Configuring External Risks Observer jobs

You configure a number of External Risk Observer jobs to load data that helps you to determine if your infrastructure is at risk, for example from adverse weather conditions or wildfires.

Before you begin

Ensure you have any required API key and security details to hand, such as user names, passwords, and truststore details, before defining the jobs.

The External Risks Observer is supported by the GIS (Geographic Information System) capabilities in IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps. To gain insights from the external risks data the existing resources need geolocation data defined. See Resource mapping and Viewing resources on a map for more information on configuring geospatial mapping.

Obtaining API connectivity: The observer jobs extract data through a number of external risk monitoring systems, such as the Weather Company's Alert APIs, NASA’s MODIS and FIRMS, and NOAA's Hazard Mapping System, and load appropriate resources with defined geolocation data. Before you set up these jobs, you must obtain API keys from these external systems, which may involve registration or a subscription. See the following sites for more information:

Enabling access to the URL routes: To access the URL routes for the topology Swagger documentation, see the Enabling access to URL routes topic.

Encryption requirement: See the Configuring observer jobs security topic for more information.

NASA FIRMS disclaimer

The NASA FIRMS 'Country' API is currently unavailable, so the 'Area' API is being used instead. This is a temporary switch and once the Country API becomes available, the Observer will automatically switch back.

Define NASA-FIRMS jobs

Define or edit the following parameters as appropriate to the job type selected, then click Run job to save and run the job.

Parameter Action Details
Unique ID Enter a unique name for the job Required
Map key Enter the API key for authenticating with the NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System APIs Required
Country Specify a country as the bounding box for the fires to read into the topology service. Required
Satellite Select one or more satellites to access fire data Required
Fire Radiative Power Enter a FRP value to exclude fires that have lower radiative power. FRP depicts the pixel-integrated fire radiative power in Megawatts (MW), and the default value is 10.0. Required
Create polygons Select true or false to create polygons based on multiple points and grouped by distance apart. The default is false. Required
Distance apart Enter the maximum distance in kilometers between two fires before they are considered separate fires. The default is 1.0. The accuracy of distance calculations is curtailed by the assumption that the Earth is a perfect sphere. Required if Create polygons was set to 'true'.
Limit the External Risks observed within bounding window Limit the geographical area within which risks are identified. Define the window as a polygon using WKT or GeoJSON. Optional
Trust all certificates by bypassing certificate verification Select true or false from the drop-down. The default is 'true'. Required. When set to 'true', the observer will connect to the target environment without verification of the certificate.
Connection timeout Specify the connection timeout in ms (default is 5000) Optional
Read timeout Specify the read timeout in ms (default is 5000) Optional
Proxy Host Specify the proxy host to connect to Optional
Proxy Port Specify the proxy port, defaults to 8080 Optional
Proxy Username Specify the proxy user name to connect to. Set for basic auth proxy. Optional
Target system certificate Specify a certificate by name to load into the truststore Optional. Required only if Trust all certificates was set to false. For more information, see the Configuring observer jobs security topic.
Proxy Password Specify the password for the proxy user (if Proxy Username has been specified) Optional. Use plain text.
SSL certificate validation Choose whether SSL validation is on or off. Turning SSL validation off will use HTTPS without host verification. Optional
HTTPS truststore file name Specify the truststore file name if the certificate is being left empty. The observer generates the trust store file based on the file name provided. Required. The supported format is JKS and the file is relative to $ASM/HOME/security.
Proxy Secure Specify whether to connect to the proxy in secure mode. Set to True for HTTPS proxy. Optional. The default is 'false'.
truststore file password Specify the truststore password the observer will use to decrypt the HTTPS truststore file. Use a password that conforms to your internal security requirements. Required
Access scope Enter text to provide a scope for the resources. Access scope can help map alerts to resources when resources in different scopes share the same parameters, such as matchTokens. Optional.
Tip: You can define access scope for locations, project names, namespaces, etc.
Bulk load job Select either true or false to distribute the loading of job data more evenly across partitions. This is useful if some jobs contain substantially more data than others. The default is 'false'. Optional
Generate debug support file Set this parameter to 'True' in order to capture the output of the next scheduled job run as a file. This file will be stored with an observer's log files and can be used to debug observer issues, for example at the request of your designated support team, or while using a test environment. For one-off jobs (that is, Load jobs), this parameter reverts to 'False' after the next completed run. To examine the output produced, you can load the generated debug file using the File Observer. Optional
Observer job description Enter additional information to describe the job Optional
Job schedule Specify when the job runs Optional. Load jobs only.

