Glossary

Deployments & Packages

deployment area: Deployment areas, which are set up by the Spotfire administrator, make it possible to give different users access to different versions of the Spotfire client, while still using a single Spotfire Server.

distribution: A collection of one or more software packages. The contents of a distribution are distributed to each end user’s desktop using the deployment mechanism. A distribution is deployed to a deployment area.

data function services: An application that runs on a node manager and provides the capability of running advanced analysis on a data function. In the current version of Spotfire Server, this includes the Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R - Server Edition (a/k/a the TERR™ service), the Spotfire Service for R, and the Spotfire Service for Python. A service is not available to end users until a service instance is running.
node manager: The node manager is the networked software agent that is responsible for managing a set of services on a specific physical or virtual host. This software makes it possible to execute remote commands from the Spotfire Server.

node: All the services and instances that are run by a particular node manager.

service: An application that runs on a node manager and provides a particular capability. In the current version of Spotfire Server, the available services are the Spotfire Web Player service, the Spotfire Automation Services service, and the data function services (see above). A service is not available to end users until a service instance is running.

service instance: A specific realization of a service that is available to Spotfire end users. For example, when a user opens an analysis in the Spotfire Web Player, the user is accessing a particular instance of the Web Player service. (This distinction is invisible to the user.)

resource pool: A set of specific Spotfire Web Player service instances (or a single instance) that can be used in a routing rule to define where a given file, or a file requested by a specific user, should preferably open. This can help ensuring good availability and lower latency for users or groups performing important tasks.

rules

There are three types of rules: Analysis rule, Group rule, and User rule.

The Spotfire administrator creates rules to do one of the following:

Schedule updates to analyses (type of rule = Analysis rule).
Specify resource pools on which to open analyses that are requested by specific users or members of specific groups (type of rule = User rule or Group rule).
Specify resource pools on which to open specific analyses (type of rule = Analysis rule).

scheduled update: A rule that sets a schedule for automatically adding fresh data to an existing analysis. The rule also indicates the resource pool on which the analysis should open (type of rule = Analysis rule).

routing rule: A rule that specifies the resource pool on which an analysis should preferably open.

users: All Spotfire users are registered in the Spotfire database. Administrators assign users to groups so that users have access to the Spotfire features that are enabled in the groups that they are members of.
role: The access rights that a user acquires from the groups that the user is a member of.

group: A group is a "container" that can contain members and licenses. There are system-created groups, groups that are synchronized with an external user directory, and administrator-created groups. Groups can contain other groups as well as individual users.
primary group: The primary group is the group that determines which licenses and settings apply for a user who belongs to two or more groups. This setting is applied when a user's parent group settings are in conflict.
group member: A user or group is considered a member of the groups that they belong to explicitly, as well as the groups above these groups in the group hierarchy. In the second case, the membership is "inherited".
license: Licenses determine which features a user has access to when working in Spotfire. Administrators set licenses at the group level.
license feature: Most licenses contain a group of features that can be individually enabled and disabled. This gives administrators increased control over what users are permitted to do in Spotfire.

Automation Services job: An automated procedure that carries out a multi-step task. Automation Services jobs are created in the Automation Services Job Builder, which is available in Spotfire Analyst. The jobs are saved as XML files.

scheduled Automation Services job: An Automation Services job that was scheduled, through the Automation Services area of the Spotfire administration interface, to run periodically.

data connection: A data connection is a, usually predefined item saved in the library, that allows users to analyze data from an external system, such as a database. To create and open data connections, a connector corresponding to the system to connect to is used. Connectors sometimes require additional configuration by the server administrator. When users access data using data connections, they can either analyze data as in-database data tables, or import the data tables into the Spotfire in-memory data engine.
information link: An information link is a structured request for data. Users can create information links to connect to external JDBC databases and thereby access and load data into Spotfire analysis files (in-memory analysis only). Information links and the elements they are created from are stored in the Spotfire database.

post-authentication filter: The Spotfire Server filter that can either block all users who try to log in but are not already present in the user directory, or automatically create a new account in the user directory for any user who logs in to the server for the first time. It is also possible to use the Spotfire Server API to create a custom post-authentication filter.

preferences: Preferences are default settings for the way that people work, and the analyses they create. Preferences include a wide range of properties, from which toolbars are visible when the user starts Spotfire to the look of tables in visualizations. Administrators set preferences at the group level, using the Administration Manager in Spotfire Analyst.