This article covers the Options menu in EFS, which provides access to various system configuration settings, performance monitoring tools, and administrative functions. It includes information on the Platform Cockpit, System Settings, Mail Queue, SMS Admin, File Exchange, and ACL Rights.
Platform cockpit
The platform cockpit, which is located in the Options module, visualizes the status of the platform and offers the administrator an overview of important performance and access figures.
- Read rights for “platform_cockpit” are required to view and open the Options → Platform cockpit menu.
The Cockpit tab gives an overview of the key data for the installation.
| Section | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Current front-end load | The current load on the front-end server. For multi-core servers, the load per core is indicated (indicated load value = measured load/number of cores).On a server with up-to-date hardware, the load should be below 3. |
| Front end | The name of the front-end server. |
| Date of last mail dispatch | E-mails posted for dispatch will not be immediately retrieved and sent, but automatically at 10-minute intervals. |
| Date of last database maintenance | The time and frequency of the database maintenance are configured by our support for the specific installation. |
| EFS version | The major and minor EFS versions which are currently installed. |
| Initial EFS version | The EFS version which was originally used when setting up the installation. |
| Name of installation | The domain at which you will find the EFS installation on the Internet. |
| Database name | The name of the database. |
| MySQL query cache effectivity | The results of requests sent to the database by a participant during the completion of the questionnaire will be cached to the so-called query cache. If a request has already been executed by the database once (e.g. a request about a question text), it will not be executed again the second time. Instead, the cached result will be delivered. This use of the cache brings significant advantages in terms of speed.The specified effectivity value indicates how often a cached result has been delivered. It is calculated from the number of requests executed by the database/number of requests answered from the cache. Thus, a value of 100% indicates that each request has also been retrieved from the cache once. Usually, values are above 100%. |
Database report
On the Database report tab, you will find general information on the state of the database as well as on completed and scheduled maintenance operations.
Database report of the previous day
| Section | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Number of tables | The total number of database tables in the EFSinstallation. |
| Number of projects | The total number of projects in the EFS installation. |
| Size of sample_data | The “sample_data” table holds all sample data drawn in the installation.This means that the table includes both the data of all respondents who are authorized to participate in personalized surveys and the data of all respondents who have participated in anonymous surveys. |
| Number of started interviews (yesterday) | The number of interviews started on the previous day. |
| Number of finished interviews (yesterday) | The number of interviews finished on the previous day. |
| Participants denied access (load limit) | Number of participants denied access due to the load limit being exceeded |
| Participants denied access (participant limit) | Number of participants denied access due to maximum permissible number of participants being exceeded for the entire installation. |
| Watchdog mean (yesterday) | The mean execution time for loading a questionnaire page on the previous day. |
| Number of delivered pages (yesterday) | The number of questionnaire pages delivered to survey participants on the previous day. |
| Admin_log mean (yesterday) | The mean execution time for loading a page in the installation’s admin area on the previous day. |
| Number of delivered admin pages (yesterday) | The number of pages in the installation’s admin area that was delivered to users on the previous day. |
Database maintenance
| Section | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Number of deleted and backed-up watchdog entries | If entries archived in watchdog are deleted after the specified deadline has expired, this is displayed here. If the installation is hosted at TIVIAN, deleted entries will automatically be backed up. |
| Addresses for sending the status report on automatic database maintenance | If you wish to continuously monitor the status of your installation, you can subscribe to a database report that will be e-mailed on a daily basis:The recipients’ addresses must be entered comma-separated. |
| Maximum number of days to retain log | In the text fields, you can set for how long the data displayed in the OSPE watchdog, in the login log and admin log are to be archived.For performance reasons, the archiving duration you can set for the Watchdog is limited to a maximum of 30 days. |
| The tables listed here will be automatically optimized… | The tables in the list are optimized automatically during low traffic times.Time and frequency of the optimization processes are configured by our support for the specific installation.If you want to add another table, enter them into the “Add table for optimization” field and Save.To remove tables from the list that were manually added by you or other users, tick the “Delete” checkbox and Save. |
Login Log
The archived login data informs you on which user logged in and when, including rejected login attempts. If you click on the column titles of the table, the information will be sorted by the respective column. This makes it easier to search for, e.g., a specific user.
