Introduction

The four IBM® Connections 4.0 Metrics-related roles are described as follows:

• metrics-report-run: This user has the authority to access the Global Metrics.
• admin: This “super user” of all Connections can access the both Global and Community Metrics.
• community-metrics-run: This user can restrict the Community owners from accessing the Metrics of their Communities.
• metrics-reader: This user can control whether users can access Connections 3.01 metrics.

Now let's discuss each one in more detail.

metrics-report-run role

Where to set:
The "metrics-report-run" role resides in Metrics and Common applications in IBM WebSphere® Application Server (WAS). By default, the role is mapped to "None", which means that no one is in this role. Let's map it to "Susan Adams1" in both applications (see figure 1).

Figure 1. metrics-report-run" role mapped to Susan Adams1



How it works in Global Metrics:
A user with the metrics-report-run role can access Global Metrics application via a URL such as

http://[IC_Hostname]:[port]/metrics

which will display a window like that in figure 2.

Figure 2. Access Global Metrics via URL



In addition, the user can get to the Global Metrics UI by clicking the Metrics button on the Common header or Server Metrics link on the footer (see figure 3).

Figure 3. Metrics button and Server Metrics link




NOTE: If you want to use the “metrics-report-run” privilege, you must be mapped to this role in both the Metrics and Common applications.

If you are only in the role of Metrics, you are able to log in the Metrics application via a URL, but you cannot see the Metrics link in the header and footer. If you are only in the role of Common, you can see the Metrics link in the header and footer (as shown above), but you cannot really log in and use the Metrics application.

How it works in Community Metrics:
This role does not have any privileges for Community Metrics.

admin role

Where to set:
The admin role is a “super user” role, residing in all Connections 4.0 applications. The default mapped user of admin is "None". Let's map it to "Susan Adams11" in all the applications (see figure 4).

Figure 4. admin role mapped to SusanAdams11



How it works in Global Metrics:
You can access the Global Metrics app and can see and access the Metrics button on the common header and the Server Metrics link on the footer (see figure 5).

Figure 5. Metrics button and Server Metrics link




NOTE: As in the case of the metrics-report-run role, if you want to use the admin privilege, you must be mapped to this role in both the Metrics and Common applications.

If you are only in the role of Metrics, you are able to log in the Metrics application via a URL, but you cannot see the Metrics link in the header and footer. If you are only in the role of Common, you can see the Metrics link in the header and footer (as shown above), but you cannot really log in and use the Metrics application.

How it works in Community Metrics
With the admin role, you can see and access the Metrics link in all Communities, no matter what kind of membership you have with the community, even if you are not a member of it (see figure 6).

Figure 6. Metrics link in a Community



For the private communities, as long as the admin user can access the community via a URL, he is still authorized to access the Metrics of this restricted community (see figure 7).

Figure 7. Admin user accessing Community Metrics



NOTE: If you want to use the admin privilege for Community Metrics, you must be mapped to this role in all applications, or at least for Metrics and Communities applications.

If you are only in the role of Metrics, you cannot see the Metrics link in the Communities owned by others, although you can still access the Metrics of a community via the URL. If you are only in the role of the Communities application, you can see the Metrics link of any community card but are not able to really log in the Metrics of the Community.

community-metrics-run role

Where to set:
The "community-metrics-run" role resides in both the Metrics and Community applications. The default mapped user of "community-metrics-run" is "All Authenticated in Application's Realm".

How it works in Global Metrics:
This role does not have any privileges for Global Metrics.

How it works in Community Metrics:
For a common user (not in admin role), only the user assigned to the community-metrics-run role can access the Community Metrics, including seeing Metrics button link in the community card and viewing and generating Community Metrics static reports.

Even though the common user is assigned the community-metrics-run role, he can access only the Communities Metrics he owns.

By default, the role is mapped to "All Authenticated in Application's Realm", which means that every Community owner has the authority to access Metrics of his communities. If you want to restrict access to specific users, you can remove "All Authenticated in Application's Realm" and replace it with the authorized users into this role.

As the result, a user without this role cannot access Metrics, nor generate or update static Community Metrics reports, even if he is the owner for the community.

metrics-reader role

Where to set:
The metrics-reader role resides in Activities, Blogs, Bookmarks, Communities, Files, Forums, Homepage, Profiles, and Wikis. The default mapped user of “metrics-reader” is "Everyone".

How it works:
This role controls whether you can access Connections 3.01 metrics. If you are assigned to the metrics-reader role for one application, you will have the authority to access the v3.01 Metrics for this application. To access the v3.01 Metrics, you must know the URL or, if you can also access Global Metrics, you can go to View all Metrics → More Metrics, to find the link to the application.

Conclusion

For Global Metrics, a user assigned to metrics-report-run role or admin role can access the Global Metrics app, and can see the Metrics button on the Common header and the Server Metrics link on the footer.

For Community Metrics, a user with the admin role can see the Metrics button and access Metrics in all Communities, no matter what kind of membership he has with the community, even he is not a member. For common users (not in admin role), only users assigned to the community-metrics-run role can access the Community Metrics. A common user without this role cannot access Metrics nor generate or update static Community Metrics reports, even if he is the owner of the community.

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Resources

developerWorks IBM Connections product page:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/products/connections/

Connections wiki article, “Using the Metrics application in IBM Connections 4.0”:
http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lcwiki.nsf/dx/Using_the_Metrics_application_in_IBM_Connections_4.0

IBM Connections Forum:
http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lcforum.nsf

About the authors

Liang Chen Chen is a Software Engineer working for IBM since 2008. He is currently a member of the Functional Verification Test (FVT) team for Connections Metrics, before which he worked on Files in Connections and Lotus Quickr. He can be contacted at chenchl@cn.ibm.

Zhi Gang Lin is a Staff Software Engineer working for IBM since 2007. He is currently the Team Lead for the FVT team for the Connections Metrics feature, before which he worked on Moderation in IBM Connections and Lotus Quickr, and on Quickr & ECM integration. He can be contacted at linzhig@cn.ibm.com.

Kuang Hu is an Advisory Software Engineer working for IBM since 2006. He is currently the Team Lead for the Metrics feature in IBM Connections, before which he worked on Moderation in Connections, Lotus Quickr, and Lotus Symphony. He can be contacted at hukuang@cn.ibm.com.