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Service Portal Essentials

The b4A Service Portal Essentials is a basic version of the b4A Service Portal. Some of the advanced features are not available in this version. A b4A Service Portal Essentials installation can be extended by installing a new license.

Limitations​

The following advanced features are not available in b4A Service Portal Essentials.

Administration​

In this section, you can view the configured categories, services, and roles, but you cannot edit them. These functions must be performed via the Automic Web Interface.

Searching for older runs of services is not available. Consequently, it is also not possible to restart such runs or review their reports.

Advanced Form Features​

In b4A Service Portal, there are new input fields in the forms that are not available in PromptSets. In addition, data sources can be defined that are more flexible and efficient while also offering a better user experience. These enhancements are not available in b4A Service Portal Essentials.

Collaborative Services​

In both versions, tasks can be forwarded to other individuals or groups. Forms, however, can only be forwarded in b4A Service Portal. As a result, the range of features for collaborative services is limited.

Quick Installation Guide​

In general, b4A Service Portal Essentials is installed in the same way as b4A Service Portal. This guide provides a brief summary of one of the possible installation methods.

Three components are required for the installation:

  • b4A RESTful API
  • b4A Service Portal
  • b4A Packages

Web Server​

Version 10 of Apache Tomcat® is required for b4A Service Portal Essentials and b4A RESTful API. After installing the web server, the two installation archives can be installed in Tomcat.

b4A RESTful API

The b4A RESTful API is the backend and must be installed on the Tomcat server and then configured. Details can be found in the Configuration section. A few important settings are listed below.

rest.enableServiceEndpoints
Must be set to true so that the endpoints for the b4A Service Portal Essentials are active.
rest.auth.type
Must be set to Token.
rest.auth.groups.service
All users for the b4A Service Portal Essentials must be members of this group.
rest.auth.groups.admin
All users in this group can view the Administration section

After configuration, the license files must be copied to the configuration folder, as described in the Configuration section.

b4A Service Portal Essentials​

After installation in Apache Tomcat®, the configuration in the config.js file must be adjusted. Further details can be found in the Configuration section.

b4A Packages​

To take full advantage of the functionality of b4A Service Portal Essentials, a few b4A Packages should be installed in the Automic Automation Engine tenant where the services (workflows) are to run. Details on installation can be found in the Installation section.