Search
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Date from … to | In this area, you can specify which period of time you wish to search.Clicking on the Calendar icon to the right of the date will open a dialog containing a calendar, and clicking on the Cancel icon will delete all entries. |
| Account | In the text field, you can enter the user account whose logins you want to search for. |
| Access | In the drop-down list, you can set which accesses are to be displayed: all accesses, only accesses granted, or only accesses denied. |
| Number of rows per page | In this field, you can increase or reduce the number of records that will be displayed on one page of the login log. |
Login
| Column title | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Account | The user account |
| IP address | The IP address from which the staff member logged in.Please note: Certain network constellations may allow only restricted determination and storage of hostnames and IP addresses. |
| Access | This field indicates whether access was granted or denied. |
| Error message | If the access is denied, the corresponding rejection message from the system will be displayed in this field. |
| Date | The date and time of the login attempt. |
| Functions | Detailed view of the respective entry with all identification data including request parameters. |
Admin Log
The Admin log tab not only provides a detailed log of the actions executed by users in the system but also allows an insight into the performance in the installation’s admin area. Similar to the login log, you can click on a column title in the “Matching log entries” area to sort the entries by the respective column. This function makes it easier to search, e.g. for actions in a specific module. If you click on the icon in the “Functions” column, you can also display a detailed view of the respective entry with all identification data, including request parameters.
Search for log entries
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Log date from… to Execution time from… to | In this area, you can specify exactly which period of time you wish to search. |
| Account | In the text field, you can enter the user account whose log entries you want to search for. |
| Module name | If you only want to observe the actions in a specific module, enter the module name in this field. |
| Action | If you want to view the existing logs for a specific action, enter the name of the action in this field. |
| Request parameters | The request parameters characterize a certain action of a specific user in a user session. |
Matching log entries
| Column title | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Entry ID | Every single action executed in the installation receives an entry ID by which it can be uniquely identified. |
| Account | The account of the respective user. |
| Log date | The date and time of the log entry. |
| Module name | The name of the module in which the action was executed. |
| Action | The name of the executed action. |
| Execution time | The time needed to execute the respective action. |
| Functions | A detailed view of the respective entry with all identification data, including request parameters. |
OSPE Watchdog
The OSPE watchdog tab provides details on overall system performance as well as on the performance of each project and each questionnaire page.
Restricting performance data
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Start date; End date | In this area, you can specify exactly over which time interval you want to calculate the performance data.Clicking on the Calendar icon to the right of the date will open a dialog containing a calendar.Please note that the time interval over which you can request evaluations must not include more than seven days for performance reasons. Furthermore, the permissible evaluation period is limited by the maximum period for which data can remain in the watchdog, which is limited to a maximum of 30 days.You can change the archiving deadline in the “Maximum of days in watchdog” field on the Database report tab. However, the maximum of 30 days cannot be exceeded. |
Overall performance
| Overall performance | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Current front-end load | The current load on the front-end server, is divided by the number of available cores. |
| # Requests | The total number of questionnaire requests in the specified period. |
| Ø Front end load | The average front-end server load in the specified period. |
| Ø Exec. time | The average overall execution time for building and delivering a questionnaire page for all projects in the specified period. (Overall execution time – DB time – PHP incl. time – Memcache time = time needed by PHP for other processes.) |
| Max. exec. time | The highest overall execution time registered in the specified period. |
| Median | The median of the overall execution time in the specified period. |
| Std. dev. | The standard deviation of the overall execution time in the specified period. |
| Ø DB time | The average time needed for all queries on the questionnaire page to be built |
| Ø PHP incl. time | The average time needed for loading the EFS PHP code via the EFS autoloader. Smarty templates are not loaded via the autoloader and are therefore not included. |
| Ø Memcache time | The average time needed to read and write memcache requests. |
