Policy Management

About Family Policies

You can use family policies to configure certain actions to occur when a record changes in the Predix Essentials database. For example, you can specify that after a Reading record is added to the database, it should be linked to a Measurement Location record.

When you create a family policy, you will configure a policy model to represent the inputs, logic, and actions that you want to execute when the corresponding trigger occurs. You can create up to six family policies for a single family, one for each supported type of trigger.

Policy Model

The following image shows an example of a policy model.

A policy model is made up of nodes and connections that define the policy logic. Specifically, the nodes in a model represent:
  • The items that you want to monitor (for example, Reading in Error records).
  • The conditions that should trigger actions to be taken (for example, a comment is something other than test).
  • The actions that should be taken (for example, send an email message).

A policy model does not function like a typical logic diagram. For example, a node does not automatically evaluate the values from the immediately preceding node. Rather, for each node, you can specify an input value that is associated with any predecessor node, even if the nodes are not directly connected. Before you create a policy model, make sure that you understand the basic principles for working with a policy model.

Family Policy Triggers

For any family, you can create one family policy for each available trigger. Predix Essentials supports the following triggers for family policies.

Trigger Description
Before InsertExecutes the policy before a record is created.
After InsertExecutes the policy after a record is created.
Before UpdateExecutes the policy after changes have been made to a record, before those changes are saved to the database.
After UpdateExecutes the policy after changes to a record have been saved.
Before DeleteExecutes the policy before a record is deleted.
After DeleteExecutes the policy after a record has been deleted.

Create a Family Policy

Procedure

  1. In the module navigation menu, select Admin > Configuration Manager > Family Management.

    The Family Management page appears.



  2. Select the family for which you want to create a family policy.
    Note:
    • If you want to access a new family from Policy Designer, you must first sign out of Predix Essentials, and then sign in.
    • If a user is signed into Predix Essentials at the time that you created a family, they cannot access the family unless they sign out of Predix Essentials and then sign in.

    The workspace for the selected family appears.

  3. Select the Rules and Policies tab.

    The Rules and Policies section appears.

  4. Select the Family Policies option, and then select .
    Important: If you select the VB Rules option, family policies will be used instead of any configured rules for the family.

    A list of the possible family policy triggers appears.

  5. Next to the trigger for which you want to create a family policy, select Add.

    The Family Policy page appears, displaying the Design workspace where you can add nodes to the model canvas.



  6. In the Details workspace, enter a brief description for the new family policy.
  7. Select .

    A family policy is created.

Access a Family Policy

Procedure

  1. Access Configuration Manager .
  2. Select Family Management.

    The Family Management page appears.

  3. Select the family associated with the family policy that you want to open.

    The workspace for the selected family appears.

  4. At the top of the workspace, select Rules and Policies.

    The Rules and Policies section appears, displaying a list of the possible family policy triggers.

  5. Next to the trigger associated with the family policy that you want to open, select the Edit link.

    The Family Policy page appears, displaying the Design workspace for the family policy that you selected.

Refresh Metadata for Family Policies

About This Task

If the metadata used by a policy or node of a policy model is modified, you can refresh the metadata for the policy and its nodes so that they use the updated metadata. You can refresh the metadata for the policy or for specific nodes of the policy model.

Procedure

  1. Access the policy for which you want to refresh the metadata.
  2. In the Design workspace, perform one of the following steps:
    • If you want to refresh the metadata for the policy, in the Edit section of the toolbar, select .

      The metadata for the policy is refreshed.

    • If you want to refresh the metadata for a node, select the node, and then in the Properties window for the node, select .

      The metadata for the node is refreshed.

Delete a Family Policy

About This Task

Procedure

  1. Access the policy that you want to delete.
  2. On the toolbar, select .

    A dialog box with a confirmation message appears.

  3. Select OK.

    The policy is deleted from the Predix Essentials database.