Blue Prism- Common Queries

[MadhuGarg]

Hi,

I have few basic queries in Blue Prism. Kindly explain with very simple way to understand.

1. Please explain the Different Run Modes.
2. What is Interactive Client in BP ?
3. Running a BOT & Running a session. Are they two different thing ?

Please explain. Thanks

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Madhu Garg
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[Denis__Dennehy]

Hi Madhu,

My first bit of advice to anyone coming to Blue Prism from other RPA tools is to do the training.  Topics such as Run modes,  interactive client, etc,  is all covered in the developer training in the Blue Prism university.   If you are just interested in the infrastructure rather than using the product for automating they also have training and exams targeting just that.  I believe the Blue Prism help may also has answers to these questions.   

My answers to to your questions would be:

1.  Run modes in Blue Prism can be changed at object level via the info page on the initialise page.    Background means that the object can run at the same time (parallel) as another object.  This would be an object that uses no global screen interactions and where the application allows multiple users to log in at the same time.  A good example is usually mainframe applications.  Also most code VBOs will be background.  Forground mode says that this object will require ownership of the desktop foreground when it is running.  The most obvious example of this is an object that uses surface automation (smart image stuff).  A foreground object could run concurrently with background objects (which do not require the desktop screen to work) but not another foreground objects.  Finally,  an exclusive mode object cannot run conncurrently on the same desktop with any other object,  even background objects.
It is best to think as exclusive as the default,  after building the object if it contains no global screen interactions you might change it to background.   It is worth noting that running multiple automations concurrently on the same resourcepc will still require multiple licences,  a Blue Prism licence is a running production automation (session).

2.  The interactive client is basically an instance of the Blue Prism software running for someone manually using the Blue Prism product,  such as for using controller room or schedular screens or changing config and settings.   This differs from resourcepc's (interactive sessions),  and the BP Server and other ways of running the product. 

3. The word 'Bot' originally comes from Automation Anywhere as a definition of a built automation.  This differs from Blue Prism and others,  a 'Robot' for us would be a Resource PC set up and able to do automation work.  One 'Robot' resource PC could work lots of different automations that can be scheduled on it.  
A session in Blue Prism is an automation currently running on a resource PC.  A session can have different states such as running,  completed,  pending etc.   
So... Blue Prism has a ResourcePC (the robot) who works automations in 'sessions'

[John__Carter]

1) Run Mode is a VBO setting that specifies if and how a process using that VBO can run in parallel with other processes running on the same machine. Most of the time you only run one process at a time on a machine, so Run Mode won't matter. But if you want one machine to run multiple processes simultaneously, then Run Mode becomes important.

2) The IC is simply a term for the standard BP GUI - Studio, Control Room etc. Resource PC (aka Runtime Resource or RR) is the same application running in headless mode.

3) The term bot is vague and the term Digital Worker is clearer I think, where Bot = DW = 'machine + Resource PC'. However, many use 'running a Bot' to mean 'running an automated process'. A session is an instance of an automated process that is running on a DW. So to my mind, running a bot and running a session are different.

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John Carter
Professional Services
Blue Prism
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