| This content applies solely to Robotic Workforce Manager, which must be purchased separately from the Appian base platform. This content was written for Appian 21.4 and may not reflect the interfaces or functionality of other Appian versions. |
This setup guide is intended for customers using Appian 20.2 or later and Blue Prism versions 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, and 6.8.
As you begin, keep these notes in mind:
To successfully import an application package, the service account user which deploys the application package must be in the GMT time zone and must not be changed.
Go to the Appian Designer.
Figure 2.3.2.2 (e)
Click Import.
Figure 2.3.2.2 (f)
Upload the Robotic Workforce Manager<version>.zip file to the Package (ZIP) section. Make changes to the Robotic Workforce Manager.properties as mentioned below.
Note: If your installation of RWM only requires Blue Prism set up, don't modify the RWM_UI_PATH_CSP and RWM_AppianRPA sections in the properties file.
Robotic Workforce Manager.properties
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Provide the database vendor, ex: MYSQL or MSSQL
## Constant: RWM_DB_VENDOR
## Type: Text
##
## Text values will be displayed in Appian exactly as they are
## specified here. No spaces are trimmed. Values do not need to be
## encased in quotation marks.
content._a-0000e49f-ec1b-8000-9bc3-011c48011c48_1126829.VALUE=@@DATABASE_VENDOR@@
Provide the Appian environment URL ex:https://xyz.appiancloud.com
## Constant: RWM_VAL_APPIAN_DOMAIN_NAME
## Type: Text
##
## Text values will be displayed in Appian exactly as they are
## specified here. No spaces are trimmed. Values do not need to be
## encased in quotation marks.
content._a-0000e23d-7780-8000-9ba2-011c48011c48_64089.VALUE= [http(s)]://[Appian URL]
Appian business database name ex:jdbc/Appian
## Constant: RWM_VAL_COMMON_DATA_STORE_APPIAN
## Type: Text
##
## Text values will be displayed in Appian exactly as they are
## specified here. No spaces are trimmed. Values do not need to be
## encased in quotation marks.
content._a-0000e23d-7780-8000-9ba2-011c48011c48_69762.VALUE=jdbc/[Database Name]
The following are details specific to the UiPath connected system. No modifications are needed; these details are configured directly from the database.
## Connected System: RWM_UIPath_CSP
connectedSystem._a-0000e2f2-a540-8000-e99f-01ef9001ef90_314069.host=http(s)://<UIPath_Orchestrator_URL>
connectedSystem._a-0000e2f2-a540-8000-e99f-01ef9001ef90_314069.port=<Port_Number to access UIPath Orchestrator>
connectedSystem._a-0000e2f2-a540-8000-e99f-01ef9001ef90_314069.tenant=<Host_Name to access UIPath Orchestrator>
connectedSystem._a-0000e2f2-a540-8000-e99f-01ef9001ef90_314069.userName=<Username to access UIPath Orchestrator>
connectedSystem._a-0000e2f2-a540-8000-e99f-01ef9001ef90_314069.password=<password>
The following are specific to the Appian RPA HTTP connected system. For API Key Value, use the format "Bearer <apiKeyValue>". The API Key must be related to a service account in Admin Console. The service account should have System Administrator access.
## Connected System: RWM_AppianRPA
connectedSystem._a-0000e3be-674f-8000-9ba5-011c48011c48_30431.baseUrl=[http(s)]://[Appian URL]/rpa/
connectedSystem._a-0000e3be-674f-8000-9ba5-011c48011c48_30431.apiKeyValue=Bearer <apiKeyValue>
Robotic Workforce Manager.properties to the Import Customization File (PROPERTIES) section.
Figure 2.3.2.2 (g)
Click INSPECT. If the inspection returns no warnings or conflicts, then you are ready to move on to the next step of importing. If you're shown unexpected warnings or conflicts, please contact the support team.
Figure 2.3.2.2 (h)
Click IMPORT. Due to the size of this application, it may take a while to import, at which point the screen may time out. This is expected, and the import is still occurring in the background.
In order to use the encryption function plugin, we need to create third party credentials. You need to set up third party credentials because an encryption function will be used to encrypt the admin user's Blue Prism credentials. Below are the steps to set up the third party credentials.
Go to the Admin Console.
Figure 3.2.1.2 (a)
Click on the Third-Party Credentials option on the left hand menu.
Figure 3.2.1.2 (b)
Click Create. An interface will open up to set up third party credentials.
Figure 3.2.1.2 (c)
Enter encryptdecryptkey in the Name text box, and select Encryption Function in the plugin picker.
