Upgrade to Pega Robot Manager™ 8.4.2 to take advantage of reporting capabilities for attended and unattended robots, and to remain compatible with Pega 8.4. For a list of new features, see Pega Robot Manager 8.4.2.

• Prerequisites
• Upgrade procedure
• Adding Pega Robot Manager to an existing application that uses a UIKit version earlier than 15.01
• Changes to decision tables
• Changes to agents
• Changes to pyCompleteAutomation flow action
• Configuring email notifications
• Assign to Robot Queue smart shape update
• Changed application name
• Changes to privileges
• Reporting added to Pega Robot Manager
• More settings available for editing from the Pega Robot Manager interface
• New job schedulers clean up history records
• What to do next

Prerequisites

1. Back up your application files and Pega Platform in case you need to restore your system.
2. Ensure that you are using Pega version 19.1.23 or later of Pega Robotic Automation™.
3. Review the system requirements for Pega Platform 8.4, as described in the Platform Support Guide for your environment, available on the Deployment guides page.
4. Install the latest available release of Pega Platform 8.4, and then verify your installation as described in the Platform Installation Guide for your environment, available on the Deployment guides page.
5. If you previously customized dynamic system settings related to Pega Robot Manager, note them down so that you can restore them after upgrading. To view the current dynamic system settings, perform the following actions:
   1. Ensure that you are logged in as the application administrator.
   2. In the navigation panel of Dev Studio, click Records.
   3. Expand the SysAdmin category, and then click Dynamic System Settings.
   4. Filter by Owning Ruleset Pega-Robotic-AutomationPackageManagement.
6. Delete all of your agent schedule instances for Pega-Robotic-AutomationPackageManagement:
   1. Ensure that you are logged in as the application administrator.
   2. In the navigation panel of Dev Studio, click Records.
   3. Navigate to SysAdmin > Agent Schedule
   4. Search for the instance with the Pega-Robotic-AutomationPackageManagement ruleset name.
   5. Open the instance. If you previously customized any settings, note them down so that you can restore them after upgrading.
   6. Delete the instance.
      Note: Agent schedule instances will be automatically recreated after upgrade. If you customized them, re-enter your settings after the upgrade.

Upgrade procedure

To upgrade to Pega Robot Manager 8.4.2, perform the following steps:

1. Download Pega Robot Manager 8.4.2 from the Pega Robot Manager Marketplace page.
2. Extract the files from the PegaRobotManager_v8.4.2.zip file.
3. Import the Pega Robot Manager application bundle:
   1. Log in to Pega Platform by using the Pega Platform administrator ID.

      The default Pega Platform address is https://<hostname>:<port>/prweb

      Note: To log in, use the administrator ID and password that you set up when you installed Pega Platform. This login must be a Pega-Plaform-level administrator (and not an application-specific account).
   2. Open the Import Wizard. In the header of Dev Studio, click Configure > Application > Distribution > Import.
   3. Browse to the location where you extracted the PegaRobotManager_v8.4.2.zip file, open the Rules\PegaRobotManager_v8.4.2.jar file, and then click Next.
   4. Select Enable advanced mode to provide more granular control over the import process, and then click Next.
      Note: If your Pega Platform is running on an Oracle database, then also enable the Do not set restore point or save metadata during the import option.
   5. To preserve existing operators, do not select the Enable new operators and overwrite existing operators on import check box.
   6. Click Next and finish the upgrade process.
4. If you are upgrading Pega Robot Manager from releases earlier than version 5, run the pxMigrateRobotLogEntriesToV5 activity to upgrade rendering of the following pages and widgets:
   • Robots > Work groups and Robots > Robots pages (Previously located under Work groups and Users > Robots)
   • The page that displays when you click a robot
   • The page that displays when you click an assignment type
   • The Robot status and Automation alerts over time widgets on the dashboard
   Perform the following actions:
   1. In Dev Studio, search for pxMigrateRobotLogEntriesToV5.
   2. In the search results, click the pxMigrateRobotLogEntriesToV5 activity to open it.
   3. Click Actions > Run.
      Depending on the volume of historical robotic process automation audit data in your database, this activity might take some time to complete.
5. Run the pxUpdateRobotManagerAppStacks utility to update the application stack for all applications that you built on Pega Robot Manager.
   Note: In versions of Robot Manager prior to 8.3.1, the application name was PegaRoboticAutomationConsole. In order to provide a more intuitive experience, the application has been renamed to PegaRobotManager. Similarly, the portal name is changed from pyRoboticConsole to pyRobotManager . By using the pxUpdateRobotManagerAppStacks utility, you can update all of your application stacks that include Pega Robot Manager as a built-on, which ensures that all application stacks point to the new application.
   Perform the following actions:
   1. In Dev Studio, search for pxUpdateRobotManagerAppStacks.
   2. In the search results, click the pxUpdateRobotManagerAppStacks activity to open it.
   3. Click Actions > Run.
   Note: If you do not run the pxUpdateRobotManagerAppStacks utility, you will have to update each application stack manually.

