A Dynamic Group definition is a configuration that ultimately creates a hierarchy of asset groups within a selected Parent Asset Group. The hierarchy is based on an ordered set of properties. These properties must be defined for models in the Platform for them to be available for creating or editing dynamic groups.
The order of the properties in the dynamic group definition determines which dynamically created asset group is the parent of another dynamically created asset group. The value for the top-level property in the dynamic group definition will create an asset group that is a parent of the group created by the value of the second-level property, and so on.
Creation of dynamic groups requires that assets are provisioned with values for properties in one of the following ways: through the Axeda® Enterprise Server through a provisioning file created for the agent running on the asset, or through Web services. For details about provisioning assets for dynamic group definitions, refer to Provisioning Assets with Property Values for Dynamic Group Definitions.
When dynamic group definitions exist and values are assigned to the properties for assets, an asset is assigned to the lowest asset group in the hierarchy created by the dynamic group definition. That said, the visibility of any asset depends on the assignments of asset groups to user groups. Users who are Administrators can see all asset groups and all assets. Non-administrative users who are members of a user group that has been assigned to an asset group that is at the lowest level of the hierarchy can see only the assets assigned to that lowest-level asset group. Non-administrative users who are members of a user group that has been assigned to an asset group in the middle of the hierarchy can see the assets assigned to that middle-level group AND all the assets of asset groups that have that middle-level group as its parent.
Notes:
For information about security for dynamic group definitions in a Platform
where Delegated Administration is not enabled, refer to Security for
Objects in Axeda® Connected Product Management Applications.
For information about security for dynamic group definitions in a Platform
where Delegated Administration is enabled, refer to Security for Objects in
Delegated Administration Units.
When viewing contacts in a Platform with Delegated Administration
enabled, the names of contacts may have prefixes; for details, refer to
Names
of Objects in DA Units.
Also note that
Delegated Admin visibility restrictions and privileges are NOT fully supported
for Dynamic Groups. See Supported
Objects for Delegated Administration for more information.
An asset has been provisioned with values for properties used in a dynamic group definition. When that asset registers with the Platform, the Platform evaluates the name/value pairs for the properties and creates the hierarchy of asset groups in the dynamic group definition, using the values set for each property. For example, suppose the following properties are used in a dynamic group definition in the following order:
ServiceProvider
Product
OperatingSystem
Now suppose an asset that is provisioned with values for those properties registers with the Platform. The Platform determines that it needs to run a dynamic group definition, then locates and executes the dynamic group definition, as follows:
The Platform looks at the value of the Service Provider property and, if the group does not yet exist, creates an asset group using that value as the name of the asset group. It does NOT assign the asset to this asset group.
The Platform looks at the value of the Product property and, if necessary, creates an asset group using that value as the name of the asset group. This asset group is created as a child of the asset group created using the value of the Service Provider property. The Platform does NOT assign the asset to this child asset group.
The Platform looks at the value of the OperatingSystem property and, if necessary, creates an asset group using that value as the name of the asset group. This asset group is created as a child of the asset group created using the value of the Product property. It DOES assign the asset to this (grandchild) asset group.
The asset is not added to any group unless it provided values for all three properties.
Note that the Browse tree in the Axeda® Service application will show these asset groups in a hierarchical (nested) fashion. Depending on your privileges, you may see only the asset group created using the value of the OperatingSystem property, the middle-level group and the OperatingSystem group, or the entire structure. No matter which asset group(s) you have privileges to view, if you have privileges to one of them, you will see the asset.
The View and manage asset groups page shows each of the asset groups created by a dynamic group definition in a flat list, with the Parent Asset Group column showing the fully qualified path for each dynamically created asset group.
Continuing this example, suppose AssetB has the following name/value pairs:
ServiceProvider=PartnerXYZ
Product=Laptop2300
OperatingSystem=WindowsXP
The asset groups created by this dynamic group definition for this asset would look like this:
As you can see, AssetB is a member of only the lowest asset group in the hierarchy created by this dynamic group definition.
To create dynamic groups in the Platform, follow these main steps:
Provision assets: Add the properties that will be used for creating dynamic groups to the appropriate models or create provisioning files for the Axeda Agents running on the assets to upload when they register with the Platform. Ensure that the property values are set for the assets, either through provisioning files or the Axeda® Connected Product Management Applications.
From the Axeda® Administration application, add the dynamic group definitions.
Start the agents so that they register with the Platform.
Each time the asset contacts the Platform, the Platform executes the dynamic group definition again. If property values have changed, the Platform removes the asset from the currently assigned asset groups and creates (as needed) new asset groups using the current values and makes the appropriate assignments of the asset to the asset groups.
The Audit Log in the Asset dashboard shows the activity related to the removal of existing asset group assignments and the creation of new asset group assignments for an asset. The System Configuration category of the Audit Log in the Administration application and drm.log will show any failures that occur when dynamic group definitions are executed.