Define Wildfire-v2 jobs

Define or edit the following parameters, then click Run job to save and run the job.

Parameter Action Details
Unique ID Enter a unique name for the job Required
API key Enter the API key for authenticating with the Environmental Intelligence Suite APIs Required
Lookup location details Select true or false to choose whether to use Environmental Intelligence Suite APIs to look up locations to create human-readable resource names. Each resource requires one API call. The default is false. Required
Confidence Threshold Enter a number in the range between zero and hundred to exclude lower confidence detections that fall below the specified value. The default is 65. Required
Limit the External Risks observed within bounding window Limit the geographical area within which risks are identified. Define the window as a polygon using WKT or GeoJSON. Optional
Trust all certificates by bypassing certificate verification Select true or false from the drop-down. The default is 'true'. When set to 'true', the observer will connect to the target environment without verification of the certificate. Required
Connection timeout Specify the connection timeout in ms (default is 5000) Optional
Read timeout Specify the read timeout in ms (default is 5000) Optional
Proxy Host Specify the proxy host to connect to Optional
Proxy Port Specify the proxy port, defaults to 8080 Optional
Proxy Username Specify the proxy user name to connect to. Set for basic auth proxy. Optional
Target system certificate Specify a certificate by name to load into the truststore Optional. Required only if Trust all certificates was set to false. For more information, see the Configuring observer jobs security topic.
Proxy Password Specify the password for the proxy user (if Proxy Username has been specified) Optional. Use plain text.
SSL certificate validation Choose whether SSL validation is on or off. Turning SSL validation off will use HTTPS without host verification. Optional
HTTPS truststore file name Specify the truststore file name if the certificate is being left empty. The observer generates the trust store file based on the file name provided. Required. The supported format is JKS and the file is relative to $ASM/HOME/security.
Proxy Secure Specify whether to connect to the proxy in secure mode. Set to True for HTTPS proxy. Optional. The default is 'false'.
truststore file password Specify the truststore password the observer will use to decrypt the HTTPS truststore file. Use a password that conforms to your internal security requirements. Required
Access scope Enter text to provide a scope for the resources. Access scope can help map alerts to resources when resources in different scopes share the same parameters, such as matchTokens. Optional.
Tip: You can define access scope for locations, project names, namespaces, etc.
Bulk load job Select either true or false to distribute the loading of job data more evenly across partitions. This is useful if some jobs contain substantially more data than others. The default is 'false'. Optional
Generate debug support file Set this parameter to 'True' in order to capture the output of the next scheduled job run as a file. This file will be stored with an observer's log files and can be used to debug observer issues, for example at the request of your designated support team, or while using a test environment. For one-off jobs (that is, Load jobs), this parameter reverts to 'False' after the next completed run. To examine the output produced, you can load the generated debug file using the File Observer. Optional
Observer job description Enter additional information to describe the job Optional
Job schedule Specify when the job runs Optional. Load jobs only.

Define OSPO-HMS-Fire jobs

Define or edit the following parameters, then click Run job to save and run the job.