Adding Pega Robot Manager to an existing application that uses a UIKit version earlier than 15.01

​If you have an existing Pega Platform application that uses a version of the UIKit earlier than 15.01 , you can add Pega Robot Manager to your application by completing the following steps:

1. Log in to Dev Studio as an administrator of your existing application.
2. Open your application record:
   1. In the navigation panel of Dev Studio, click Records.
   2. Expand the Application Definition category, and then click Application.
   3. Click your application.
3. In the Edit Application form, in the Built on application(s) section, add UIKit 15.01 to the application stack:
   1. Click Add application.
   2. In the Name field, press the Down Arrow key and select UIKit.
   3. In the Version field, press the Down Arrow key and select 15.01.
4. Add your PegaRobotManager to your application stack:
   1. In the same Edit Application form, in the Built on application(s) section, click Add Application.
   2. In the Name field, press the Down Arrow key and select PegaRobotManager.
   3. In the Version field, press the Down Arrow key and select 8.
5. Click Save.
6. Create an access group that points to the PegaRobotManager application:
   1. Click +Create > Security > Access Group.
   2. Enter a name and description, and then click Create and Open.
   3. In the Application section, in the Name field, enter PegaRobotManager.
   4. In the Version field, enter 8.
   5. In the Available portals section of the access group, add pyRobotManager to the list of portals.
   6. On the Advanced tab of the access group, add the default work pool of your existing built-on application.
   7. Click Save in the Edit Access Group form.
7. Assign the new access group to your users. For more information, see Profile tab on the Operator ID form.
8. If you had any customized dynamic system settings or schedules, restore them by entering them manually.

Changes to dynamic system settings

The following dynamic system settings were added in Pega Robot Manager 6:

• AllowedWaitTimeForRobotRegistration - specifies the maximum expected time that the RPA Service should take to start up the robot runtime system. It includes the time to unlock the remote machine and start the runtime process. Default value: 120 seconds.
• MaxStartsIssuedPerScheduleAction - prevents Pega Robot Manager from continuously attempting to restart a robot that has failed to start during one Scheduled action or Otherwise event. Pega Robot Manager checks this value before attempting to start a robot. If the number of start attempts is less than the number provided, the start is issued. Default value: 4
• ServiceOperatorHeartbeatInterval - defines how often the RPA Service should send a heartbeat signal to Pega Robot Manager. When the RPA Service does not send a heartbeat within this interval, it is assumed to be not running. When the RPA Service is not running, UI options (such as Start a robot and Terminate a robot) are not available from Pega Robot Manager. Default value: 45 seconds.
• TimeoutIntervalForRobotCommandToBeCompleted - determines the time-out interval for the start command issued to robots in conjunction with the RPA Service heartbeat interval. Default value: 30 seconds.

For more information about settings available in the current version, see Changing settings from the Pega Robot Manager interface 8.4.2.

Changes to decision tables

The following decision tables were added in Pega Robot Manager 6:

• pyGetWorkGroupbyRobotID - allows robots to register to their base work groups based on robot ID.
• pyGetCandidateWorkGroupListByDispatchOperator - maps the ID of the administrative operator to a comma-separated list of work groups. All robots registered by a specific operator can be moved between the specified candidate work groups. The move command can be issued by a user or by a schedule.
  Note: The list of candidate work groups must contain the robot's base work group.
• pyGetThresholdByNotificationType - allows users of Pega Robot Manager 6 and later versions to change the default conditions for triggering a notification. For more information, see Configuring notifications.

For more information about settings available in the current version, see Changing settings from the Pega Robot Manager interface 8.4.2.

Changes to agents

The following Agents were added in Pega Robot Manager 6:

• MonitorRobotCommandAndHeartbeat - checks the status of robots and the RPA Service if the RPA Service and robot send a heartbeat signal regularly, and if robots react appropriately when they are issued commands such as start or stop. The status of robots displayed in Pega Robot Manager is updated based on the actions of this agent. By default, the check is performed every 30 seconds; this is the recommended value, because a longer interval delays notifying the user about issues such as a time-out.
• ProcessRobotScheduleActions - checks for the schedule that is set on a robot and executes the defined schedule. The check is performed every 300 seconds, which is the recommended value.
  Note: The ProcessRobotScheduleActions agent must be run in a Periodic pattern on a single node. For more information, see Agents rules – Completing the Schedule tab.
• NotifyRobotSchedulingAgentTermination - checks the status of the ProcessRobotScheduleActions agent and notifies the user if it is down. The check is performed every 1800 seconds, which is the recommended value.
  Note: In multinode environments, the NotifyRobotSchedulingAgentTermination agent must run on the same node as ProcessRobotScheduleActions agent.

