be assigned the Workflow Editor role or have the relevant privileges. The template owner is the user that uploads the first version of a specific template. In SAS Workflow Studio, a template owner can manage access to individual templates by setting the permissions on the template through the Manage Access dialog box. The template owner can set the access for a specific user or group to Read, Update, or Administer. The following table lists the general abilities associated with each permission.

Template Permissions and Abilities
Permission	Abilities
Read	Get a local copy of the template.
Update	Get a local copy of the template. Edit the local copy of template, and save the changes locally. Check out the template, edit the template, and save (upload) the template to the repository. Activate the uploaded template.
Administer	All of the Update abilities. Plus: Assign template permissions to users and groups. Plus: Assign template ownership to another user.

By default, the template owner has Administer permission for that template and is the only user that can change access to the template. To manage template access through the Manage Access dialog box, the template owner must be assigned the Workflow Administrator role and be logged on to the server.

Note: Template ownership cannot be assigned to groups.

Administrators can use SAS Web Administration Console to review the assigned permissions. Administrators can also update permissions using the SAS Web Administration Console, but you should do so only if instructed to do so by SAS Technical Support. For details, see Using the SAS Web Administration Console in SAS Intelligence Platform: Middle-Tier Administration Guide.

Managing Template Permissions

To update template access:

Log on to the server as the template owner.
Select ServerManage Templates (F3).
Select the template, right-click, and select Get Copy. SAS Workflow Studio opens the most recent version of the template. The version number is shown in the upper left of the diagram editor.
Select ServerManage Access.
(Optional) Add new users or groups. To add a new user or group, follow these steps:
1. Click Add Users And Groups.
2. Click User or Group, depending on which one you want to add.
3. Enter a search string, and click . You can use the asterisk (*) to list all users or groups. SAS Workflow Studio displays the list of users or groups matching the string that you entered.
4. Select the user or group that you want to add, and click OK.
Select the appropriate check boxes (Read, Update, or Administer) for each user or group.
Click OK.

For more information about permissions, see Managing Web-layer Permissions in SAS Intelligence Platform: Middle-Tier Administration Guide.

Versioning Workflow Templates

Uploading a Workflow Template

Uploading a workflow file stores it in the SAS Content Server.

To upload a workflow template, follow these steps:

From the Server menu, select the Save to Repository option.

Alternatively, you can select in the toolbar, or press F5.

Note: These options are not active until you log on to the server and require workflow editor or administrator access.
Enter relevant comments in the Save to Repository dialog box.

Note: Comments are optional but highly recommended because the version history displays them. Summarize the high-level differences for each version so that it is easier to identify the changes at a glance.
Select the Activate option if you would also like to activate the current version in SAS Workflow Services.
If the definition has not been previously saved locally, then the Save dialog box appears. See Saving a Workflow Template for details.

Downloading a Workflow Template

Downloading a workflow retrieves the workflow template from the content repository, so that it can be viewed or revised in SAS Workflow Studio.

To download a workflow template, follow these steps:

Select ServerOpen from Repository.

Alternatively, you can select ) in the toolbar or press F7.

Note: These options are not active until you log on to the server and require workflow View access.

The Open from repository dialog box appears and displays a list of templates available for download along with the relevant version information (repository and activated) and check-out status.
Select the desired template.
Choose one of the following download options:

Get copy

retrieves and views as a local copy.

Check out

checks the selected template out of the repository. This selection is required if you want to revise and save any changes to the workflow template.

Note: The checked out version is locked for editing by other users until the template is checked back in or the check-out operation is undone.
Select OK to load the specified workflow definition in the diagram editor.

Overriding a Workflow Template

If you forget to check out a workflow template before making changes to a local version open in SAS Workflow Studio, then you can overwrite the repository version.

To override the version of a template in the repository, follow these steps:

Download and check out the workflow template.

The current repository version opens in a new tab.
Navigate to the tab for the revised workflow diagram.
Upload the revised template to the repository.

Note: These options are not active until you log on to the server and require workflow editor or administrator access.

Comparing Workflow Template Versions

The Compare Workflow Template Versions dialog box displays the workflow trees for two versions of a template side-by-side. This dialog box enables you to browse through the content of both workflow trees at the same time. It displays folder names in bold if the folders contain differences between the two versions. As you browse through the content of the workflow tree, the names and values of the workflow properties are displayed at the bottom of the dialog box.

To compare two versions of the same template, follow these steps:

Log on to the server.
Select ServerManage Templates (F3).
Select the template, press the right mouse button, and select Get Copy. SAS Workflow Studio opens the most recent version of the template. The version number is shown in the upper left of the diagram editor.
Close the Manage Templates dialog box.
Select ServerCompare Versions. SAS Workflow Studio displays the list of versions for the template.
Select the version from the history that you want to compare with the current version, and click Compare. SAS Workflow Studio displays the workflow trees for the two versions side-by-side. Folders that contain differences are displayed in bold.
Click Close to close the Compare Workflow Template Versions and Version Information dialog boxes.

Template Management

SAS Workflow Studio includes the following workflow management functions from the Manage Templates dialog box:

Get a copy of a workflow template

retrieves a local copy for viewing.

Check out a workflow template

retrieves a local copy for revision in SAS Workflow Studio and locks the repository version from access by other users.

Check in a workflow template

checks in the current local template as the next incremental version in the repository and unlocks it.

Undo a check out for a workflow template

unlocks the repository version for access by other users.

Activate a workflow template

uploads the workflow template as a formal definition in the SAS Platform for instantiation by end-user client applications.

Note: Only one version of a workflow definition is active at any time. Any workflow instances based on previous versions of the definition are unchanged. However, any new instances are generated using the current activated version.

Show version history for a workflow template

displays version information for each version of the selected template.

To access these template management functions, follow these steps:

Select ServerManage Templates.

Alternatively, select the Manage Workflow Templates icon () or press F3.

The Manage Templates dialog box appears. The dialog box displays a list of templates in the workflow repository along with the relevant version information (repository and activated), modification status, check-out status, comments and tags.

If a green check mark is visible, then the designated template is checked out and locked by the specified user.
Select a workflow template and right-click on the selected item.
Select the desired management function from the menu.

If the Show Versions option is selected, then the version history is displayed in a separate dialog box. You can get a copy, check out, or activate specific unlocked versions from this dialog box.

CAUTION:

It is strongly recommended that administrators do not delete workflow templates from the repository.

Deleting a workflow template can cause unpredictable results when instance information is accessed and displayed using SAS Workflow Administrator.