About Bots

In the Metadata Manager, the Collector Engine uses bots (scripts or database stored procedures) to collect metadata. Bots are grouped into standalone packages which you can export and import into different environments. The Collector Engine runs the available bots based on the options you specify.

Bots allow you to collect the following metadata:

• Items. Collect items for the specified type.
• Item attributes. Collect attributes for the items.
• Parents and children. Collect relationship metadata for the items.
• Maps. Collect all available maps.
• Map relations. Collect map relationships for map items (source to target).
• Map attributes. Collect map attributes.
• Type attributes. Collect the existing type attributes.

To export a bot package:

1. From any Metadata Manager window, click Types in the navigation path, or click the Types bottom tab to display types in the workspace.
2. In the Types window, click a row to select the type for which you wish to export a bot.
3. Click Metadata, click the Types drop down and select Edit.
   You see the Editing Type window.
4. In the CollectorInformation area, click to select an existing bot and click the Export icon on the right to export the bot as a bot package.
   You see a Save Bot to File dialog box with the bot file name and FileSave as type equal to Database Bot.
5. Click Save.
   You see the Bot Export Completed dialog.
6. Click OK.
7. Click Close to close the Editing Type window.

To import a bot package:

1. From any Metadata Manager window, click Types in the navigation path, or click the Types bottom tab to display types in the workspace.
2. Click Import.
   You see the Select Bot Package dialog box.
3. In the Files of type drop down, click All Bots to view the bots available for import.
4. Click to select the appropriate bot file name and click Open.
   If the import is successful, you see the Bot Import Completed dialog box. All the details for the Collector Engine to run the bot during the next run are imported.
   If the import is not successful, for example, if the databases are incompatible between the export and the import environments, you will see the "Bot import failed" error message.
5. If the databases are incompatible between the import and export environments, select a different environment where the import database is compatible with the export database.

Run the Collector Engine

In the Metadata Manager, the Collector Engine uses bots to load metadata items for existing types and any attributes, parents, children, and maps for those items. You can run the Collector Engine ad hoc, providing you have sufficient available system resources. You can also enable the Collector Engine to run on a schedule.

Run the Collector Engine Ad Hoc

You can run the Collector Engine ad hoc with the following options:

• Run all available bots. Run all the bots in the Collector Engine.

• Run bots only for selected types. Only run the bots for those types you have selected in the Types window.

  Note
  You cannot cancel the Collector Engine process while it is running. The status of the last Collector Engine run is displayed in the Collector Session area of the Status & Notification bar.

To run the Collector Engine ad hoc using all bots:

1. From any Metadata Manager window, click Types in the navigation path, or click the Types bottom tab to display types in the workspace.
2. Click Submit and select Run all available bots.
   You see the Start Collector dialog box.
3. Click Yes to start the Collector Engine, or click No to cancel the Collector Engine run.
   You see the status of the Collector Engine run in the Status & Notification bar. When the Collector Engine run is completed, you see the Collector Completed dialog box.

4. Click Yes to refresh the metadata, or click No to cancel the refresh.

To run the Collector Engine ad hoc using bots for selected types:

1. From any Metadata Manager window, click Types in the navigation path, or click the Types bottom tab to display types in the workspace.
2. In the left navigation, click any type category and double click to select a type.
   You see the item list for the type you selected.
3. Click to select a specific type. To select several rows, press and hold the CTRL key.
4. Click Submit and select Run bots only for selected type.
   You see the Start Collector dialog box.
5. Click Yes to start the Collector Engine, or click No to cancel the Collector Engine run.
   You see the Run Collector window that displays the types you selected in the Types window.
6. Click OK.
   You see the status of the Collector Engine run in the Status & Notification bar. When the Collector Engine run is completed, you see the Collector Completed dialog box.
7. Click Yes to refresh the metadata, or click No to cancel the refresh.

Run the Collector Engine on a Schedule

To enable the Collector Engine to run on a schedule:

1. From any Metadata Manager window, click Types in the navigation path, or click the Types bottom tab to display types in the workspace.
2. Click Submit and select Schedule collector.
   You see the Success dialog box. The Collector Engine is now enabled to run every Sunday at 4 am. The Schedule collector option is no longer needed and is disabled after the Collector Engine schedule has been successfully enabled.
3. Click OK.
4. To edit the Collector Engine schedule, log in to the Automation Center.

Manage the Collector Engine History and Logs

In the Metadata Manager, you can view the history of all previous Collector Engine runs. The Collector Engine history older than six (6) months will be purged automatically via a rule in Eagle's Purge & Archive tool. The Collector Engine log files are accessible via the System Management Center's Engine Manager.

View Collector Engine History

To view the Collector Engine history:

1. From any Metadata Manager window, click Types in the navigation path, or click the Types bottom tab to display types in the workspace.
2. Click History.
   You see the Collector History window. The default view is a summary view of all previous Collector Engine runs.
3. Double click a summary row to see details of a specific Collector Engine run.
   You see the details for the run you selected.
4. Click Close to close the Collector History window.

View Collector Engine Log Files

To view the Collector Engine log files in the System Management Center:

1. From any Eagle window, click the Eagle Navigator button.
2. Enter System Management Center in the Start Search text box and click the System Management Center link. Or, click All Programs and select System Management Center.
   You see the System Management Center window.
3. In the left navigation, click Engine Manager.
   You see the Engine Manager window.
4. In the left navigation, double click Engines and then double click the Engine Manager link.
   You see the Engine Manager window.
5. Locate the appropriate Web Server address in the left navigation.
6. Click EagleSTAR Log Files.
7. Click Log Files and select Metadata Manager.
8. Double click the log file you wish to view.
   The Metadata Manager has logs for the Collector Engine and for the MDM plugin. 
9. In Query Parameters dialog box, select Show on screen for the Display Method and click OK.
   You see the contents of the log file you requested.
10. To exit the Engine Manager, click File and select Exit.
11. To exit the System Management Center, click the Eagle Navigator button, hover over Sign Out, and click Close System Management Center.