The PIP Monitor

The PIP Monitor is a component of the Sterling Gentran:Server® for RosettaNet that:

  • Tracks every PIP message.
  • Determines what the system response to the message should be.
  • Executes that response.

The PIP monitor ensures that messages which are flowing through the system conform to the business rules that you established through the PIP Profiler.

PIP Monitor activity

As part of its PIP tracking process, the PIP Monitor sends alerts, errors, and warnings to the Sterling Gentran:Server Audit Log. The PIP Monitor also resends messages, as required (for example, if a response message was not received then the PIP Monitor initiates a resend of the outgoing message). You configure PIP specifications via the PIP Profiler, according to the trading partner and message, and this configuration determines the PIP Monitor activities for each PIP.

Example Actions:

  • When a PIP message enters the system, the PIP Monitor uses the customized PIP profile that you configured with the PIP Profiler to ascertain which messages to send in response to the message.
  • The PIP Monitor resends the message automatically based on the values specified when you set up the PIP. When you create a PIP profile, you set a time allotment in which the response or acknowledgement for that message must be received. Then if the allotted time expires, the PIP Monitor resends the message. If the PIP Monitor reaches the maximum retry count, it sends an error message to the Sterling Gentran:Server Audit Notification system. Prior to initiating the resend, the PIP Monitor changes the status in the PIPTrack_tb database table to "R" so the Delivery Agent knows to treat the document as a resend.
  • If a resend does not correct the issue or a resend is no longer appropriate, the PIP Monitor places the PIP in a state of "Error" and initiates an 0A1 Notification of Failure PIP. You can also specify that if a PIP is approaching an error status then the PIP Monitor sets it to "Warning," based on the warning timeout threshold

See the Using the PIP Profiler section for more information about creating PIP profiles. See PIP Monitor Error Messages for information about the error messages the PIP Monitor sends to the Sterling Gentran:Server Audit Log.

Managing the PIP Monitor

The PIP Monitor does not have a Sterling Gentran:Server user interface. It is a service (RosettaNet Server PIP Monitor) managed through the Microsoft Windows Control Panel Services application (for Microsoft Windows) or the Services MMC snap-in.

Note: Any other information the PIP Monitor communicates is placed into the Sterling Gentran:Server Audit Log or the Microsoft Windows Event Log.

Viewing PIP Monitor messages

The PIP Monitor sends messages to the Audit Notification System and you use the Sterling Gentran:Server Audit Log to view PIP Monitor messages.

See Using the Audit Log in the IBM® Sterling Gentran:Server for Microsoft Windows Administration Guide for more information on that Sterling Gentran:Server feature.