This guide provides a short descriptions of the available functionalities of the sila-orchestrator in its graphical mode and how to use them. To see the command-line interface (CLI)-mode description, take a look in the CLI Guide. Instructions on how to build and run the software can be found in the README.
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Discover SiLA servers with a network scan.
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Function for manually adding SiLA servers.
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Save and load task-queues with all their parameters to/from a file.
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Validators for constrained types (validate on
[Tap])- Ranges (numbers, date, time, timestamp, string lengths)
- Regex match expressions
- List ranges
- Sets
- XML
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Export function to save the current task queue data to a *.csv sheet.
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Enabled editing for constrained SiLA Properties to validate after pressing
[Tap](It's not a bug, it's a feature!). -
Support for binary types.
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Support for Images (jpeg, png, gif).
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Built-in function for time delays.
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Built-in function to locally execute programs and scripts on the client host.
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Show Results in Raw- or Node-View.
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Headless mode for CLI (See CLI Guide).
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Platform independent. Runs on Windows, Linux and any other OS with a JavaSE/JDK 11 installation.
Click the Scan 
button or press [Alt]+[C] to search in the local network for discoverable SiLA servers.
If a server can not be discovered (e.g. does not support the discover-function or is hidden in the network on purpose), a manual connection can be established by clicking the Add 
button or [Alt]+[A] to open the configuration window.
To save the current task queue to a *.silo-file, click 
or use the shortcut [Ctrl]+[S].
To open an existing *.silo-file, click 
or press [Ctrl]+[O].
To append the content of an *.silo-file at the end of the current queue, click 
.
To add a delay-task to the end of the queue, click Add Delay 
or drag the icon from the toolbar directly into the desired position in the task queue.
When a delay-task was added to the queue and gets executed, the set timer gets triggered, and the execution of the next element in the queue gets delayed until the timer runs out.
To add a local execution tasks, use the Add Exec 
button to insert, or drag the icon from the toolbar into the task queue.
If the inserted task in the queue gets then selected, a command and its arguments, as well as its expected return value, can be set.
The return value of a successful run depends on the corresponding command, but is usually 0.
Also, the concrete syntax of the command depends on the operating system of the client.
Some examples on Linux:
Run a bash-command:
/bin/bash -c "sleep 5", expected return value 0.
Run a bash-command inside a terminal* (depending on the Linux distro, the terminal application can also be mate-terminal, xfce4-terminal, xterm, etc.):
gnome-terminal -- bash -c "echo This bash-command runs on `hostname`.; sleep 5", expected return value 0.
Some examples on Windows:
Open the calculator:
calc, expected return value 0
Execute a command in the Windows PowerShell:
powershell "sleep 5", expected return value 0.
Clear Queue 
purges all entries form the current queue.
The current data in the queue can be exported any time to a *.csv-file with Export Queue 
. The *.csv-file can then be imported and used with a common spreadsheet program (e.g. LibreOffice Calc or Microsoft Excel). Note that the exported data is only meant to be used for archiving or analysis purposes. An import back to the sila-orchestrator is therefore not possible.
After successfully establishing a connection to at least one SiLA compliant server, the left panel shows various, hierarchically grouped entries. By hovering over one of these entries, the corresponding SiLA description will appear.
| Symbol | Description |
|---|---|
 |
A server node which is available and online. |
 |
A server node which has become offline. |
 |
A regular SiLA Feature. |
 |
A SiLA Core Feature. |
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A Feature property. |
 |
A Feature command. |
To disconnect or to re-establish a connection to a server, right-click on the Server entry and select Disconnect Server or Reconnect Server.
The task queue is one of the main components of the sila-orchestrator. All the SiLA commands and tasks within the queue can be chained together and executed one after another. This enables the User to build complex, automated workflows, run them, store them and re-run them over again without repeating all the configuration steps.
Now, before the queue can be executed, it must be filled with tasks first. To do this, select a command and right-click on the 
entry to append it to the end of the queue, or drag directly into the desired location within the queue.
The order of a task can be changed by moving its position with the 
and 
buttons.
To remove a task, use the 
button.
Finally, to run the entire task queue, click the Start Run 
button.
To abort the current run, click Stop Run 
.
By right-clicking on a task entry, the Run From Here 
option can be used to run the queue from a specific task on forward until the end.
The task queue itself consists of the following columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Nr. | Labels the task positions inside the queue. |
| ID | Holds a unique number to identify the task. The number can be edited by double-clicking into the cell. |
| Connection | Shows with an online  , or an offline  symbol if the task is ready for execution. A neutral  symbol (e.g. on delay-tasks) indicates that no network connection is necessary. |
| Task | Holds the Command Identifier (Name). |
| Server UUID | Holds the Universal Unique IDs of the server instances for each task. The instance of each task can be re-assigned by choosing a entry from the drop-down menu in the cell. This is especially useful when a *.silo-file from an older session is loaded but the UUID of the original server changed in the meantime. Therefore, the UUID can be changed to the new instance to let the tasks become online and ready for execution once again. |
| Policy | Holds the entries for the error handling of each task. The contents can either be HALT_AFTER_ERROR or PROCEED_AFTER_ERROR. On HALT_AFTER_ERROR, the entire queue execution is stopped after the affected task finished with an error. If the value in the cell is set to PROCEED_AFTER_ERROR, a queue run is continued even if execution of the task was not successful. |
| State | Shows the current state of each task:
|
| Start Time | Contains the timestamp of the beginning of an task execution (- on empty). |
| End Time | Contains the timestamp of the end of an task execution (- on empty). |
| Duration | Shows the relative time a task took to finish (- on empty). |
| Result | Holds the outcome of each task execution. This can be an empty result -, an error message, or a SiLA element nested in the cell indicated by [...]. |
Not all columns are on display by default, but can selectively be shown or hidden by clicking the ...-button at the upper-right corner or by right-clicking in the column header of the table.
All columns in the table can be rearranged by dragging the corresponding column header into the desired position.
According to the type of the current selected item, the panel in the bottom shows one of the following views.
The details of a server can be viewed when the corresponding entry gets selected.
The server view shows various info and offers a built-in function for renaming the server:
- Shows the information given in the Feature Definition in a clear, human-readable form.
- Shows
Fully Qualified Identifierfor every SiLA element.
- Selecting a Property node shows the current SiLA Property values.
- Requesting a value update can be done by clicking
or by deselecting and selecting the node again. - Not modifiable SiLA properties with a constraint get validated. The value can be edited to check against the validator by pressing
[Tab], but does not affect the actual value on the server.
Example:
A not so SiLA complaint Command Parameter Identifier (just an example, no intention to blame the vendor of this server):
The, according to the standard, correct Command Parameter Identifier the validator would accept:
To show and edit the parameter of a SiLA command, the command must be added to the task queue first. After that, the command can be selected in the task queue, and the parameters can be set accordingly.
To execute a single command, without invoking any other entries in the task queue, click the 
button.
Depending on the defined types of the various parameters, a SiLA constraint can limit available input options.
Examples of numeric constraints:
Examples of date and time constraints:
Examples of string constraints:
