Amber - Adding Intelligence & Automation to Network Directories

1. Hyper-Active Directories: Adding Intelligence & Automation to Network Directories with Amber Paul Gardner-Stephen, Tim Seeley, Murray Rogers Computing Services Group, School of Informatics & Engineering, Flinders University

2. Outline • What is Amber, and what can it do? • Fly through three examples of using Amber • Summary • Future Directions

3. Motivation • Account Provision • We have an existing and effective system. • But changing behaviour is difficult: C is not a good language for expressing business logic. • Change code, recompile, regression test … • Interoperability with central administration • The more we develop Amber, the more potential applications we can see.

4. Who Can Make Use of Amber? • Any business with processes and procedures! • Job tracking / Help Desk • Scheduling events (e.g. testing or auditing regimes) • Resource allocation – human or physical • Risk management / Expert Systems / Decision making • Transfer of data from one system to another • [On-line] registration activities • Verifying existing business information … • If you can explain a business process, you can probably implement it with Amber.

5. Who Can Make Use of Amber? • This means Amber is useful to: • Technical Managers • Administrators • Computing and Other Support Groups • OH&S Officers, Committees and Related Structures

6. What is Amber? • Information Management System • Read data, consider implications, update data according to administrator defined directives • Information Visualisation and Interaction System, with built in web server • Display selected information to users, and allow them to modify data, according to administrator defined directives • The Tools to Take an Information Centric Approach to Business & Business Processes

7. What Can Amber Do? • Keep Network Directory Contents Consistent • Consistency against user supplied rules • User account provision falls into this category: Account existence & status are consequences of the application of rules! • Resolve inconsistent situations

8. What Can Amber Do? • Continuously Synchronise Dis-Similar Network Information Repositories • Amber uses an internal representation, and can convert to and from other formats: abstraction • Perform intelligent synchronisation, according to administrator defined directives. • Continuously Apply Network Policies • i.e. synchronise network information with the real world, e.g. disk quotas

9. What Can Amber Do? • Manage Business Processes and Procedures • e.g. track process state, solicit approvals, record decisions. • Intelligently Direct Processes according to available information • If you can explain a business process, you can probably implement it with Amber.

10. Example 1: Account Provision • Can describe the process: • If enrolled in a topic in this school, grant an account in this school. • Disk quota is sum of quota allocations for topics in this school. • All required information is available,e.g. from HR/Student Services.

11. Example 1: Account Provision • Information is accessible • Active Directory: Uses LDAP for accounts • UNIX: Uses NIS, or maybe LDAP for accounts • Student Information: Uses LDAP • but in multiple incompatible formats: • We can see how to translate between the formats - but our computers cannot. • If we can describe how to do this, we can get Amber to do it for us! • Automate AD accounts, group policies etc...

12. Example 1: Account Provision • Describe Rules: • topic(TOPIC,LOCATION),enrolment(STUDENT,TOPIC),_eq(LOCATION,”this department”)->interesting_enrolment(STUDENT,TOPIC). • interesting_enrolment(STUDENT,_)-> account_entitlement(STUDENT). • interesting_enrolment(STUDENT,TOPIC),topic_quota(STUDENT,TOPIC,QUOTA)-> student_quota(STUDENT,$+QUOTA).

13. Example 1: Account Provision • Hook into the network: • associate topic(T,L) with “ldap://ldapserver/(objectClass=topic)”. • associate enrolment(S,T) with “ldap://ldapserver/(objectClass=enrolment)”. • associate account_entitlement(S) with “ldap://ldapserver/(objectClass=posixUser)”. • associate student_quota(S,Q) with “diskquota://fileserver/home1”. • Rules will now keep network consistent!

14. Example 2: Procedure Management • e.g. Electrical Safety Testing Management • All electrical goods require regular testing. • Interval of testing varies. • What item(s) will need testing soon? • Recording test histories

15. Example 2: Procedure Management

16. Example 2: Procedure Management • Describe Rules: • test_record(NAME,DATE)-> latest_test_record(NAME,$>DATE). • elec_item(NAME,FREQ),latest_test_record(NAME,LAST_TEST),_lessthan(LAST_TEST+FREQ,TODAY+30)-> test_soon(NAME). • elec_item(NAME,FREQ),latest_test_record(NAME,LAST_TEST),_lessthan(LAST_TEST+FREQ,TODAY)-> test_yesterday(NAME).

17. Example 2: Procedure Management • Hook into the network: • associate test_soon with “odbc://someserver/elecdb” • associate test_yesterday with “mailto://elecmanager@ourplace.com.zz” • associate test_record(N,D) with “odbc://someserver/elecdb” • or: associate test_record(N,D) with “file:///test_records.txt”

18. Example 2: Procedure Management

19. Example 2: Procedure Management • Create Web Interface: echo <p>The following need testing NOW:render test_yesterday(_)%prefix<table>%body<tr><td bgcolor=$toggle(red,pink)$><a href=$link formelecitem(FIELD1)$>$FIELD1$</a></td></tr>%missing<br>Nothing needs testing soon.%suffix</table>%end render

20. Example 2: Procedure Management

21. Example 2: Procedure Management • Define form to accept re-test notification: render current_date(_)%prefix%bodyItem $ARG1$:<br><form action=$link form elecrecordtest(ARG1,FIELD1) $><input type=submit value='Tested Today'></form><br><a href=$link form elecdb$>Back to list</a>%missing%suffix%end render

22. Example 2: Procedure Management

23. Example 2: Procedure Management • Define form to record new test date: assert test_record(ARG1,ARG2)echo Test date for $ARG1$ has been recordedform elecdb()

24. Example 2: Procedure Management Functional example with web interfaces, data inputand management defined in only 41 lines of code!

25. Example 2: Procedure Management • Can now incrementally enhance while remaining online, e.g: • Add more interfaces (e.g. recent test history, revoke test, recently tested equipment, add new items) • Add authentication • Beautify existing interfaces • Modify rules to provide a different escalation policy • The strength of Amber is in its flexibility!

26. Example 3: Video Database • 11:30am – Corridor conversation about postgres to mysql database migration on linux. • 12:09pm – Working Amber application. • Runs in < 2MB • Less dependenciesno apache/php/mysql.

27. Summary • Amber combines the flexibility and functions necessary to support and build many types ofon-line business process: If you can describe it, Amber can probably be made to do it. • Amber’s intelligence makes interoperability easy. • Amber reduces complexity: no separate DB, web and scripting language dependencies. Plus, fast and easy to set up, maintain and enhance.

28. Where To Now? • We are seeking potential users to prove the paradigm in the field • We would be interested in hearing from you if you think Amber might be able to help you. • We are seeking potential commercial partners to help bring Amber to market.