Bentley Automation Service Help

Getting Started in Orchestration Framework Administrator

Installing Bentley Automation Service Administrator installs Orchestration Framework Administrator along with the Bentley Automation Service Administrator extension.

In Orchestration Framework Administrator you can:

  • define jobs
  • run jobs manually
  • schedule jobs to be run automatically
  • monitor job progress
  • review job history
  • delete job definitions
  • manage your server and its orchestration instance

Within Orchestration Framework Administrator, there are two browsers you will work in:

  • Tasks related to defining and running jobs are carried out in the Bentley Automation Service Browser .
  • Tasks related to managing orchestration instances are carried out in the Orchestration Framework Browser.
Parent topic: Bentley Automation Service Help

To Open Orchestration Framework Administrator

Do one of the following, depending on which operating system you are using.
  • On Windows 8 or later / Windows Server 2012 or later:

    On the Start page, go to your Apps, find the Bentley program group, and click Bentley Automation Service Administrator.

  • On Windows 7 / Windows Server 2008:

    Select Start > All Programs > Bentley > Bentley Automation Service <version> > Automation Service > Bentley Automation Service Administrator.

Note: You must be a member of the local Administrators group to open Orchestration Framework Administrator. If not, you will be prompted to enter the credentials of a member of this group before you can continue.


The first time you open Orchestration Framework Administrator, the application window is empty. To get started, you need to connect your browser to the Orchestration Framework database. You can either open your browser first and then connect it to the database, or simply connect it to the database and it will be opened if not already open.

Tip: Orchestration Framework Administrator session information is stored locally in a hidden system file. This allows browsers to retain their database connection between sessions. So if you connect a browser and then close Orchestration Framework Administrator, that browser will still be connected to the database when you reopen Orchestration Framework Administrator. Also, if you leave a browser open, that browser will still be open when you reopen Orchestration Framework Administrator.

To Connect the Bentley Automation Service Browser to the Orchestration Framework Database

  1. Select Connections > Connect > Bentley Automation Service Browser.
    Tip: To connect the Orchestration Framework Browser, select Connections > Connect > Orchestration Framework Browser and follow the same steps below.


    The Database Setup dialog opens.

  2. Select which type of database connection you want to use:
    SettingDescription
    ODBC Selecting this option means that you will use a 64-bit ODBC data source on this computer to connect to the Orchestration Framework database in SQL Server.
    Direct Database Connection Selecting this option means that you will not use an ODBC data source to connect to SQL Server, and instead you will connect directly to the Orchestration Framework database in SQL Server.

    When you select this option, the dialog behaves the way it used to behave, before the ODBC option was added.

    Left: connecting to SQL Server using an ODBC data source; Right: connecting to SQL Server using a direct database connection

  3. If you selected ODBC as the database connection type, then you need to select an ODBC data source and enter the appropriate SQL Server credentials for it:
    1. Select your ODBC data source from the list.
    2. In the Database Security section, select an authentication method. You must select the same authentication method that you used to configure the ODBC data source.
      Option Description
      Use Windows authentication The Windows account you are logged in with must have access to the database that the ODBC data source points to.
      Use SQL Server authentication Enter the User name and Password of the same SQL Server account that was used to configure the ODBC data source. This account will have access to the database that the ODBC data source points to.
    3. Click Test Data Source to make sure the specified account can connect to the database.

      If the specified account is able to connect, a dialog opens with the message, TEST COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY!!

    4. Click OK.
  4. If you selected Direct Database Connection as the database connection type, then you need to establish a connection to SQL Server and select your existing Orchestration Framework database:
    1. In the Server field, enter name of the computer where SQL Server is installed.

      This field defaults to the local computer name. If your SQL Server installation has named instances, enter the name of the computer, followed by a backslash, followed by the SQL Server instance name you want to connect to. For example: computername\SQLServerinstancename

    2. In the Database Security section, select an authentication method and specify which account to use to connect to SQL Server:
      Option Description
      Use Windows authentication The Windows account you are logged in with will be used to connect to the SQL Server instance specified in the Server field.
      Use SQL Server authentication Enter the User name and Password of a SQL Server account that will be used to connect to the SQL Server instance specified in the Server field.

      The account you specify here must be the same as the account specified on the Please provide credentials page of the Setup Wizard during ProjectWise Orchestration Framework Service installation.

      Tip: To quickly verify that the specified account is valid and can connect to SQL Server, try to select the Database list. If connection is successful, the list will be populated with databases. If connection is not successful, you will get an error and the list will be empty. If that is the case, one of the following may be true:
      • The service for the specified SQL Server instance may not be running. Make sure that it is running, then try again.
      • The SQL Server computer name specified, or instance name, or both, may be incorrect. Make sure you typed the name(s) correctly, then try again.
      • The account you are trying to use does not exist in SQL Server. Make sure this account (whether local or Windows) exists in SQL Server with appropriate database permissions, then try again.
    3. Once you have established a connection to SQL Server, select your Orchestration Framework database from the Database list.
    4. Click OK.

The browser opens (if it was not already open) and is now connected to the selected database.



The Bentley Automation Service Browser displays all of the jobs defined to run using the Bentley Automation Service instance to which you are connected. To the right of the browser is the status window, which is where you can check the progress or status of a job.

You can either right-click an item in the Bentley Automation Service Browser and select the appropriate option from the pop-up menu, or you can select an item in the Bentley Automation Service Browser and select the appropriate option from one of the menus on the Orchestration Framework Administrator menu bar.

Note: The Job menu only displays when you have an item selected in the Bentley Automation Service Browser , and the Instances menu only displays when you have an item selected in the Orchestration Framework Browser.

To Open or Close the Bentley Automation Service Browser

Select View > Bentley Automation Service Browser.

To Open or Close the Orchestration Framework Browser

Select View > Orchestration Framework Browser.