Parameter Action Details
Unique ID Enter a unique name for the job Required
API key Enter the API key for authenticating with the Environmental Intelligence Suite APIs Required
Lookup location details Select true or false to choose whether to use Environmental Intelligence Suite APIs to look up locations to create human-readable resource names. Each resource requires one API call. The default is false. Required
Limit the External Risks observed within bounding window Define the window as a polygon using WKT or GeoJSON. Optional
Trust all certificates by bypassing certificate verification Select true or false from the drop-down. The default is 'true'. When set to 'true', the observer will connect to the target environment without verification of the certificate. Required
Connection timeout Specify the connection timeout in ms (default is 5000) Optional
Read timeout Specify the read timeout in ms (default is 5000) Optional
Proxy Host Specify the proxy host to connect to Optional
Proxy Port Specify the proxy port, defaults to 8080 Optional
Proxy Username Specify the proxy user name to connect to. Set for basic auth proxy. Optional
Target system certificate Specify a certificate by name to load into the truststore Optional. Required only if Trust all certificates was set to false. For more information, see the Configuring observer jobs security topic.
Proxy Password Specify the password for the proxy user (if Proxy Username has been specified) Optional. Use plain text.
SSL certificate validation Choose whether SSL validation is on or off. Turning SSL validation off will use HTTPS without host verification. Optional
HTTPS truststore file name Specify the truststore file name if the certificate is being left empty. The observer generates the trust store file based on the file name provided. Required. The supported format is JKS and the file is relative to $ASM/HOME/security.
Proxy Secure Specify whether to connect to the proxy in secure mode. Set to True for HTTPS proxy. Optional. The default is 'false'.
truststore file password Specify the truststore password the observer will use to decrypt the HTTPS truststore file. Use a password that conforms to your internal security requirements. Required
Access scope Enter text to provide a scope for the resources. Access scope can help map alerts to resources when resources in different scopes share the same parameters, such as matchTokens. Optional.
Tip: You can define access scope for locations, project names, namespaces, etc.
Bulk load job Select either true or false to distribute the loading of job data more evenly across partitions. This is useful if some jobs contain substantially more data than others. The default is 'false'. Optional
Generate debug support file Set this parameter to 'True' in order to capture the output of the next scheduled job run as a file. This file will be stored with an observer's log files and can be used to debug observer issues, for example at the request of your designated support team, or while using a test environment. For one-off jobs (that is, Load jobs), this parameter reverts to 'False' after the next completed run. To examine the output produced, you can load the generated debug file using the File Observer. Optional
Observer job description Enter additional information to describe the job Optional
Job schedule Specify when the job runs Optional. Load jobs only.

Define AlertHeadlines jobs

Define or edit the following parameters, then click Run job to save and run the job.

Parameter Action Details
Unique ID Enter a unique name for the job Required
API key Enter the API key for authenticating with the Environmental Intelligence Suite APIs Required
Country Code Select which country to collect weather alerts for. Required
Language Specify the language for the weather alerts. Default is US English (en-US) Required
Limit the External Risks observed within bounding window Define the window as a polygon using WKT or GeoJSON. Optional
Trust all certificates by bypassing certificate verification Select true or false from the drop-down. The default is 'true'. When set to 'true', the observer will connect to the target environment without verification of the certificate. Required
Connection timeout Specify the connection timeout in ms (default is 5000) Optional
Read timeout Specify the read timeout in ms (default is 5000) Optional
Proxy Host Specify the proxy host to connect to Optional
Proxy Port Specify the proxy port, defaults to 8080 Optional
Proxy Username Specify the proxy user name to connect to. Set for basic auth proxy. Optional
Target system certificate Specify a certificate by name to load into the truststore Optional. Required only if Trust all certificates was set to false. For more information, see the Configuring observer jobs security topic.
Proxy Password Specify the password for the proxy user (if Proxy Username has been specified) Optional. Use plain text.
SSL certificate validation Choose whether SSL validation is on or off. Turning SSL validation off will use HTTPS without host verification. Optional
HTTPS truststore file name Specify the truststore file name if the certificate is being left empty. The observer generates the trust store file based on the file name provided. Required. The supported format is JKS and the file is relative to $ASM/HOME/security.
Proxy Secure Specify whether to connect to the proxy in secure mode. Set to True for HTTPS proxy. Optional. The default is 'false'.
truststore file password Specify the truststore password the observer will use to decrypt the HTTPS truststore file. Use a password that conforms to your internal security requirements. Required
Access scope Enter text to provide a scope for the resources. Access scope can help map alerts to resources when resources in different scopes share the same parameters, such as matchTokens. Optional.
Tip: You can define access scope for locations, project names, namespaces, etc.
Bulk load job Select either true or false to distribute the loading of job data more evenly across partitions. This is useful if some jobs contain substantially more data than others. The default is 'false'. Optional
Generate debug support file Set this parameter to 'True' in order to capture the output of the next scheduled job run as a file. This file will be stored with an observer's log files and can be used to debug observer issues, for example at the request of your designated support team, or while using a test environment. For one-off jobs (that is, Load jobs), this parameter reverts to 'False' after the next completed run. To examine the output produced, you can load the generated debug file using the File Observer. Optional
Observer job description Enter additional information to describe the job Optional
Job schedule Specify when the job runs Optional. Load jobs only.

