Enhancing CBMA Alerts and Message Monitoring with UDS Attributes

It is very difficult to understand the SAP PI alert JSON message sent to functional/business users. Business users keep asking about the key attributes for alert is generated. This requirement normally takes some custom development for earlier PI versions but for new CBMA alerts we have UDS attributes, which takes cares of this requirement.

At least, adding these attributes will let business/functional team know that for which key values errors occurred and they can contact technical team or by looking into alert error text, can take further action.

Business requirement–

Alert messages are not readable or very technical
Not sure for which key fields error occurred
PI Admin takes time to find messages for particular key
Key/Payload based search of messages
Message Monitoring Enhancement

For example– If we are sending PO information to our partner and mapping error occurred, then alert message should contain PO number as UDS attribute so that business and functional team should be aware of PO in error and take further action.

How UDS attributes will look like in CBMA alert message?

After setting up UDS attributes in NWA, alert messages will contain additional field at end of the message called UDSAtrrs {}.

"UDSAttrs": {"PO Number": "12345678"}

How to setup UDS attributes in NWA and enhance message monitoring?

Below are the steps to setup UDS attributes in NWA.

Step 1 – In NWA, goto SOA->Monitoring-> User-Defined Message Search Configuration

Step 2 – Click on new in next page.

Fill all details in next page – Name and description – you can fill anything to identify this UDS attributes.

Click on create to make it editable and then fill with relevant values for Sender party, Component, receiver party and component, with interface and Namespace. Select status as active and save it.

After saving this, we need to define search criteria.

Step 3 – Click on new to create search criteria

In Create search criteria provide Name, Description and XPath. Save it once done.

It will look like below.

You are done here with UDS configuration.

Benefits of UDS configuration –

1. A simplified monitoring in Message Monitoring

Go to Message Monitoring – You will see an additional tab for the interface you configured UDS attributes as below –

When you go to this tab, you will see the values from Payload for which you have defined the search criteria. In above case, the PO number.

2. User Defined search criteria and reduced search time for messages–

In message monitoring, now you can use user defined search criteria to find particular PO number from all messages processed for the day or any other time variations.

You can use User-Defined Search Criteria as below – Check User-Defined Search Criteria and click on Add Predefined to select Interface and provide User-Defined Search Criteria for interface and then value and select Ok. It will look like this and then you can click on go, to find message in particular time-frame.