Archive Business Process Data
Sterling B2B Integrator uses a set of components to move business process data that has reached its specified lifespan out of the live database.
- Index Business Process service
- Backup Business Process service
- Purge service
Data that has been removed using the Backup Business Process component can later be restored to the same version using the Restore Business Process component.
Business process data written to the database is determined by the persistence level specified in the Business Process Manager or in the noapp.properties file. Decreasing the persistence level increases the business process performance at the cost of full-tracking for each step of the business process.
Business processes are eligible for archiving as soon as their archive flag is set by the Index Business Process service. You do not have to wait until a business process exceeds its lifespan before archiving it. After the archive flag is set, the business process is then archived the next time the Backup Business Process service is run either by schedule (at 2 A.M. each morning) or manually. The data is still available in the system because it cannot be purged (with the Purge service) until it has exceeded its lifespan.
The Restore Business Process service restores archived business process data from physical media to a restored data location, where it can be searched and viewed.
The Index Business Process service runs a process that looks for archiving parameters defined in the business process. When the process finds these parameters, the process creates summary information and writes the information to a table in the database.
The Backup Business Process service runs based on how you have configured your archive settings. The Backup Business Process service retains the business process and its related data to a file system as Java™ serialized objects for backup or purging. The Purge service then runs and removes data from the database, file system, or both as specified in the archive settings.
You cannot archive active business process instances (for example, halting, halted or interrupted). Only data for completed or terminated business processes that have been indexed can be archived.
The following figure shows the archiving process.
- 0 - Back up data
- 1 - Purge data without performing a back up
- 2 - Data back up sets the flag to 2, which purges data
You cannot delete a workflow definition of a business process (using the Source Manager of the Business Process Manager) while an instance of that process is being indexed, archived, or purged.
In the same manner that you schedule business processes, you can schedule the intervals at which you want to index, archive, and purge the contents of the database.
You can also define the lifespan, or the length of time, in days and hours, to retain the data in the live database tables. This is the length of time until the business process instance expires.