About Process Manager
Process Manager comprises three client applications and a server application. The client applications are:
Process Manager Designer:
The Flow Editor
The Calendar Editor
The Flow Manager
The Process Manager Server is the scheduling interface between the client applications and the execution agent, Process Manager.
The Flow Editor
You use the Flow Editor to define your flow definitions: the jobs and their relationships with other jobs in the flow, any dependencies they have on files, and any time dependencies they may have. You also use the Flow Editor to submit your flow definitions—this places them under the control of Process Manager.
You can submit a flow definition in three ways:
By submitting it to be triggered when one or more events occur
By submitting it to be triggered manually
By running it immediately
After a flow definition is submitted, a copy of the definition resides in Process Manager. If the flow definition is to be triggered by an event, Process Manager triggers it automatically when that event occurs, creating a flow. If the flow definition is to be triggered manually, the flow definition waits in Process Manager until you trigger it, creating a flow. If the flow definition is run immediately, Process Manager does not store a copy of the definition—just the flow.
Using the Flow Editor, you can work with existing flow definitions, easily modifying them to create new ones. You can also create reusable flow definitions that can be shared by many users, or reused over and over again. These flow definitions can be easily incorporated into a new definition as subflows. These techniques allow you to create intricate work flows quickly, with fewer errors.
You start the Flow Editor from the Windows start menu, by selecting IBM> IBM Spectrum LSF Process Manager > Flow Editor, or by running floweditor on UNIX.
The Calendar Editor
You use the Calendar Editor to define calendars, which Process Manager uses to calculate the dates on which a job or flow should run. Calendars contain either specific dates or expressions that resolve to a series of dates.
Process Manager calendars are independent of jobs, flow definitions and flows, so that they can be reused. The Process Manager administrator can create calendars that can be used by any user of Process Manager. These are referred to as system calendars. Process Manager includes a number of built-in system calendars so you do not need to define some of the more commonly used expressions.
Once a calendar is defined, you associate a job or a flow definition with the calendar using a time event.
You start the Calendar Editor from the Windows start menu, by selecting , or by running caleditor on UNIX.
The Flow Manager
You use the Flow Manager to trigger, monitor and control running flows, and to obtain history information about completed flows.
Using the Flow Manager, you can view the status of, suspend, or kill a flow. While working within the Flow Manager, you can review the flow definition, while comparing it to the running flow.
You start the Flow Manager from the Windows start menu, by selecting , or by running flowmanager on UNIX.