Flow Orchestrator
What does the Flow Orchestrator do?
The Flow Orchestrator provides control over which node a flow should be running on. It also allows you to perform other flow management actions such as:
- Creating a new flow
- Importing / Exporting flows
- Edit, Copy or Delete a flow
What are the different flow states at a node?
The flow state at a node indicates the current status of the flow at that particular node. The possible states are:
- Undeployed (default, blank) - The flow script has not been pushed to the router.
Deployed - The flow script exists at the router, ready to be activated.
Active - The flow is currently running at the router.
Outdated (deployed or active) - A newer version than the one deployed or activated exists. Outdated flows have a yellow state icon.
Each node is independent of another. This means that the same flow could have a different state depending on the node. This makes sense as there are cases where we would only like to activate a flow at a particular node.
If you have made changes since deploying or activating a flow, it is on you to update the flow manually. You should be advised that once updated, a flow cannot be reverted to a previous version. In order to maintain data consistency, the new version of the flow must also have the same data structures (message properties) as the previous version, otherwise you may run into unexpected before. Taking both points into account, perhaps if a flow is already running as intended, you may decide to maintain an outdated flow.
What's the difference between deactivating and undeploying a flow?
You might be thinking that you should always undeploy a flow when not in use so that may be updated automatically. One crucial difference between undeploying and deactivating is that undeploying clears all flow data from memory, where deactivating only stops the currently running flow. To make it easier, you may think of deactivating a flow as pausing it, and undeploying a flow as hitting reset, clearing all data from the flow's memory.
Flow actions when activated.
What if I need to set multiple flows at once?
Simply select the flows, and the target nodes, and a Set x Flows on y Routers button will appear on top of the table. This will bring up the multiple flow setter dialog, which you can then proceed to execute an action on multiple flows, and routers at once.
How can I see what an activated flow is doing?
Hover over the state icon of an activated flow and you will the option to View an activated flow in action. This launches the Flow Viewer, which displays the flow components (similar to the editor), as well as other information specific to the running flow. It is not possible to modify the flow from the viewer, this includes creating comments or repositioning components.
The connections of the flow viewer automatically update to show the throughput of the connection. The throughput number is the aggregate of messages sent for the given connection within the defined time interval, referred to as the Reset Interval. You can specify the desired interval in order to obtain a throughput number relevant for your use-case. For example, how many orders are received per day?
There have been 53 open orders in the past 10 minutes.
If your flow runs into any errors, you can click the error badge to show the error pane, containing the details of the error.
