aDeNu Research Group http://adenu.ia.uned.es

The Tracking and Auditing Module for the OpenACS Framework

Jorge Couchet - Olga Santos - Emmanuelle Raffenne - Jesús Boticario

CONTENTS

• Tracking and Auditing Services• Overall Architecture• Data Model• TAM Components

– Tracking Service– Auditing Service– JASPER server– Service contract

• Conclusions

Tracking and Auditing Services

Goal is to record ACTIONS performed by USERS on OBJECTS

• Auditing– To set which OBJECTS to track– To define the set of extra data to be recorded

(+knowledge)– Semantic Processing of the recorded data

• Tracking– Recording (no knowledge at this level)

Tracking and Auditing Services

OVERALL ARCHITECTURE

Data Model

• Event = The objects and the data to be tracked– Definition (regular expression matching URL)– Command templates– Live Commands (command instances)– Contexts (where to apply which command)

• Event associated to a package instance• Event definitions are stored in the CR

Data Model

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CR_TAM_CMD_TMPLS_DEF - command def

- package type (apm_packages)- command id - meaning

- state (pending|approved|unapproved)

CR_TAM_EVENTS_DEF - event def

- package id - state

CR_TAM_CMDS_DEF- state

CR_TAM_CTXS_DEF- context def

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TAM ComponentsTRACKING SERVICE

• Recording (memory → nsv)– AOLServer FILTERS

• Pre-authorization filter: tam_preauth (get the timestamp for connection duration)

• Trace filter: tam_trace

• Saving data (dump to TAM log file)– AOLServer scheduled procedures

• tam_events_write

TAM ComponentsTRACKING SERVICE

TAM ComponentsAUDITING SERVICES

• Administration:– Permissions– Work with Command Templates– Event definition for a Package Instance– Reload the TAM structures

• Auditor:– Register an Event for a package instance– Reload the TAM structures– UI for reports service

TAM ComponentsJASPER SERVER

• Java server

• Main characteristics:– Work threads pool– Database thread pool– Access to the JasperReports tools

TAM ComponentsJASPER SERVER

TAM ComponentsSERVICE CONTRACT

• Contract Name: PackageEvents• Operation: SetEvents

– Package key– Command Template Definition

• cmd_idCMD_IDcmd_name argsMNG_CMDdescription• The keyword PKG_CMD separate commands• Example:

– c1CMD_IDad_conn user_idMNG_CMDThe user's identification in the systemPKG_CMDc2CMD_IDclock secondsMNG_CMDThe time in seconds

Conclusions

• Enables tracking and auditing– on package instance level– client package decides what to track and how

• Questions:– How to track changes in the DB? (old

table_audit kind of thing)– Is there a better way to anticipate/extract

knowledge from the client-package? (not through commands)

Thank You !