Figure 3.2.1.2 (d)
In the Credentials section, click Add field to add credentials. In Field name enter the text key and in Value enter an encryption key. You will need to generate your own AES-256 encryption key to enter here. Enable the Mask checkbox and click Save.
Figure 3.2.1.2 (e)
This completes the set up of third party credentials for the encryption function plugin.
To configure the vendor details, you need to be a member of the RWM_Admin group.
Click Add New Environment and enter the details.
Figure 3.2.1.3 (a)
Figure 3.2.1.3.b
Http://<serverurl>:8181/ws/To add the instance details:
On this tab, click Add New Instance to add all the instance details in accordance with vendor details. Disabled fields are not required.
Figure 3.2.1.3.c
Figure 3.2.1.3.d
The Robotic Workforce Manager package contains the Robotic Workforce Manager.bprelease file, which contains multiple objects to be setup in the Blue Prism Environment.
One dedicated run time resource is needed to manage the RWM application.
These objects are required to be added to the Blue Prism environment:
BPA Object - Data - SQL ServerBPA Object - Utility - XMLBPA Object - Utility - JSONBPA Object - Utility - Collection ManipulationAppian SkillSQL server authentication should be enabledTo add the objects:
Log into Blue Prism, click File > Import.
Figure 3.2.1.4.a
Robotic Workforce Manager<version> -> BP Release -> Utilities):
BPA Object - Utility - JSON BPA Object - Utility - Collection ManipulationBPA Object - Data - SQL ServerBPA Object - Utility - XMLAppian Skill
Figure 3.2.1.4.b
To enable SQL server authentication:
Right-click on the server and go to properties as in Figure 3.2.1.4 (c).
Figure 3.2.1.4.c
In properties, check SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode and click OK as shown in Figure 3.2.1.4 (d).
Figure 3.2.1.4.d
You'll need to set up Appian skill and credentials before importing the .bprelease file.
https://yourenvironment.appiancloud.com/suite/webapi/).
Figure 3.2.1.4.1.1 (a)
Figure 3.2.1.4.1.1 (b)
Figure 3.2.1.4.1.1 (c)
Robotic Workforce Manager.bprelease file and import into Blue Prism.
Figure 3.2.1.4.1.1 (d)
Post-setup steps
This includes configuring:
Environment variables
Note:
RWM_UI_TENANT_DETAILS table column name TENANT_ID.
Figure 3.2.1.4.1.2.1 (a)
Credentials
For RWM Blue Prism server and Appian credentials, provide the following access rights:
Refer to Figure 3.2.1.4.1.2.2 (a) for the location of the credentials.
Figure 3.2.1.4.1.2.2 (a)
Exposing business objects
Expose the following objects:
RWMAddtoQueue)RWMPopulateQueue)RWMUpdateProcessStatus)To communicate from Appian to Blue Prism:
In Blue Prism, go to System > Objects > Exposure > Expose a Business Object as shown below.
Figure 3.2.1.4.1.2.3 (a)
Enter the full name of the objects listed above. This includes the exposed object name and the object name indicated within the parenthesis (for example RWM Add to Queue (RWMAddtoQueue)). None of the checkboxes need to be selected as shown below.
Figure 3.2.1.4.1.2.3 (b)
Exposing processes
Expose the following processes:
RWM Asynchronous StartProcessRWM Test Appian WebApi CallTo communicate from Appian to Blue Prism:
RWM Asynchronous StartProcess). None of the checkboxes need to be selected as shown below.Schedulers
To set up RWM ETL Scheduler:
To set up RWM Schedules:
Figure 3.2.1.4.1.2.4 (a)
As you finish set up, confirm the following details to verify RWM and BluePrism are communicating as needed:
telnet <Blue Prism IP Address> <Port Number>.services.exe to make sure that the scheduled process in Blue Prism runs successfully.
Figure 3.2.1.5 (a)
To test the connection from Appian, use the integration RWM_testAppianWebAPICall. Pass your Blue Prism credentials as rule inputs and click Test Request.
Parameters:
https://<IPADDRESS>:<PORTNUMBER>/ws/
Figure 3.2.1.5 (b)
Data are loaded from Blue Prism to Appian on a continuous basis by running the ETL process on the Blue Prism side. The process could also be used to load historic data into Appian.