| Participants denied access (load limit) | The number of participants denied access due to the load limit being exceeded per installation, project, and questionnaire page. |
| Participants denied access (participant limit) | Number of participants denied access due to the maximum number of participants being exceeded per installation, project, and questionnaire page. |
| Actions | By clicking on the envelope icon, you can send an e-mail to the support team. |
Performance by project
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Project | The project whose average performance values are described in the respective row.By clicking on the project title, you can display a detail view of the individual pages in the project. |
| # Requests | The number of requests to questionnaire pages of the respective project |
| Ø Front end load | The average server front end load during execution of the respective project. |
| Ø Exec. time | The average overall execution time for building and delivering a questionnaire page in the project and in the period specified. The sum of the average values for “DB time”, “PHP incl. time” and “Memcache time”. |
| Max. exec. time | The highest overall execution time registered in the project and the period specified. |
| Median | The median of the execution time for this project in the specified period. |
| Std. dev. | The standard deviation of the execution time for this project in the specified period. |
| Ø DB time | The average time needed for all queries on the questionnaire page to be built in the project specified. |
| Ø PHP incl. time | The average time needed for loading the EFS PHP code via the EFS autoloader in the project specified. Smarty templates are not loaded via the autoloader and are therefore not included. |
| Ø Memcache time | The average time needed to read and write memcache requests in the project specified. |
| Actions | By clicking on the envelope icon, you can send an e-mail to the support team. |
You can check the performance of the individual questionnaire pages of your project by clicking on a certain project in the “Performance by project” area.
By default, the data available to you for evaluation in the watchdog will be archived for 15 days. However, you can configure this period yourself in the “Maximum of days in watchdog” field on the “Database report” tab
Project mail overview
The Project mail overview tab in the Options → Platform cockpit menu gives a central overview of all mail processes that can be initiated from the current installation.
- You can display mail activity from any desired period in time.
- Listed for each mail activity are the name of the project, precise dispatch date, project type, field time, e-mail subject, and number of mails submitted.
- Excluded from the count are mail submission processes from deleted projects.
- Mail activities are arranged by project.
- Access to this tab is only possible for users with root or admin rights. These users may see mail activities for those projects for which their team holds read rights.
Read rights for platform_cockpit are required to view and open the Options → Platform cockpit menu.
Interview count
You can use the Interview Check tab to examine how many interviews your organization has conducted. The following analyses can be carried out with the statistics tool:
- Interview numbers for specific projects
- Interview numbers for a custom time range
- Daily statistics for interview numbers
- Interview numbers for disposition codes > 30 in detail
The following rules apply to the calculation:
- All interviews are charged with disposition codes > 30 (31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 41).
- If you reset a participant and he participates again, this is counted as two interviews.
- If the external survey start is used and the start and target project are both EFS projects, the interviews are counted twice: The participants reach the end page in both projects.
- Interviews that were uploaded via data import are not counted.
Installation check
The check mechanisms on the Installation check tab allow you to check the data consistency in your installation.
- If errors are detected that you dare not fix yourself, please contact support.
- Optionally, you can have the results e-mailed to you.
Please keep in mind that the running of installation checks may affect your installation’s performance. Especially in the case of large installations, these checks should therefore be run during weak-load periods, if possible.
System settings
Limiting the mail volume per mail interval
The emails in the queue are processed in packages: per default, up to 300 emails will be processed in 10-minute intervals. You can change the value of 300 emails. To do so, open the Options → System settings menu and enter the new maximum value in the “Job size for mail sending” field. Up to 2,000 emails can be sent per package.
Defining the number of repeats for dispatch problems
If the mail server does not accept mail or if it is not possible to connect to the mail server at all, the system will try to dispatch it again eight hours later. After four unsuccessfull attempts, the mail will be deleted and the recipient will be assigned disposition code 14. You can change the maximum number of dispatch attempts. To do so, open the Options→ System settings menu and enter the new maximum value in the “Maximum number of attempts to dispatch the mail” field.
