360Eyes evolution: from "standalone" to 360Suite web application

360Eyes evolution: from "standalone" to 360Suite web application

Context

On the meta-level, 360Eyes is part of 360Suite, a suite a modules working with BusinessObjects environments to help BI administrators with their day-to-day activities. On a practical level, the 360Eyes module itself has known changes over time, which will be detailed in this article.

360Eyes originally

Originally, 360Eyes was delivered as a standalone application, composed of the following:
  1. a working directory on a server (e.g. "C:\360eyes"),
  2. ProgramJobs in BusinessObjects' CMC (jobs like "CMS", "WEBI", "CRYSTAL", etc.),
  3. a configuration file "360eyes.param",
  4. built-in Web Intelligence (Webi) documents,
  5. built-in Universes, which the built-in Webi documents use,
  6. a built-in customisable Relational Connection,
  7. a database maintained by an end-user.
With this configuration, the jobs were run either from the CMC or the BI LaunchPad, or from the 360Eyes Graphical User Interface (GUI), or using a command line (within a script or directly in a command prompt). It would extract data and save it into the 360Eyes-dedicated database. Depending on the use case, 360Eyes extraction could be customised with the use of "parameters". These parameters were listed in the "360eyes.param" file with the appropriate value meeting the needs of the use case. All 360Eyes jobs were using this configuration file ("360eyes.param") to identify which BusinessObjects elements to extract.

It was also possible to overwrite some of these parameters by adding them to a job's Arguments textfield in the CMC or the BI LaunchPad with a leading dash. For instance, the "cms.content=FOLDER, DOCUMENT" parameter in the "360eyes.param" file could be overwritten in the job configuration with "-cms.content=FOLDER" in the Arguments textfield.

The same way, a job could be run from a command line - out of the CMC or the BI LaunchPad. The job would still use the "360eyes.param" configuration file as a reference, and parameters could still be overwritten when added to the command line, still with a leading dash.

As for 360Eyes GUI, it was an alternative way to run jobs out of the CMC, with a start of user interface (it wasn't much evolved at that time and the style was quite plain).
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Note: in its standalone version, 360Eyes was named "360eyes" with a lower E, hence the default installation folder was also named "360eyes" (and not "360Eyes").

360Eyes since 2023.3

Starting with version 2023.3, 360Eyes got added to the existing 360Suite web application, alongside all other modules of the suite (360View, 360Cast, 360Bind, etc.). Although 360Eyes core functioning didn't change, 360Suite web application provides a much more user-friendly interface to schedule and manage extractions. This was a big change because it changed the way 360Eyes jobs were configured and monitored. Indeed, since 360Suite web application already had a core mechanic to run and schedule tasks, it was a perfect replacement for the CMC, the Bi LaunchPad, and the former 360Eyes GUI.

The way the database, the 360Eyes Universes, and 360Eyes documents were working didn't change, but 360Eyes jobs and the "360eyes.param" configuration file did. Instead of having a job in the CMC and its configuration in the "360eyes.param" file in 360Eyes' working directory, all that joined in the new format of 360Eyes Tasks within 360Suite. The 360Eyes Tasks replaced the jobs completely: the concept of a job was transposed into 360Suite Tasks' processes, meaning that a single task can be configured with several jobs now - run sequentially.
It also helps with best managing these "jobs" and their configuration because all the parameters are now options in the Task configuration. However, it remains possible to configure the parameters ("options") globally for all future 360Eyes Tasks in the module configuration, in the appropriate section of 360Suite's Administration Console.

In a nutshell, we could say that 360Eyes former jobs were transformed into 360Eyes Tasks within 360Suite, and the "360eyes.param" configuration file was transformed into 360Eyes default settings in 360Suite's Administration Console.

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Note #1: the introduction of 360Eyes within 360Suite didn't make 360Eyes standalone disappear with version 2023.3.
Both 360Eyes standalone version and 360Eyes within 360Suite version were available simultaneously.
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Note #2: in this new version, 360Eyes was spelled with an upper E to follow the convention all other modules of 360Suite are following in the web application.
To make this addition to 360Suite more obvious, 360Suite was also temporarily renamed "360Suite (with 360Eyes)" on our Customer Center.

360Eyes since 2025.1

Starting with version 2025.1, 360Eyes evolutions are now only available in 360Suite. The standalone version is not maintained anymore. This was not a big change as the integration of 360Eyes within 360Suite with started with version 2023.3, but it marked the end of the standalone version maintenance, thus making version 2024.3.1 the final version of 360Eyes standalone. Further evolutions of 360Eyes will now only happen with 360Suite web application.
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Note: during the year 2025, on our Customer Center, 360Suite will remain named "360Suite (with 360Eyes)".
But with the start of year 2026, it goes back to simply "360Suite", acknowledging that it still includes 360Eyes of course.

References

  1. 360Suite with 360Eyes (for SAP BusinessObjects) - 2023.3
  2. 360Eyes: End of the standalone application maintenance