Group created using REST Web services fails to use configured Rule

Products

• CA Performance Management - Usage and Administration
• DX NetOps

Issue/Introduction

Groups don't always refresh its members correctly after updating rules.

The scenario is that we create a group based on rules. Save it. Run it. Ok.

Then we realize it's not quite right and want to add a criteria to reduce the number of items.

We make the change to the rule. Run Preview, the new results is as expected (less items than before the change). Then we save the rule. Run it. The results are the same as before the change. It seems the group does not re-evaluate correctly.

But it's like hit and miss. In some cases it works, in most, it doesn't. How can we troubleshoot further?

The Group was created using REST web services. It's Rules were implemented and it ended up with 23K items as members. Using the UI to modify the Rule, using Preview Results we see fewer items. When saving the Rule changes and checking the membership it is unchanged, still showing the same 23K items as members.

Environment

All supported DX NetOps Performance Management releases

Cause

The Rules XML section was created with allowDeletes=false.

Resolution

The Groups Web Service documentation shows use of the allowDeletes option.

Under the Manage Groups Using the Groups Web Service documentation page that follows the Group Web Service page, there is a section that discusses how to Add Group Rules.

That section of the XML shows use of an allowDeletes option as well but it's not the same as the one used at the Groups level. The Groups level option controls the ability to delete the group. When set to false only changing it to true would allow it to be deleted.

The Rule XML level allowDeletes controls the ability to delete items from Group membership via Rule configurations. At the Rule level it was set to false which prevented the Rule changes from being implemented via the web UI. Changing the allowDeletes at the Rule level to true via REST web services allowed the Rule changes to be implemented via the web UI.

Additional Information

Documentation will be updated to better define the Group Rule XML options/variables available.