Delay between delivery attempts
You may define the amount of time (in minutes) to pass between delivery attempts. Find the respective option in the Options menu → System Settings.
System-wide Activation and Deactivation of Participation Limits
In the “Participation limit” field of the Options->System settings menu you can set the installation-wide limit for the number of simultaneous survey participants of individual projects. Disable this option by entering a value of “0”.
- The Options → System settings menu is only accessible to members of the administrator team or the system administrator team.
Setting the threshold for the server load
The threshold for the load limit is specified by the platform administrator. (Platform administrators are all members of the “Administration” user team.) To do so, switch to the Options → System settings menu and make the setting in the “Load limit” area. At a value of “0”, the load limit will be switched off. If you wish to use the function, a value of “3” is recommended. In general, this value naturally depends on your server’s performance.
- The Options → System settings menu is only accessible to members of the “administrator” team or the “system administrator” team.
Defining default survey messages for an installation
As an administrator you can determine what default set of messages is to be used across the installation when creating a new project. When administering an installation where English is predominantly used, this allows you to ensure, for example, that an English message set is always imported.
To do so, navigate to the Options → System settings menu. In the “Default survey messages” field you can select one of the available message sets and then save it with Change.
- The Options → System settings menu is only accessible to members of the administrator team or the system administrator team.
Mail queue
Mail Report
System → Options → Mail queue leads you to the global Mail Report, where you can find information on all installation-wide mail processes. For more details on the topic “Mail report”, click here.
Do-Not-Email list
Navigate to the Do-not-Email list using the following path:
- System → Options → Mail queue → Do-not-Email list
General and project-based Do-Not-Email lists are managed here. To add emails to the blacklist, download the import template (Import → Download import template), add the email list to the rctp column, and use pid 0 to create a general blacklist or a specific pid to create a project-based blacklist. The efs.mailblacklist.add, efsmailblacklist.delete, efsmailblacklist.get-List, efsmailblacklist.isBlacklisted web services can be used to automate the management of blacklists. When new e-mails are sent from EFS, the addresses from the Do-Not-Email list are automatically removed from the list of recipients. Emails that have already been placed in the queue are marked as “canceled”.
- Participants whose e-mail addresses are on the Do-not-Email list can still take part in the survey.
To implement self-service blacklists in the e-mail templates (“unsubscribe” functionality), add #unsubscribe_survey# or #unsubscribe_global# to your e-mail template.
- #unsubscribe_survey# generates a blacklist link for the current EFS project.
- #unsubscribe_global# generates a global blacklist link.
SMS admin
On installations with the SMS module enabled you‘ll find SMS Report under Options → SMS admin. This functionality gives you a detailed list of all SMS sent by EFS to the provider along with the initial response received from the SMS provider.
File exchange
After opening the File Exchange menu, you will be directed to an overview of the files of all exchange teams for which you have at least read rights. You have a simple and advanced search. In the case of the advanced search, you can search for the status, the team, or the time period in which the file was uploaded in addition to the keyword search.
The View function for restricting the table is also available.
The following table explains the contents of the overview list in detail:
| Column heading | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Date | Date when the file was stored on the server |
| Title | User-defined file identification within the exchange platform |
| Comment | Explanatory comment |
| File name | Actual file identification, such as example.doc. |
| Size | File size. If the file is smaller than 1.024 KB, the size is stated in kilobytes, otherwise in megabytes. If the file is smaller than 1.024 bytes, the size is stated in bytes. |
| Author | The staff member who uploaded the file. |
| Security | If a password has been set when uploading the file, this field contains an input field where you have to enter the password before downloading the file. |
| Status | Indication of status. Possible values: “Active”, “Obsolete”, “Locked”. |
| Team name | Name of staff team possessing full rights to the file. |
Uploading a new file
You may upload files of any format, except for PHP and HTML. The maximum possible file size of the respective installation is displayed in the import dialog. Please note that the name of the file you want to upload has to be unique; i.e. if test.doc already exists, you cannot upload a second file named test.doc.
