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Administration Guide

# Using the Liquid Data Console

This chapter describes how to use the Liquid Data Console to configure BEA Liquid Data for WebLogic.

The chapter contains the following sections:

- Introducing the Liquid Data Console
- Launching the Liquid Data Console
- Navigating the Liquid Data Console
- Controlling Access to the Liquid Data Console

# Introducing the Liquid Data Console

The Liquid Data Console is a web-based administration interface specifically designed for managing and using Liquid Data applications. You can use the console to set security and caching policies for data services, and configure Liquid Data runtime settings such as thread usage and logging levels.

The Liquid Data Console also provides access to the Liquid Data Metadata Browser. The Metadata Browser provides information useful to both Liquid Data administrators and application developers. Developers can see what data services are available, what information they provide, how to call them, and more. Administrators can determine the effects of changes to the data source layer in the console.

Note: For more information, see Viewing Metadata.

Figure 4-1 shows the main page of the Liquid Data Console.

Figure 4-1 Liquid Data Console

# Launching the Liquid Data Console

The Liquid Data Console is a web-based interface that enables you to administer and manage Liquid Data applications, access metadata, and configure security and caching policies.

To launch the Liquid Data Console:

1. Start the WebLogic Server in the WebLogic domain in which Liquid Data is deployed.

For more information, see Starting the WebLogic Server.

2. Using a web browser, open the following URL:

>     http://hostname:port/ldconsole

Where

- `hostname` is the machine name or IP address of the host server
- `port` is the address of the port on which the host server is listening for requests (7001 by default)

For example, to start the Liquid Data Console on a local instance of WebLogic Server (running on your own machine), navigate to the following URL:

>     http://localhost:7001/ldconsole/

3. When the login page appears, enter the appropriate user name and password.

The defaults user name and password is weblogic/weblogic, respectively.

# Navigating the Liquid Data Console

You can navigate to the various pages in the Liquid Data Console using the tree in the Navigation pane. The administration pages are organized by application and data service, as shown inFigure 4-2.

Figure 4-2 Console Tree Panel

The following describes the actions you can perform using the Navigation pane:

Console Access Control. Enables you to configure the access control policies that specifies who can access particular console features. Clicking Administration or Metadata Browser displays the Policy Editor, enabling you to specify Policy Statements defining access. For more information, see Using the WebLogic Policy Editor.

Domains. Expand to display the Liquid Data applications in the domain. Alternatively, you can click a domain name to display the list of applications in the Content pane. Right-click and choose Search in the context-sensitive menu to search metadata in the domain (see Searching Metadata on page 8-8).

Applications. Expand to display the Data Services folder. Alternatively, you can click the application name to display the general application settings in the Content pane. For more information, see General Application Settings. Right-click and choose Search in the context-sensitive menu to search metadata in the application (see Searching Metadata on page 8-8).

Data Services. Expand to display the data service project folders in the application. Alternatively, you can click the Data Services folder to display the list of project folders in the Content pane. Right-click and choose Search in the context-sensitive menu to search metadata in the data services (see Searching Metadata on page 8-8).

Project Folder. Expand to display specific data services contained in the project folder. Alternatively, you can click a project folder to display the list of data services in the Content pane. For more information, see Displaying Application Data Services. Right-click and choose Search in the context-sensitive menu to search metadata in the project folder (see Searching Metadata on page 8-8).

Specific Data Service. Expand to display the functions that comprise the data service. Alternatively, you can click a specific data service to display the administration screen for the functions in the Content pane. For more information, see Examining Data Service Functions.

Function. Click to display information about the function in the Content pane, including general information, dependencies, where the function is used, properties, and the return type. For more information, see Displaying Function Details. Right-click and choose Define Security Policy in the context-sensitive menu to create a security policy for the function using the WebLogic Policy Editor (see Understanding Security Policies on page 6-5).

## Displaying Application Data Services

You can display the data services available to an application, along with information about each data service.

To display the data services associated with an application:

- Expand a Data Services project folder within an application in the Navigation pane.

The data services contained in the project folder appear in the Navigation pane.

- Alternatively, select a specific Data Services project folder in the Navigation pane.

The list of data services contained in the project folder appears in the Content pane, as illustrated in Figure 4-3.

Figure 4-3 Data Services Available to a Project

Table 4-1 describes the information presented for each data service.

Table 4-1 Data Service Information

Column | Description
--- | ---
Name | The name of the data service.
Path | The physical location of the data service.
Description | An optional description of the data service.
Type | Data services can be physical or logical. A physical data service represents an actual data source, such as a database table. The specific data source type, such as Relational, Web Service, and so on, is displayed for physical data services. A logical data service is a manually created data service that aggregates or filters data in some way.

## Examining Data Service Functions

You can examine the functions that comprise a data service, and manage the cache and security settings, as required. You can also view metadata associated with a data service.

To display the functions that comprise a data service:

- Expand a specific data service within a project folder in the Navigation pane.

The functions that comprise a data service appear in the Navigation pane.

- Alternatively, select a data service within a project folder in the Navigation pane.

An administration screen for the functions in the data service appears in the Content pane, as illustrated in Figure 4-4. For more information about administering data service functions, seeSetting Up Caching, Securing Data Service Functions, and Understanding Data Service Metadata.

Figure 4-4 Data Service Functions

There are two types of functions identified in the Navigation tree, as described in Table 4-2.

Table 4-2 Function Types

Icon | Function Type
--- | ---
| Navigation function, which return data from a related data service.
| Read function, which return data in the form of the data service type.

## Displaying Function Details

You can display information about specific functions, including general information, dependencies, where the function is used, properties, and the return type. To display details about a function:

- Select the specific function in the Navigation pane.

Metadata associated with the function appears in the Content pane, as illustrated in Figure 4-5. For more information, see Displaying Function Metadata.

Figure 4-5 Function Details

# Controlling Access to the Liquid Data Console

The Liquid Data Console is a securable resource from the perspective of WebLogic Security. You can set access control policies that defines who can view and use particular pages in the console. The features are distinguished by two functional categories:

- Administrative. This includes security and cache settings.
- Informational. Displays metadata on data services, such as return types, functions, relationships, and so on.

For information on controlling access to resources in the console, see Securing Liquid Data Resources.