Managing virtual topics

To create a virtual topic, complete the following steps:

1. In the navigation pane, click Manage > Topics.

2. Click the topic that you want to work with.

3. Click the Virtual topics tab on the topic detail page.

4. Click Create virtual topic. The configuration properties for the virtual topic are split into separate panes.

5. In the Details pane, provide a name and a unique alias for your virtual topic. The alias must be an alphanumeric string that is under 200 characters in length, but can contain underscores, hyphens, and periods.
6. In the Event data controls pane, you can define operations that are applied to the event data.

   1. For consume-enabled topics, the following event data controls are available:

      • Quota enforcement: Set a quota for the maximum megabytes or messages per second that can be read from the topic.
      • Schema filtering: Removes events that do not match the schema that is defined for the source topic.
      • Redaction: Redact specific fields in events with a replacement or hash value. Redaction is available only when a schema is defined for the topic, or if its message format is specified as JSON.
      • Content filtering: Control which events are delivered to subscribers based on event properties or subscriber data. This ensures that only relevant events are delivered through a virtual topic.

      For produce-enabled topics, the following event data controls are available:

      • Quota enforcement: Set a quota for the maximum megabytes or messages per second that can be sent to the topic.
      • Schema enforcement: The topic accepts only events that comply with the schema that is defined for the source topic.
7. If user groups are enabled, then the Visibility pane is displayed.

   Select the visibility type for the virtual topic from one of the following options:

   • Public. If you select public, the virtual topic is visible to all users with the viewer role.
   • Custom. If you select custom, you are prompted to select the user groups that you want to make the virtual topic available to.
   If the group you want is not displayed, then click Add user group to add a group.

   Important: Any user groups that you add manually must exist within the organization that is provided in the IBM SaaS Console.
8. In the Security controls pane, select the Client authentication set that you want to use to secure your virtual topic, and if you want to users to require approval when subscribing. For more information, see Security controls.

You can publish the virtual topic from the Virtual topics tab when you are ready.

To edit a virtual topic, complete the following steps:

1. In the navigation pane, click Manage > Topics.

2. Click the source topic that you want to work with.

3. Click the Virtual topics tab in the topics page.

4. Click More options on the topic that you want to edit, and select Edit. The Edit virtual topic window is displayed.

5. In the Details pane, edit the fields that you want to change.

   Note: You can edit the Alias only when the virtual topic is in an unpublished state.

6. On the Event data controls pane, edit the event data controls as required.

7. On the Visibility pane, select or add the user groups that you want to make the virtual topic available to.

   Note: You cannot remove groups from published or archived virtual topics
8. On the Security controls pane, select the Client authentication set that you want to use to secure your virtual topic, and if you want to require approval when subscribing.

The lifecycle state of your virtual topic determines whether it can be subscribed to by users and socialized in the catalog.

The lifecycle of a virtual topic in Event Endpoint Management progresses as follows:

• Unpublished: This virtual topic is not socialized in the catalog. Applications cannot subscribe to the topic.
• Published: This virtual topic is socialized in the catalog. Applications can subscribe to this topic.
• Archived: This virtual topic is socialized in the catalog and has existing subscriptions. Applications cannot subscribe to the topic.

The Virtual topics tab on the Topic detail page allows users to manage virtual topics.

To change the lifecycle state of a virtual topic, complete the following steps:

1. In the navigation pane, click Manage > Topics.

2. Click the source topic that you want to work with.

3. Click the Virtual topics tab on the topic detail page.

4. Click Publish, Unpublish, or Archive on the virtual topic tile. The option available depends on the current state of the topic.
   • On archived and unpublished topics, Publish is the only option.
   • On published topics, Unpublish is only available if the topic has no current subscribers. Otherwise, Archive is available.

A virtual topic can be edited in any lifecycle state. However, the set of fields that can be edited is restricted when in published or archived states to prevent changes that cause runtime issues for subscribed users.

A virtual topic can be deleted from a source topic if it's in an unpublished state. To move your virtual topic into a state so that you can delete it, refer to lifecycle states.

To delete a virtual topic from Event Endpoint Management, complete the following steps.

1. In the navigation pane, click Manage > Topics.
2. Click the source topic that the virtual topic belongs to.
3. Click the topic that you want to work with.
4. Open the Virtual topics tab within the topic detail page.
5. Click More options, and select Delete. The Delete virtual topic window is displayed.
6. Enter the name of the virtual topic to confirm.