- Click on the Upload new file button in the File exchange menu.
- Enter the title you want to use for file identification in the field “File title”.
- In the field “Additional password” you can optionally enter a password to protect your file against unauthorized access. If you make use of this option, an input field will be displayed in the “Security” field of the file list where the password has to be entered before downloading. Downloading is not possible without entering a password.
- The Browse function in the “File” field allows you to search the hard drive of your computer for the desired file to be uploaded.
- The “Comment” field may be used for entering further information on the file.
- Select the team you want to upload the file for from the drop-down list.
- Ticking the checkbox “Send info mail to the team” will subsequently allow you to notify all members of the selected team of the newly available file.
- Click on Upload to start the upload process.
- If you have ticked the checkbox “Send info mail to the team” in step 6, a form will now be displayed, which allows you to notify your team members. Change the default text as required.
- If you really want to use the mail, confirm by clicking on “Yes” in the “Send info mail” field.
- To complete this step, click on Continue.
Notifying team members of new files
When uploading a file, the info service allows you to directly notify the team for which this file is intended. To do so, tick the checkbox “Send info mail to the team” when you upload the file. When the upload is complete, a mail template will be displayed where you can enter a message for the team members.
- The form is filled with a predefined mail template. this template, entitled “New upload for your exchange team”, can be opened and edited in the Libraries→Mail templates menu, but it cannot be deleted. It is not possible to select a different mail template. It is also not possible to send different language versions.
- The following details can be entered via wildcards:
- #team_name#: Team name
- #filetitle#: User-defined title of the file
- #filename#: File name
- #filecomment#: Comment
- #fileauthor#: Author
Downloading a file
- Locate the file in the file list and tick the corresponding checkbox in the “Selection” column.
- Select the “Download” action from the drop-down list.
- Click on the Execute button.
- The file will be transferred in a zip file. Save this file locally on your computer.
You can only download files of active or obsolete status. Locked files have to be released by their owners first. Furthermore, password-protected files can only be downloaded after entering the correct password in the appropriate text field in the “Security” column.
Changing file status
If the uploaded files are frequently revised and replaced with new versions, assigning a file status will help you keep track. There are three possible file statuses to describe the degree of currentness and accessibility of a file: “Active”, “Obsolete”, or “Locked”.
File statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active | The file is up-to-date and may be downloaded by every team member. Its status may be changed by members holding special rights and by the author of this file. |
| Obsolete | The file is no longer up-to-date but may still be downloaded by every team member. Its status may be changed by members holding special rights and by the author of this file. |
| Locked | The file has been locked. The file cannot be downloaded until the status has been changed to “Active” or “Obsolete” by the user who initiated the lock. |
In order to change the status of a file, proceed as follows:
- Select the file by ticking the checkbox in the “Selection” column.
- Choose the new file status from the “Actions” drop-down list.
- Confirm by clicking on Execute.
Deleting a file
If you hold the requisite write rights to a file, you may delete it:
- Locate the file in the file list and tick the corresponding checkbox in the “Selection” column.
- Select the “Delete” action from the drop-down list.
- Click on Execute.
- Acknowledge the confirmation prompt by clicking on OK.
- The file will be deleted.
EFS always retains a backup copy of deleted files. If you wish to restore an accidentally deleted file, please contact support.
ACL rights
There are usually a number of staff working in EFS installations, often in larger staff groups.
- In addition to project management, large numbers of additional users are often involved in large survey projects or the administration of panels. There are, for example, users that specialize in questionnaire programming, while other users are responsible for the evaluation of questionnaires.
- In collective installations, users from different clients work completely separately on their respective projects.
- Some users may not be granted access to the admin area. Instead, separate logins such as EFS Survey Status and EFS Translator Interface provide restricted access to the information and functions their work requires.
