ProductsFlowForce

FlowForce® Server Beta 1 is an exciting new server product from Altova designed to automate the execution of MapForce data transformations and other tasks on dedicated servers, virtual machines, or even regular workstations, depending on the scope of your project. The intuitive FlowForce Server web interface lets you define multi-step jobs that are triggered by a flexible schedule or by the availability of new input files.

Altova FlowForce® is an easy-to-use management and automation tool for data conversion and integration tasks offered as a free public beta test to all licensed users of Altova MapForce® 2012 Enterprise Edition and MapForce® 2012 Professional Edition.

The block diagram below illustrates the relationships between FlowForce Server components and various data sources.

• No code generation

• – No need to compile generated code or combine source code for data mappings with other administration modules for later execution

• Fully integrated workflow from mapping design to deployment and job definition
• Automated job execution
• All job execution steps are logged in detail
• Easy-to use web interface for local or remote administration

FlowForce Server Beta 1 supports definition and execution of triggers to start data transformation jobs based on various criteria:

• Time triggers, including:

• – One shot execution to start a job at a specific date and time
• – Repetitive execution based on days, day of week, date in month, and more
• – Repeated triggers to run jobs at user specified intervals

• File triggers to start a job when a specific file changes or when a new file has been created in a directory (hot folder)
• Remote triggers that poll for changes on an http server

To provide maximum flexibility, any number of triggers, even of different types, can be defined for single job.

A FlowForce Server Beta 1 job can include a series of actions to be performed when one of the triggers fires. The available actions are managed in packages:

• Any MapForce mapping can be deployed to a FlowForce package directly from the MapForce graphical environment. This allows you to use all the powerful data transformation features of MapForce in an automated server environment, including XML, databases, flat files, EDI, Excel 2007+, XBRL, and/or Web services.
• Built-in actions include copying or moving files, creating or removing directories, or executing arbitrary command lines. This allows you to move or delete intermediate working files, and much more.

A FlowForce Server Beta 1 job can include a long series of actions that watch for incoming files, perform data transformations, extract or insert information in databases, process EDI files, recognize and react to changes on remote http servers, move or delete intermediate working files, and much more. With its powerful set of scheduling features and advanced data mapping functionality, FlowForce Server Beta 1 lets you efficiently manage, control and automate today’s complex enterprise-level data integration tasks.

 Some planned functionality may not be available in current FlowForce Server Beta 1 installers.

A FlowForce Server Beta 1 installation consists of several modules:

FlowForce Server

The FlowForce Server is the core of the FlowForce system and runs as a background service without a graphical user interface. FlowForce Server continuously checks for trigger conditions, starts and monitors job execution, and writes detailed logs. To execute job steps that use a MapForce mapping package, it sends an execution request to MapForce Server.

MapForce Server

MapForce Server is an implementation of the MapForce Built-in execution engine that executes mapping packages previously deployed via the MapForce graphical environment. MapForce Server is always installed on the same machine as FlowForce Server.

FlowForce Web Administration Interface

The FlowForce Web Administration Interface is the front-end of FlowForce Server. It is a standalone web application that can be installed on the same machine as FlowForce Server or on any other machine in your environment.

The user interface runs in an internet browser and allows administrators to configure the specific server operations including jobs, triggers, etc. The beta version supports Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 and 8 or current versions of Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.

MapForce Beta

MapForce Beta is an enhanced version of the Altova MapForce application with an integrated deployment feature. Just like the current release of MapForce 2012, MapForce Beta lets you graphically define data mappings. Once a mapping has been tested and debugged, MapForce Beta lets you deploy it to a FlowForce server package.

An administrator or developer runs MapForce Beta on a personal Windows workstation to develop and deploy mappings onto the FlowForce Server.

Altova is pleased to offer FlowForce Server Beta 1, consisting of all the modules described above, as a free public beta test to all licensed users of Altova MapForce® 2012 Enterprise Edition and MapForce® 2012 Professional Edition. The FlowForce Server Beta 1 test period is scheduled to run until April 1, 2012 when all installed beta test licenses will expire.

 All FlowForce Server modules may be downloaded at the FlowForce Server Beta 1 Download Page.

FlowForce Server Beta 1 requires a license key code. Click here for the FlowForce Server Beta 1 License Key Request Form.

Please use the FlowForce Server Beta 1 Support Page to report any FlowForce Beta 1 technical issues you may encounter or to suggest FlowForce Beta 1 feature enhancements.

For more information on the data mapping and transformation capabilities you can define in MapForce® 2012 mappings, please visit the MapForce product feature pages.

Thank you for your interest in FlowForce Server Beta 1, and we look forward to hearing real-world feedback!