This page is for data modellers, application designers and system administrators. It explains how to create a task, and the different types of PhixFlow Task.

Overview

TBC

Creating a Task

In task plan properties→ Tasks, click Add New.
Select one of the task types from the menu; see Types of Task, below.
PhixFlow opens a new task properties tab.
Enter a name in Basic Settings → Name.
Apply.
Optionally set other properties and add streams; see Task Properties, below.

Sections on this page

When streamsTask Properties

For information about the properties toolbar, and about the sections Parent Details, Analysis Models, Description and Audit Summary, see Common Properties. We recommend you always add a Description that explains the purpose of the item you are creating.

For a full list of all the PhixFlow property tabs and windows, see Properties, Windows, Menus and Toolbars.

Basic Settings

Field	Description
Name	Enter the name of the task.
Mandatory	Error rendering macro 'excerpt-include' : No link could be created for '_check_box_ticked'. to specify that this task must succeed before attempting the next task in the task plan. _check_box_untick Untick to specify that, even if this task fails, the next task in the task plan can run.
Order	Specify the order that the task will be run in the task plan. For example, if there are a total of 4 tasks in the task plan, and you want this task to run third, enter `3`.
Task Type	PhixFlow displays the type of this task, which can be: Analysis Task Archive Task Rollback Task System Task You select the task type when first add the task. This field is visible after the task is saved for the first time. You cannot change the task type.
Archive All	Available when Task Type = Archive Task. Error rendering macro 'excerpt-include' : No link could be created for '_check_box_ticked'. to delete or archive data according to a stream's Archive Settings. This applies to all streams that are not listed in any archive task. Untick to apply this task to one or more streams. Add the streams in the Streams section. To save an archive task, it must: either have this option ticked or have at least one stream.

Streams

This section is only available for analysis tasks and archive tasks. The grid shows the list of streams assigned to the task.

When you are creating a new task, remember to name and save the task properties so that the Streams section toolbar becomes available.

There are different ways you can add streams to the list.

From a model, hover your mouse pointer over the stream to display the pop-up toolbar. Click Drag Object and drag it into the grid.
From the repository, click
Error rendering macro 'excerpt-include' : No link could be created for '_streams_show'.
to display the list of the streams in the repository. Drag a stream from the list into the grid.
From the stream properties, drag the icon into the grid.

If you add multiple streams to the task, PhixFlow will process the streams in any order when the task runs. Only use this method if there is you are sure there are no dependencies between the streams.

Types of Task

Analysis Tasks

Use an analysis task to run analysis on the stream(s) in the task.

Rollback Tasks

Use a rollback task to effectively undo run analysis on a stream. When you run a rollback task it rolls back all data in each of the listed streams, deleting the stream-sets. The list of stream sets is empty and there are no data records in the stream (tbc). For information about how to rollback streams manually, see Rollback.

Archive Tasks

Use an archive task to delete or archive stream data or stream sets that you no longer need in PhixFlow. Archive data is saved into a zip file - to get at this? You can (in theory) reinstate archive data.

Whether or not PhixFlow deletes or archives stream sets depends on how the archive settings in the stream are configured.

Phixflow can only run an archive task on streams that have Archive Settings specified. If a stream does not have any archive settings, PhixFlow never deletes or archives the data. Stream sets will accumulate, leading to space and performance issues.

Running an archive task on a large number of streams, or on a stream with a large data set can take some time. We recommend scheduling archiving tasks for times when the system is quiet, for example overnight.

Archiving Specific Streams

You can create an archiving task for a specific stream or streams. PhixFlow creates a single zip file containing the specified streams. For example, you might want to create a single archive for:

data from several related streams
a stream that contains a large amount of data
a stream that you want to be able to restore from the backup. This is easier when the data is in its own zip.

Archiving Any Stream

You can create a single archive task to delete or archive the data in streams:

that are not in another archive task
and have archiving settings configured.

To do this, select the Archive All option

When you run the task, PhixFlow:

deletes stream sets that are older than the specified archive settings in the stream
creates a zip archive of all the stream sets within the specified archive settings in the stream.
This is a single archive containing all the data from all the streams processed.

Archive tasks must have:

either at least one stream added
or have the Archive All option ticked.

If streams are deleted from the repository, their names will automatically be removed from tasks that refer to them. This means a saved task can become empty/redundant. PhixFlow will no longer run the task - log mesages??

Finding the Archive file

When a stream is archived, PhixFlow logs information in the system console → Archive Log. This includes information about the data archived and any archive file created. This is a single archive containing all the data from the streams processed.. Optionally, the archived data can be saved to a file. If this is done, the data can reloaded into PhixFlow using Restore Archive.

This should be a warning in the Streams page.

Streams that do not have any Archive Settings will never have their data deleted or archived. This can cause large amounts of data to build up in PhixFlow, affecting performance. Remember to set your archive settings!!!

For data in a stream to be deleted or archived, the stream must have Archive Settings applied. If a stream does not have any archive settings, the data will accumulate, leading to performance issues.

System Tasks

Use a system task to perform system-wide housekeeping activities. These include deleting:

managed file entries
email entries
temporary files created by file exporters to send by email
data from incomplete stream sets
log messages and optionally archiving them.

The system task should be run daily, or at a minimum every week. If incomplete stream sets are not deleted, they can slow down PhixFlow's performance. Depending on your PhixFlow database, queries that have to exempt many incomplete stream sets can reach system limits. This can prevent PhixFlow and its applications from running.

The archiving periods, and whether to archive log messages before they are deleted, are controlled by the following parameters in System Configuration:

Task