EFS allows you to effectively configure and control the access rights of all these staff
- Instead of configuring the access rights for each individual user, you define teams: These reflect the respective rights and duties of entire user groups with identical responsibilities. Subsequently, you allocate the actual users to the user roles.
- The various ways of accessing and changing information and functions are mapped in a dedicated rights system. Thus, you can not only define which information and functions a team may generally access, but also which individual objects (e.g. specific projects)
Assignment
The particular access options of users in EFS are controlled via assignment to one or more teams:
- The configuration of the teams reflects the respective rights and responsibilities of entire staff groups with identical responsibilities.
- Users can be members of several teams.
- The ACL rights of his teams are added up, i.e. he may access all information and functions that at least one of his teams has access to. If, for example, one of his teams holds write rights for ct42partadm, i.e. it can create participants in the participant administration, while another of his team has only read rights, he can create participants.
- With regard to individual objects, he also has the widest access that is configured for one of his teams, i.e. if one of his teams holds write rights for project x while another team only has read rights, he has write rights.
- Each user belongs to one primary team.
- The primary team is always automatically granted read and write rights for projects created by this user.
- In new projects created by this user, the survey URL contains the name of the primary team.
In new EFS installations, teams reflecting the most frequently required user roles have been created and preconfigured by default. These roles include:
- Project manager: The project manager is responsible for conducting survey projects. However, he generally requires no access to panel administration functions and often has no access to staff administration, either.
- Panel administrator: In EFS Panel installations, the panel administrator is mainly responsible for panel administration. He may also be in charge of the CMS and the panel community.
- System administrator: This role is reserved for support operations by TIVIAN. It contains special functions which, if applied incorrectly, can cause damage to the system.
Importing and exporting rights templates
Export and import functions allow the transfer of rights definitions from one EFS installation to another. Please proceed as follows:
- Select the Options → ACL rights → Rights templates menu.
- Click on the Export ACL rights template icon.
- A file with the .tpl format will be downloaded. Save this file locally on your PC.
If you wish to transfer the exported rights template to another EFS installation, continue as follows:
- On the destination installation, switch to the Options → ACL rights → Rights templates menu and click on the Import ACL rights template button.
- Enter name and title.
- Identify the desired file on your PC.
- Confirm by clicking on Import.
- The rights template will be imported.
In the Assign rights templates menu, you can assign the template to a team on the target installation.
Configuring access options precisely using ACL and object rights
Which information and functions are accessible to a user team is controlled by a combination of two types of rights:
- ACL rights: ACL rights (“Access Control List”) define whether someone is entitled to view certain information or perform certain functions.
- ACL rights are granted to user teams.
- This is done in the user administration.
- Each ACL right includes read and write rights. Write rights usually activate more powerful functions than read rights.
- Object rights: EFS allows for the precise control of the access to a number of individual objects. An object may be a particular project, a layout template, or a set of survey messages. With object rights you can define which team is entitled to view, use, or edit the respective object.
- Object rights are also granted to user teams.
- Object rights are not assigned in the user administration, but directly via the respective object. For example, object rights for projects are assigned via the project list. The dialog for assigning rights is usually called up via a Rights link or a Rights icon.
- Object rights also include read and write rights. Read rights usually grant passive access to information, while write rights permit the active use of functions
FAQ
How do I access the Platform Cockpit?
To access the Platform Cockpit, navigate to Options → Platform Cockpit. You need read rights for “platform_cockpit” to view this menu.
How can I manage the Do-Not-Email list?
You can manage the Do-Not-Email list by navigating to System → Options → Mail queue → Do-not-Email list. You can add emails to the blacklist through import or use web services for automated management.
How do I configure user access rights in EFS?
User access rights in EFS are configured using a combination of ACL rights and object rights. ACL rights are assigned to user teams in the user administration, while object rights are assigned directly to specific objects like projects or layout templates.
Tags: EFS, Options, Platform Cockpit, System Settings, Mail Queue, SMS Admin, File Exchange, ACL Rights, User Management