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Connect a DPF System

Prerequisites

To connect a DPF system as backend system for SEAL Operator, the DPF system has to have the appropriate REST interface. Therefore, the version 2.2.0 of DPF is required.

Configure the Connector

In SEAL Operator, activate the connector and specify the keys for the connection:

  1. Open a Command Prompt or PowerShell.

  2. Export the complete configuration of SEAL Operator from Consul to a YAML file with the following command. So you're making sure the current configuration settings are being used.

    operator config export <filename>.yml --insecure

  3. Edit the exported file <filename>.yml.

  4. In the section of the DPF connector, set cstatus to on. The Fileupload (scratch) connector has to be activated as well.

    operator:
  connectors:
    ...
      dpf:
        cstatus: 'on'
        serviceName: operator-dpf
        url: 'https://localhost:3014'
      scratch:
        cstatus: 'on'
        serviceName: operator-fileupload
        url: 'https://localhost:3009'
    ...

    Caution - do not turn off

    Do not deactivate the Fileupload (scratch) connector. The DPF connector will not work otherwise!

  5. In the env section, specify the following keys for the operator-dpf service:

    env:
  service:
  ...
    operator-dpf:
      tag:
        any:
          ACTION_EXECUTOR: DPF
          DPF_URL: 'https://<dpf_server_name>:<port>/rest/dpf'
  ...

    Literature - keys

    For further information about available keys, refer to the Key Reference.

  6. Save the <filename>.yml file

  7. Re-import it to Consul.

    operator config import <filename>.yml --insecure

Configure the Panel

The DPF panel is configured on the DPF server in the following file by default:

%DPFSRV%/conf/operator/panel.json

A different file and location can be specified in main.customer.xml.

Hint - template

For the panel configuration file, the panel.json.tpl template is available.

At a minimum, the DPF connector uses the following properties:

  • Capabilities
  • Merge
  • JobConfig
  • ConversionType

These properties also have to be included in the fieldsets array even if they are not visible in the panel.

The panelname parameter in the Capabilities property decides which DPF Rest service is to be used and how the parameters are to be passed:

  • panelname is dpf4convert: The dpfconvert REST operation is used for transferring the job.
  • panelname begins with dpfconvert_: The generic process is used and the parameters have to be mapped.

Example - minimum configuration of the DPF panel

{
    "name": "Signature",
    "type": "convert",
    "pid": "056f46db-c35a-492d-b545-7275765d57bf",
    "json_schema": {
      "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/schema#",
      "type": "object",
      "required": [],
      "properties": {
        "Capabilities": {
          "type": "object",
          "widget": "hidden",
          "properties": {      
            "panelname": {
              "type": "string",
              "default": "dpf4convert_check"
            }
          }
        },
        "ConversionType":{
          "type": "string",
          "default": "convert",
          "widget": "hidden"
        },
        "Merge": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "default": true,
          "widget": "hidden"
        },
        "JobConfig":{
          "type": "string",
          "default": "signature",
          "widget": "hidden"
        }
      },
      "fieldsets": [
        {
          "fields": [
            "JobConfig",
            "Merge",
            "ConversionType"
          ]
        },
        {
          "fields": [
            "Capabilities"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
}

Map Parameters for Generic Processes

If the panel uses a generic process, i. e. if the value in panelname begins with dpf4convert_, the parameters from panel.json have to be mapped to the properties for the DPF process. Therefore, configure the mapping in main.customer.xml on the DPF server:

Example - mapping of jobConfig field

In the example below, it is assumed the fields Role and DummyUser have been configured in the DPF panel.

<DPFRestService.convert>
    <jobConfig name="signature" workflow="<wf_name>">
        <jobParameters>
          <jobParameter name="Role">%Role%</jobParameter>
          <jobParameter name="DummyUser">%DummyUser%</jobParameter>
        </jobParameters>
    </jobConfig>
</DPFRestService.convert>

Hint - file transfer

The files to be processed by DPF are transferred in the FILE<x> DPF property, for example, FILE1.

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