User processes are saved within the Sentinel database, which are then made available in a monitor. When you first save a user process, you will be asked to provide a name and a description.
- To save a user process, click File > Save User Process from the menu.
Additional properties, specified in the Process tab of the Properties pane, are also saved with the process. You can specify these when you first save the process, or at any time thereafter.
Process Name
Provide a descriptive name for the process. You should follow any naming conventions adopted by your organisation.
Process Group
Specify the name of the group to which the process will belong.
Description
In the blank empty box below the process group, type the description of the process. This can be very useful for processes that you share with other people, to help explain the purpose of the process.
Process Data Type
Time series data can be discrete or continuous. With continuous data, a sampling method is applied to infer values between retrieved data points so that a sample point always returns data. The sample method is specified in P2 Server, and can be average, last known value, or linear interpolate. With discrete data, no inference is applied between data points and ‘no data’ is a valid value. If the Process Data Type is set to Discrete, the Raw sample method is automatically applied and set in P2 Server.
Default State
If your process includes the Raise Event and Change State component, you are able to assign one of the states as the default state for the process. In doing this, the severity selection in the Sentinel test editor becomes unselectable.
Data Windowing Type
This needs to be specified only if any of the Window components are used in the process (i.e. Get Window, Get Window From, Get Window Start Filter). The Data Windowing Type must be consistent with the data types retrieved by the process.
Data that passes through these windows is stored on the Sentinel server's hard drive. As Sentinel has the potential to process a lot of data through these windows, storage of that data must be considered.
Ensure you specify a large enough data window, otherwise you may get more data than you asked for because of the way data is cached in Sentinel. The window should be larger than the largest period specified by the process.
For each process, the following options are available:
None: No data is stored. This is the default for all processes. If this is selected for a process that contains a Window component, the process will not validate as no data will be passed through.
Data Points: Retrieve the latest specified number of data points. This is often used for data that is produced at random time intervals. For example, if you specify 50, the last 50 data points are retrieved.
Time Period: Retrieves all the data specified for the time period from the current time. For example, if you specify a duration of 5 days, all data for the last 5 days is retrieved.
Note: Every time you save a process, a new version is created. You may open any of these versions at a later date if you wish.