Inforalgo STP Tool Set
It is often said that for STP to be effective the middleware must contain 6 key ingredients:
1. Mapping Tools to map data to & from one or more systems.
2. Viewers that enable multiple users, according to their authority level, to filter, view and maintain data on any database anywhere on the network.
3. Monitoring Tools to scrutinize all tasks and data flows providing conditional warnings and/or repair facilities where needed.
4. Rules based Routing Engine – a User maintainable rule based validation, selection and routing module.
5. Algo Engine – Where business rules can be entered and held as a set of tables in order to control certain processes.
6. Reconciliation processes to confirm that the different systems are synchronized with each other highlighting any unmatched data.
In order to respond to this market need and to assist clients with “change management” Inforalgo has a strategy of “cross product” modules. These include:
• The Universal Viewer
• The Data Flow Designer (Mapper)
• A central Control Panel (including Task Monitoring & conditional emailing)
• A Rules & Routing Engine
• A Reconciliation Module
By use of these cross product modules; together with its extensive range of market interfaces, Inforalgo is able to provide a highly cost effective central “Hub” solution.
Whether you wish to interface your systems via FIX, API, Flat File, FTP or MQ Series – whether it is a UNIX, LINUX or a Windows Platform – whether it is Oracle, Sybase or SQL Server – Inforalgo ‘s STP methodology can save you a lot of time and money.
Mapper/Data Flow Designer
The Data Flow Designer or Mapping Tool allows a user to define a “translation” for loading data from a flat file, database input or MQ Series queue to a flat file, database output or MQ Series queue.
The Configuration panel displays three components:
1. Record definitions - these are the records defined to the application. I.e The input record and the Output record.
2. Mappings - these are the actual mappings between the input record and the output record.
3. Packages - these are the standard functions available. (Lookup, Left, Mid, Right, Ucase, Lcase, Pad, MakeFi, MakeNumber, Make Fraction, Exclude, DateStamp & IF etc.)
Sometimes the source is a table lookup because there is not a direct mapping that can be achieved without a lookup function. When using a table “look up” (often used for mapping fields such as “Counterparties” or “Trader Name”) the format is Database name, table name, table column, name of field.
To create a new input/output or mapping file a new definition can be entered or it can be based on a clone of another definition.
Displayed in the centre screens are:
• The input record definition and
• The output record definition.
On the right of the screen are:
• The Standard Packages list and
• The Mappings table contents
showing the packages, for the selected data item, that must be performed on the input data item to produce the output.
The Universal Viewer
The Universal Viewer is a client configurable viewer that enables multiple users anywhere on the network to view any number of database tables (Oracle, Sybase or SQL Server) individually or collectively. The module consists of:
a) Configuration Editor that a system developer uses to set up an infrastructure to support one or more:
b) Visual Basic (VB) Viewers that:
• Present the data in the style defined in the Editor and
• Have the appropriate function buttons to expedite any :
• Data filters
• Data manipulations
• Cross-reference table lookups
• Corrections of invalid data with optional resubmission of records to third party systems.
all of which are defined in the Configuration Editor
The Universal Viewer is also “Web-enabled” and supports any ODBC database such as ORACLE, SYBASE or SQL Server.
The Central Control Panel
The Central Control Panel enables the user to monitor and control all Inforalgo interface applications running on the users’ network. It contains all the necessary functionality to monitor and control the various tasks on the servers including start/stop and parameter driven settings of each interface. To provide a method of:
1. Monitoring the whole of one interface or several systems if applicable, as to:
• Which of the main tasks are running and which are not
• The flow of data from one task to another
2. Stopping and starting the main tasks of an interface, for example to restart a task that has had a problem which is now resolved
The circle to the left of each task indicates the status of the task:
Red The task is not running.
Amber The task is running but not heartbeat.
Green The task is running and heartbeating.
Clear This relates to loader tasks usually invoked by another task e.g. a batch file reception task. Clear means that it is not running and it changes to Green when running with no heartbeating.
There are nine screens of information with each task shown and these are displayed in convenient “Tab” format. They cover every item of information ranging from Protocol Status and last heartbeat through to Timers (above) and which screens are to be displayed with which tasks.
State of batch processes: There are four icons used by the Control Panel to indicate the state of each batch processes set up on the system.
Waiting: The clock means the application is waiting for the batch file.
Processing: The green traffic light means it is being processed.
Received: The tick means it has been successfully processed.
Overdue: The warning triangle means it has not yet arrived and is overdue.
Task Monitoring & Email Function
This process is designed to monitor the tasks and some subsidiary functions, incorporated in the Inforalgo Software Suites.
All functions can be paramatised to function on certain days, and within time ranges.
• Check if Tasks are registered with ‘task manager’
• Check process Heartbeat files, are being produced
• Check for arrival of files in designated directories
• Check for completion or error condition in batch processes
• Check for availability of assigned Database
• Produce it’s own Heartbeat file, for full resilience