To load the historic data, the environment variables below should be configured:
RWM HistoricUpdate Flag - TrueRWM HistoricQuery StartDate - Start date the data should be fetched from Blue Prism.RWM HistoricQuery EndDate - End date the data should be fetched from Blue Prism.RWM ETL Batches - Initial value is 100, i.e 100 rows of data from Blue Prism will be transferred to Appian at a time. This number could be modified but the recommended value is 100.Once the above values are configured the process RWM_getDataFromBPToAppian needs to be started manually.
A scheduled ETL process runs every specified internal to collect Blue Prism statistics and move them to Appian via a predefined web service. The timing of this run is configurable. Users can configure the timing by navigating to the scheduler called RWM ETL Scheduler in Blue Prism. After which the RWM ETL task needs to be selected and the process RWM_getDataFromBPToAppian needs to be added against either a particular resource or to a pool.
Make sure that the logging level in Blue Prism for these continuous sync processes is set to error or none. Since this runs every 15 minutes by default, Blue Prism activity can accumulate large log files quickly and cause disk space issues. Perform testing to determine if logging level error or none is preferable.
NOTE:
RWM HistoricUpdate Flag is marked as False, so that the data sync from Blue Prism can run.
Figure 3.2.2.2 (a)
Once the data is loaded into Appian, the dashboards carry the last updated timestamp on each screen (top right corner).
It should be noted that the application can only show data as of the previous schedule (typically the previous frequency).
To enable the Blue Prism schedule process in RWM, set the RWM_BP_FLAG_PROCESS constant in Appian to True. This will enable the RWM Daily Process For Scheduler process model, which will run daily at the configured time.
Data regarding process, queue, work items, resource information, and other metrics are transported from Blue Prism to Appian on a scheduled interval. A scheduler invokes a Blue Prism robot to execute a process, which runs several queries. The response is converted to a JSON and moved to Appian via the endpoints configured on Appian's side.
Figure 3.2.3.1 (a)
Once a user starts or schedules a process, the process name, its input parameters, scheduled time (aka deferred time, if scheduled) and Appian-generated reference ID are sent to Blue Prism via Appian Web API. In Blue Prism, an object called HIL Populate Queue will be invoked (in background mode), which creates a work item based on this information. These processes will be triggered passively in Blue Prism via a Blue Prism Scheduler.
Figure 3.2.3.2 (a)
Figure 3.2.3.3 (a)
Currently, the near real-time extraction of the Process (Start/Schedule execution), Resource Status from Blue Prism. For this, there is a process in Appian that will run after the ETL process to update the status.This response will be updated in Appian.
Currently, the exception management reference app has been developed in Appian and Blue Prism, where Appian is used as a tool to manage the exceptions raised from data which is pulled by ETL process, where these exceptions will be assigned to a specific user or group based on the routing logic at Appian. If a match in the routing module is not found, the exceptions will be sent to the Exception Manager for assignment.
After you complete the post-setup steps, start the ETL Process (RWM_GetDataFromBPtoAppian) from the Control tab in Blue Prism. Note: Environment variable (RWM HistoricUpdate Flag) should be true when running for the first time alone (with RWM HistoricQuery StartDate and RWM HistoricQuery EndDate). After the first execution, it should be set to false.
Don't start the scheduler in Blue Prism until the RWM_GetDataFromBPtoAppian process for historic load is completed.
Learn more about the Blue Prism historical load process.
When you run the ETL, you may encounter errors due to misconfigurations. You can find these error messages in the session log of that particular instance. To access the session log, right click on the process, and click View Log.
Figure 3.3 (a)
Here are some solutions for common error messages:
This error may occur when the data sync load started before the historic load or a past ETL process is still running. If the ETL process was run for the first time with historic load (RWM HistoricUpdate flag set to true) or the previous instance of the ETL process (RWM_GetDataFromBPtoAppian) is still running, then the session log will appear as shown below.
Figure 3.3 (b)
To solve this error:
RWM_GetDataFromBPtoAppian) with historical load.RWM_GetDataFromBPtoAppian) is still running.This error may occur when the WebAPI endpoint checkbox is left unchecked.
Figure 3.3 (c)
To solve this error, check the WebAPI endpoint checkbox in Appian Skill > Send Data to Appian > Parameters > Expose.
This error appears in the logs when there are improper access rights for the credentials in Blue Prism.
Figure 3.3 (d)
To solve this error, provide the following access rights:
When you start a Blue Prism process from Appian, you will see an instance called RWM Populate Queue running in Blue Prism. This indicates that the web service call is successful.
Figure 3.3 (e)
When the scheduled process ends in Blue Prism, Appian will begin a process in Blue Prism called RWM Trigger Process.
Figure 3.3 (f)