Pega Robot Manager 8.4.2 adds job schedulers (agents) that clean up history records related to robotic automations, robotic events, and robotic operators and service operators. For more information, see Job schedulers (agents) that clean up history records.

Changes to pyCompleteAutomation flow action

In early versions of Pega Robot Manager, the pyCompleteAutomation flow action had no default behavior defined and was not marked as an Extension. In Pega Robot Manager 6 and later, this flow action is marked as an Extension, and its default behavior is to consider the automation status as "Complete" and move the flow to the next stage of the case life cycle.

Configuring email notifications

Pega Robot Manager 6 and later supports notifying users by email in case of unexpected behavior or errors. To use this feature, perform the following steps:

1. Configure an email account to use to send the notifications. For more information, see Creating an email account.
2. Set the Public Link URL to the following format: http://<host>/prweb/PRServlet. For more information, see System Settings – Resource URLs tab.

Assign to Robot Queue smart shape update

Starting with Pega Robot Manager 8.3.1, you can define case statuses within the Assign to Robot Queue: Setting case status based on robotic automation status smart shape. This gives you granular control of the case status, within and outside the happy path scenario. You can map some or all of the pre-defined assignment states to case statuses and keep them synchronized.

For more information, see Assign to Robot Queue.

Changed application name

In versions of Robot Manager prior to 8.3.1, the application name was PegaRoboticAutomationConsole. In order to provide a more intuitive experience, the application has been renamed to PegaRobotManager. Similarly, the portal name is changed from pyRoboticConsole to pyRobotManager. The old application and portal are deprecated. It is recommended that you point your applications to PegaRobotManager and pyRobotManager.

By using the pxUpdateRobotManagerAppStacks utility, you can update all of your application stacks that include Pega Robot Manager as a built-on, which ensures that all application stacks point to the new application.

Changes to privileges

Starting from Pega Robot Manager 8.4.1, you can add new user roles.

Robot administrators (AutomationPackageManagement:RobotAdmin) can now administer RPA-unattended robots.

Report administrators (PegaRobotManager:ReportAdmin) can now view, create, edit, and delete custom reports. They can also view and delete the out-of-the-box (default) reports provided with Pega Robot Manager, or change the titles of these default reports. ReportAdmins can also archive and purge operational data collected for reporting purposes.

Report writers (PegaRobotManager:ReportWriter) can now view, create, edit, and delete custom reports. They can also view the out-of-the-box reports provided with Pega Robot Manager.

Report users (PegaRobotManager:ReportUser) can now view custom reports and the out-of-the-box reports provided with Pega Robot Manager.

For more information, see User roles.

Reporting added to Pega Robot Manager

Starting from Pega Robot Manager 8.4.1, you can create robot-specific reports. You can use the default (out-of-the-box) reports that are shipped with Pega Robot Manager, or you can create custom reports if you have sufficient privileges.

Administrators (AutomationPackageManagement:Admin) already have the Report administrators role included among their privileges. For all other users, report-related privileges are disabled by default.

For more information about reporting in Pega Robot Manager, see Creating, editing, and viewing reports in Pega Robot Manager 8.4.2.

For more information about editing privileges, see Access roles.

More settings available for editing from the Pega Robot Manager interface

The Pega Robot Manager interface now includes more settings that you can configure without leaving the application. You can edit decision tables, heartbeat and work polling intervals, notification thresholds and usage data intervals for reporting directly from Pega Robot Manager.

For more information, see Changing settings from the Pega Robot Manager interface 8.4.2.

New job schedulers clean up history records

Starting from Pega Robot Manager 8.4.1, you can use new job schedulers (agents) to clean up excessive history records. The new agents include:

• pyArchiveRoboticAutomations – archives excess records of robotic automations from History-Data-Robot-Automations (database table: pr_data_robot_automation_audit).
• pyArchiveRoboticEvents – archives excess records of robotic events from History-Data-Robot-Events (database table: pr_data_robot_event_audit).
• pyPurgeRobotOperatorHistory – purges excess records of robotic operators and service operators from History-Data-Admin-Operator-ID (database table: pr_history_data).

For each of these job schedulers, you can specify the number of latest records to retain (recordsToPreserveForEachRobot). All older records that exceed this number are automatically archived.

For more information, see Job schedulers (agents) that clean up history records.

What to do next

For further technical details about Pega Robot Manager 8.4.2, see Configuring Pega Robot Manager 8.4.2.