2. Defining the Data Model Name and number of Hierarchy Levels

The main purpose of the sheet NodeOptions, is to define the name of the data model as well as the number of hierarchy levels of the data model.

The name of the data model is provided through the cell labeled Node Name.

The configurator will verify the Node Name for invalid ASCII characters. To learn more about which ASCII characters are allowed, review the section Restrictions on ASCII characters allowed to be used. The configurator also validates the length of the string.

If an invalid character is found, a prompt is shown to the user.

Invalid characters are marked in red.

As spaces are not a visible character, they can't be marked in red, so the user can make use of the comment added to the cell as well.

To allow for the most efficient storage of the configuration as well as practicality when using a Node Name in a query, the maximum length of a Node Name can not exceed 50 characters.

If a Node Name is longer 50 characters, the user will be prompted.

Note: Node Names which exceed the 50 character limit, will by default be trimmed to 50 characters if no action is taken by the user.

Users are able to add a description for the data model

This can be used to provide some context for colleagues as to what the purpose of the data model is.

The configurator will verify the Node Description for invalid ASCII characters. To learn more about which ASCII characters are allowed, review the section Restrictions on ASCII characters allowed to be used. The configurator also validates the length of the string.

If an invalid character is found, a prompt is shown to the user.

Invalid characters are marked in red.

To allow for the most efficient storage the maximum length of a Node Description can not exceed 256 characters.

If a Node Description is longer 256 characters, the user will be prompted.

Note: Node Descriptions which exceed the 256 character limit, will by default be trimmed to 256 characters if no action is taken by the user.

Complex data model hierarchies will typically include different hierarchy levels.

Example for a data model with a 2 level hierarchy

Therefore the user has to define how many hierarchy levels the data model will have, by setting the respective option for the cells labeled with Has LevelX (optional) to the value Yes.

In this example, the user wants to have two sub levels.

TIP: If you a user wants to have for example 4 Sub-Levels, they only need to set the cell labeled "Has Level4 (optional)" to the value Yes. This will also set all cells above to Yes.

For more information on the concept of sub levels, please review the chapter Core Concept behind recording production record data via data model.

If a user wants to modify an existing data model defined already on Litmus Production Record Database, they are able to modify this data model using the Configurator.

This is supported by the ability, to readback a data model hierarchy from Litmus Production Record Database into the configurator, and making them available in the respective sheets.

This does require, that an active connection between the Configurator and SQL Server exists and that the database LE_ProductionRecord is defined with the desired data model inside.

To read back a data model hierarchy, enter the data model name into the cell labeled Node Name.

Press the button Read Node Configuration.

The user can be prompted multiple times to provide the SQL Authenticated Login user name and password.

The progress will be shown by a progress bar.

After retrieving the data model hierarchy, the values are written into the respective sheets.

Example for the sheet NodeOptions after reading back a data model.

Example for the sheet NodeStructure after reading back a data model.

Example for the sheet Items after reading back a data model.