Define WatchesAndWarningsV2 jobs

Define or edit the following parameters, then click Run job to save and run the job.

Parameter Action Details
Unique ID Enter a unique name for the job Required
API key Enter the API key for authenticating with the Environmental Intelligence Suite APIs Required
Region Select one or more regions to monitor for weather watches and warnings. Required
Type Select one or more types of weather watches and warnings, such as Flood or Marine. Required
Limit the External Risks observed within bounding window Define the window as a polygon using WKT or GeoJSON. Optional
Trust all certificates by bypassing certificate verification Select true or false from the drop-down. The default is 'true'. When set to 'true', the observer will connect to the target environment without verification of the certificate. Required
Connection timeout Specify the connection timeout in ms (default is 5000) Optional
Read timeout Specify the read timeout in ms (default is 5000) Optional
Proxy Host Specify the proxy host to connect to Optional
Proxy Port Specify the proxy port, defaults to 8080 Optional
Proxy Username Specify the proxy user name to connect to. Set for basic auth proxy. Optional
Target system certificate Specify a certificate by name to load into the truststore Optional. Required only if Trust all certificates was set to false. For more information, see the Configuring observer jobs security topic.
Proxy Password Specify the password for the proxy user (if Proxy Username has been specified) Optional. Use plain text.
SSL certificate validation Choose whether SSL validation is on or off. Turning SSL validation off will use HTTPS without host verification. Optional
HTTPS truststore file name Specify the truststore file name if the certificate is being left empty. The observer generates the trust store file based on the file name provided. Required. The supported format is JKS and the file is relative to $ASM/HOME/security.
Proxy Secure Specify whether to connect to the proxy in secure mode. Set to True for HTTPS proxy. Optional. The default is 'false'.
truststore file password Specify the truststore password the observer will use to decrypt the HTTPS truststore file. Use a password that conforms to your internal security requirements. Required
Access scope Enter text to provide a scope for the resources. Access scope can help map alerts to resources when resources in different scopes share the same parameters, such as matchTokens. Optional.
Tip: You can define access scope for locations, project names, namespaces, etc.
Bulk load job Select either true or false to distribute the loading of job data more evenly across partitions. This is useful if some jobs contain substantially more data than others. The default is 'false'. Optional
Generate debug support file Set this parameter to 'True' in order to capture the output of the next scheduled job run as a file. This file will be stored with an observer's log files and can be used to debug observer issues, for example at the request of your designated support team, or while using a test environment. For one-off jobs (that is, Load jobs), this parameter reverts to 'False' after the next completed run. To examine the output produced, you can load the generated debug file using the File Observer. Optional
Observer job description Enter additional information to describe the job Optional
Job schedule Specify when the job runs Optional. Load jobs only.