What's New iCIS v2.84->v3.20
This topic provides an overview of the more important changes in iCore Integration Suite v3.20 (compared to v2.84). The main goals in the development of v3.xx have been to:
- Improve Tracking capabilities.
- Improve runtime performance and throughput.
- Improve fail-over flexibility to include all running definitions.
- Simplify Component configuration.
- Provide a new tool definition of processing (Workflows).
- Create a new modern and flexible platform which facilitates future development.
Component definitions
Adapterflow
All standard arguments (Init, Run and Event parameters) are available.
Script
Scripts are only available as managed mode. There are also some major modifications to functions and objects:
- Script function Allocate Node Collection now executes Node entity filters.
- The FTP command has been removed.
- Script functions included in the module supporting "Uafi and Mapi" are now obsolete. This concerns the following functions: Define e-Mail variable, Init e-mail, Send e-Mail, and Receive e-Mail. For more information, see Backwards compatibility for iCIS v2.84.
- The output format for Write Log To File has been changed.
- Large Integer is available as a variable type.
- Large Integer List has been introduced as a new object.
- Trigger Scripts are now obsolete and will be converted to Standard Scripts during upgrade. All functions that were available in Trigger Scripts are now available in Standard Scripts.
Workflow
Workflow is a new Component definition (grouped together with Script and Adapterflow) built on Workflow activities and VB expressions. More than 100 activities are available from the start. Workflows are edited in the new Workflow Designer tool.
- With v3.20, it is possible to edit the Workflow XAML as text.
Compilation output
Compilation output is saved into database. At run-time, binaries are fetched from database. There is no need to make the Script Application Directory available as a shared network directory.
Component configurations
All Component definition types (Script, Adapterflow and Workflow) are configured as Component configurations.
| Resource components | The resource Components option has been removed. Achieving the same functionality in version 3 requires changes in Script logic and the use of Maximum concurrent instances on Component configuration. |
| Trigger components | Trigger Components are no longer available. Listener-based Adapterflows were previously implicit Trigger Components, but are now options on the actual Component configuration. A consequence of this is that now all listener-based Component definitions are reusable, including Adapterflow listeners. |
| Lifetime | Lifetime is a new option for Component configuration. The option tells the runtime whether a Component configuration should execute and finish or continue executing until the system is shut down. It is also possible to specify a maximum restart count or even set an infinite restart. |
| Concurrent instances | Concurrent instances is a new option for Component configuration. The option makes it possible to specify the maximum concurrent running instances of a Component configuration. |
Tracking
All tracking entities now have a 64-bit integer ID.
Job
Job is a new tracking entity. A Job is created from an Event and is the actual executing instance of a Component. All added Log entries added and created Events are in turn created by a Job.
Event
Event tracking has several new and changed properties, for example:
- *Source type – type of source that created the Event (Job, External, Database, iCore API, Administrator and more)
- Job
- *State / Reason
- History
Tracking scope
A Tracking scope is a Job created as a child of another Job. Tracking scopes are optional and created from listener Adapterflows on new match. Tracking scopes can also be created through a Workflow activity.
Log entries
Log entries have some new and changed properties:
- Log levels – replaced with new values.
- Source – a Log entry is related to its Job.
- Relations – a Log entry can be related to another tracking entity
Clean-up tracking
Clean-up tracking is now built in through a Workflow activity. The daily maintenance package has been redesigned using Workflows.
iCore Runtime
The iCore Process Server and hosting processes are completely rewritten in managed code which results in improved performance, stability and fail-over logic.
| Host process | The host process now supports simultaneous execution of Components. |
| Application pools | With Application pools it is possible to isolate the execution of Components in separate processes and to fine-tune where each Component executes – for optimal resource allocation. |
| Runtime and tracking | The runtime creates Events and Jobs and has been made more visible in Tracking. For example, each log from service runtime is now added by a server part Job, which makes it possible to filter on log entries from service runtime in general or a specific part of the service. It is also possible to relate Tracking entities to each other. |
| System Jobs | Service runtime executes as different Jobs, one Job for each service part. For example, there is a Job for Event generation. All log entries and other tracking data created by this server part is related to this Job. |
| System events | System Events are created by the run-time. Some of the Events are configurable in Event configuration. For example, there is a System-started Event which executes a Component at start-up and a "Job failed" Event available for error reporting. |
| Fail-over | Trigger components and Resource component are replaced with configuration options on Component configurations and the former service part Trigger manager has been removed. Those Components are now hosted in the same server parts as any other Component to achieve a more flexible fail-over configuration. |
iCore Administrator
iCore Administrator has been updated to support the new runtime and new and modified entities.
| Entity filters | It is now possible to use the grouping option to display groups from a filter result in the main tree. The performance of entity filters has been improved. |
| System monitor | The system monitor has been rewritten to support new run-time and tracking entities. It has seen several improvements including shortcuts to execution definition and manual fail-over to move a server part from one server to another. |
| System settings | The "Trace process information" feature is no longer available since it is not applicable in the new runtime. |
| System start/stop | When running a clustered iCore system, it is no longer required to have administrator rights on remote servers/machines to issue a system start/stop. |
| System tree display mode | You can change the display mode of the main system tree to only show favorites. |
| System service | The system service is managed from the Server entity. |
| Adding a new type | For entities that require a type (for example, an Event configuration which requires an Event type), it is now possible to add a new type (=create a new type) simply by selecting "Add new..." in the drop-down list in the Properties pane. |
| Tracking page contents | The contents of the tracking page in the main system tree is now customizable, by selecting an optional Component definition. |
Run component tool
The graphical user interface has been redesigned. Run component tool executes Component definitions instead of Component configurations: there is no need to register. Run Component tool executions are tracked in iCore Tracking. Some execution parameters have been changed.
Import and export
It is possible to assign all imported entities to a new Category, or a Category which already exists in the destination system.
iCore Public API
A public programmable .Net API is now available. The API is used in Adapterflow and Workflow code expressions to programmatically access iCore entities.
Web service definitions
The web service definitions have been modified to also generate Workflow activities for imported WSDL.
iCoreInvoke and iCoreAPI2WS web services
iCoreInvoke and iCoreAPI2WS web services are no longer installed using Windows installer. Instead, these web services are deployed using PowerShell scripts provided by the iCPS installation.
When upgrading from v3.10 or earlier (including 2.84) an installation step is required. For more information, see Upgrading from iCore Process Server v2.84, Managing iCore Invoke and [iCore web applications hosted in IIS.
Other notable improvements
- In addition to SQL authentication, it is now possible to also use Windows credentials to log on to the iCore system database.
- Using tools (for example iCore Administrator) no longer require elevated administrator rights.
- It is possible to use Cmdlets to edit some entities. For more information, see iCore PowerShell cmdlets.