Before you can process messages with an integration flow (iflow), you need to deploy this iflow to the HCI runtime node. When you complete the iflow modelling and invoke the ‘deploy’ command, the following steps are performed:
- The iflow is checked for correctness
- The iflow is sent to the tenant management node (tmn node)
- The iflow is converted into an executable program (iflow bundle) on tmn node
- The iflow bundle is distributed from tmn to runtime nodes (iflmap node)
- The iflow bundle is started on iflmap nodes
The following tools can be used for tracking the iflow deployment process:
- Console – shows client logs
- Deployed Artifacts – provides a list of deployed artifacts on HCI tenant
- Tasks View – provides a status of deployment task
- Component Status View – displays the various statuses of the deployed iflows over time
- Tail Log – provides access to the tail end of the server logs
Most of these tools are currently available in eclipse only.
Console
When you deploy an iflow, the iflow is first checked for correctness. Results of the checks can be found in the console. When you deploy an iflow, make sure that there were no validation errors.
How to access the console
Window -> Show View -> Console
Deployed Artifacts
Deployed artifacts view shows a list of iflows and other artifacts deployed on a tenant. When you deploy an iflow, it should appear in the list of deployed artifacts in DEPLOYED state. If after a couple of minutes this does not happen, this indicates a possible deployment error.
How to access the Deployed Artifacts view
- Open Node Explorer view
- Double click on tenant
- Switch to Deployed Artifacts
Tasks View
Tasks View shows the status of various tasks running on the server including deployment tasks.
When you deploy an iflow, the following task is executed: “Build and deploy ‘YOUR_IFLOW’ Project. For successful deployment this task must be completed with status “SUCCESS”. If this is not the case, select the failed task and check the task trace for more details.
How to access the Tasks View:
Window -> Show view -> Tasks View
Component Status View
In Component Status view you can check the current status of a node’s components. After successful deployment, an iflow should appear in the component status view of a runtime node with runtime status “started”.
If the status is not “started” you can invoke context menu “Show Error Details” for additional info. You can also continue error analysis by looking into the tail log.
If you want to restart an iflow, you can do so by clicking on “Restart” button in component status view. This is the easiest way to restart iflows triggered by a Timer with “Run Once” option. The other way would be to redeploy the iflow.
How to access Component Status view:
- Select IFLMAP node in the Node Explorer
- Open Component Status View
- Use a filter to narrow down list of components
- Check your component’s status
Tail Log
Each HCI node has its own server log which can be used for error analysis. Using the Tail Log view, you can download the most recent part of the log. You can also specify how many records should be downloaded (in KB).
In case of deployment issues you should check the tail log of both TMN and IFLMAP nodes.
How to access Tail Log:
- Switch to Node Explorer
- Select IFLMAP node
- Switch to or open the Tail Log view (Window -> Show view -> Tail Log)
- Specify the size of the log to be downloaded
- Click on Refresh
Summary
Iflow deployment consists of several steps performed on the tenant management and runtime nodes. Using tools described above, you can monitor these steps and search for a root cause in case of deployment issues.
You can use the following checklist to make sure your iflow is deployed successfully
- In Console: there should be no validation errors
- In Deployed Artifacts: your iflow should have deploy status “DEPLOYED”
- In Tasks View: a task “Build and deploy ‘YOUR_IFLOW’” should have status “SUCCESS”
- In Component Status View: your iflow should have the runtime status “started”
- In Tail Log: there should be no errors and no stack-traces, neither in the TMN nor in the IFLMAP tail log
- SAP Managed Tags:
