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Administration Guide

# Using the Data Services Platform Console

This chapter describes how to use the AquaLogic Data Services Platform Console (DSP Console) to manage DSP applications on a domain that has been provisioned for Data Services Platform.

Note: For information on provisioning WebLogic domains for DSP see Understanding the Relationship of Data Services Platform to WebLogic Domains.

The chapter contains the following sections:

- Introducing the Data Services Platform Console
- Launching the Data Services Platform Console
- Navigating the Data Services Platform Console
- Controlling Access to the Data Services Platform Console

# Introducing the Data Services Platform Console

The DSP Console (accessed under the name ldconsole) is a web-based interface specifically designed for managing and using Data Services Platform applications. You can use the DSP Console to set security and caching policies for data services, and configure Data Services Platform runtime settings such as thread usage and logging levels.

The DSP Console also provides access to the Data Services Metadata Browser. The Metadata Browser provides information useful to both Data Services Platform administrators and application developers. Developers can see what data services are available, what information they provide, how to call them, and more. Administrators can determine the effects of changes to the data source layer in the console.

Note: For more information, see Viewing Metadata.

Figure 4-1 shows the main page of the Data Services Platform Console.

Figure 4-1 Data Services Platform Console

# Launching the Data Services Platform Console

The Data Services Platform Console is a web-based interface that enables you to administer and manage Data Services Platform applications, access metadata, and configure security and caching policies.

To launch the DSP Console:

1. Start the WebLogic Server in the WebLogic domain in which Data Services Platform is deployed.

For more information, see Starting the WebLogic Server.

2. Using a web browser, open the following URL:

>     http://hostname:port/ldconsole

Where

- `hostname` is the machine name or IP address of the host server
- `port` is the address of the port on which the host server is listening for requests (7001 by default)

For example, to start the DSP Console on a local instance of WebLogic Server (running on your own machine), navigate to the following URL:

>     http://localhost:7001/ldconsole/

3. When the login page appears, enter the appropriate user name and password.

The defaults user name and password is weblogic/weblogic, respectively.

# Navigating the Data Services Platform Console

You can navigate to the various pages in the Data Services Platform Console using the tree in the Navigation pane. Pages are organized by application and data service, as shown inFigure 4-2.

Figure 4-2 Console Tree Panel

The following describes the actions you can perform using the Navigation pane:

Console Access Control. Enables you to configure the access control policies that specifies who can access particular console features. Clicking Administration or Metadata Browser displays the Policy Editor, enabling you to specify Policy Statements defining access. For more information, see Using the WebLogic Policy Editor.

Domain. Expand to display the Data Services Platform-enabled applications in the domain. Alternatively, you can click a domain name to display the list of such applications in the Content pane. Right-click and choose Search in the context-sensitive menu to search metadata in the domain (see Searching Metadata on page 8-13).

Applications. Expand to display the Data Services folder. Alternatively, you can click the application name to display the general application settings in the Content pane. For more information, see General Application Settings. Right-click and choose Search in the context-sensitive menu to search metadata in the application (see Searching Metadata on page 8-13).

Data Services. Expand to display the data service project folders in the application. Alternatively, you can click the Data Services folder to display the list of project folders in the Content pane. Right-click and choose Search in the context-sensitive menu to search metadata in the data services (see Searching Metadata on page 8-13).

Project Folder. Expand to display specific data services contained in the project folder. Alternatively, you can click a project folder to display the list of data services in the Content pane. For more information, see Displaying a DSP-enabled Application's Data Sources and Data Services. Right-click and choose Search in the context-sensitive menu to search metadata in the project folder (see Searching Metadata on page 8-13).

Specific Data Service. Expand to display the functions that comprise the data service. Alternatively, you can click a specific data service to display the administration screen for the functions in the Content pane. For more information, see Examining Data Service Functions.

Function. Click to display information about the function in the Content pane, including general information, dependencies, where the function is used, properties, and the return type. For more information, see Displaying Function Details. Right-click and choose Define Security Policy in the context-sensitive menu to create a security policy for the function using the WebLogic Policy Editor (see Understanding Security Policies on page 6-5).

## Displaying a Domain's DSP-Enabled Applications

The Data Services Platform Console lists the applications in your current WebLogic Server domain that are enable for DSP. The applications appear in the Navigation pane.

Figure 4-3 Data Services Platform-Enabled Applications in a DSP-Provisioned Domain

For each application there are several navigation icon options, as shown in Figure 4-3:

- Browse. The option allows you to invoke the Data Services Metadata Browser for your application. These are described in detail in Viewing Metadata.
- Configure. This is a shortcut to the configuration options available for each application. These are described in detail in Configuring Data Services Platform Applications.
- Physical Source. Displays the types of physical sources used in your application.

## Displaying a DSP-enabled Application's Data Sources and Data Services

You can display the data sources and data services available to an application, along with information about each. Details related to inspecting sources and services can be found in Viewing Metadata.

Physical sources are organized by type: relational, Web services, XML, and delimited. Some applications may include only one or several types of data sources.

To display the data sources associated with an application:

- In the Navigation Pane expand the Physical Sources folder within your application. The data sources used in the application appear in the Navigation pane (see Figure 4-4).
- Alternatively, select a specific data source folder in the Navigation pane.

Figure 4-4 Data Sources Available to the RTLApp

To display the data services associated with an application:

- Expand a Data Services project folder within an application in the Navigation pane. The data services contained in the project folder appear in the Navigation pane.
- Alternatively, select a specific folder in the Navigation pane.

The list of data services contained in the folder appears in the Content pane, as illustrated in Figure 4-5.

Figure 4-5 Data Services Available from the RTLApp

Table 4-1 describes the information presented for each data service.

Table 4-1 Data Service Information

Column | Description
--- | ---
Name | The name of the data service.
Path | The physical location of the data service.
Description | An optional description of the data service.
Type | Data services can be physical or logical. A physical data service represents an actual data source, such as a database table. The specific data source type, such as Relational, Web Service, and so on, is displayed for physical data services. A logical data service is a manually created data service that aggregates or filters data in some way.

## Examining Data Service Functions

You can examine the functions that comprise a data service, and manage the cache and security settings, as required. You can also view metadata associated with a data service.

To display the functions that comprise a data service:

- Expand a specific data service within a project folder in the Navigation pane.

The functions that comprise a data service appear in the Navigation pane.

- Alternatively, select a data service within a project folder in the Navigation pane.

An administration screen for the functions in the data service appears in the Content pane, as illustrated in Figure 4-6. For more information about administering data service functions, seeSetting Up Caching, Securing Data Service Functions, and Introspecting Data Service Metadata.

Figure 4-6 Data Service Functions

There are two types of functions identified in the Navigation tree, as described in Table 4-2.

Table 4-2 Function Types

Icon | Function Type
--- | ---
| Navigation function, which return data from a related data service.
| Read function, which return data in the form of the data service type.

## Displaying Function Details

You can display information about specific functions, including general information, dependencies, where the function is used, properties, and the return type. To display details about a function:

- Select the specific function in the Navigation pane.

Metadata associated with the function appears in the Content pane, as illustrated in Figure 4-7. For more information, see Metadata Browser Interface for Data Service Functions.

Figure 4-7 Function Details

# Controlling Access to the Data Services Platform Console

The Data Services Platform Console is a securable resource from the perspective of WebLogic Security. You can set access control policies that defines who can view and use particular pages in the console. The features are distinguished by two functional categories:

- Administrative. This includes security and cache settings.
- Informational. Displays metadata on data services, such as return types, functions, relationships, and so on.

For information on controlling resource access, see Securing Data Services Platform Resources.