Components and minimum requirements

For details about supported software versions and operating systems, see Software and hardware requirements.

Interactive client

Blue Prism interactive clients are used to configure and control the environment and to monitor the Blue Prism resources as processes are executed – they can be thought of as Development or Administration machines.

Each Blue Prism interactive client requires the installation of Blue Prism along with the necessary software prerequisites.

In development environments the interactive clients are used to develop and maintain the processes – therefore access to each of the target applications and any associated pre-requisites or thick clients will also need to be deployed and configured on these devices.

These pre-requisites may include the Java Access Bridge, SAP Scripting, Adobe Acrobat Professional and certified Terminal Emulator software for mainframe automation. Local Administrator privilege is usually required in order to install these pre-requisites and the Blue Prism runtime.

Processes and objects are stored in the database server (or, for non-production use, in a local copy of SQL Express).

interactive clients communicate with each connected runtime resource in order to ascertain its’ status.

Typically interactive clients communicate with the database via the Blue Prism Server using a Windows Communication Framework (WCF) connection, however there is the option to configure a direct database connection as is required when a Blue Prism Server is not available.

Runtime resources

Blue Prism runtime resources are responsible for executing the processes that are allocated to them – they are run unattended and are often referred to as digital workers.

This commonly requires process definitions to be retrieved from the central repository; interacted with, automating various third-party applications via the user interface, and generate the necessary log information.

Each runtime resource requires the installation of Blue Prism along with the necessary software prerequisites. In addition, each will need to be configured with access to each of the target applications and any associated pre-requisites. Relevant thick clients will also need to be deployed.

Typically runtime resources communicate with the database via the Blue Prism Server using a Windows Communication Framework (WCF) connection, however there is the option to configure a direct database connection as is required when a Blue Prism Server is not available.

The specification of the interactive clients (used for development) and the runtime resources must meet the collective recommendations of the in-scope target applications. (E.g. SAP, Office, Kana etc.)
A useful indicator is to base the specification on an equivalent PC used by an end-user to automate those same applications.

Application server

The Blue Prism Server is an optional but important component that marshals database connections and removes the need to configure direct connections between the various Blue Prism components and the database.

When implemented, all Blue Prism components (interactive clients and runtime resources) connect to the Blue Prism Server service.

Additional Blue Prism Servers can be added to an environment to provide increased scale and capacity. Typically Blue Prism Servers are deployed to dedicated, virtual servers however there are options to co-host Blue Prism Servers that service different environments on the same devices. For example, a single virtual server could host Blue Prism Servers for the Dev and Test environment.

The Blue Prism Server is responsible for the key used by encrypted work queues and credentials, and also manages the execution and allocation of scheduled processes.

Where multiple Blue Prism servers are deployed for the same environment, all of them must be configured with the same encryption scheme information, and those which have the scheduler enabled must be configured to use the same time zone.

Database server

Underpinning the Blue Prism platform is a Microsoft SQL Server database which holds not only the process and object repository, but also user credentials, audit information and production process log data – a transaction log of each production process running in the environment.

Communication between the Blue Prism runtime resources, application servers and database is typically moderate to high in volume, and transactional in nature as records are frequently inserted into the session log, along with look-ups and updates being performed within workflow tables.

Consideration should be given to the proximity of the database server to the Blue Prism application server and runtime resources, particularly when implemented across large or multi-site networks. Where network latency is an issue, it will be made more prominent by the frequency of the queries performed.

Commonly the Blue Prism database will receive direct connections only from each Blue Prism application server within a given environment.

In some circumstances, such as where application servers are not deployed, any Blue Prism component can be configured to establish a direct database connection. This will be subject to the application of appropriate routing, authorization and access settings.

The number of connections that will be established by each directly connecting device is managed by the .NET Framework through use of SQL connection pools.

As with many database applications, Blue Prism can occupy shared space in a data center should suitable database servers already be available. Likewise where there are multiple segregated Blue Prism environments such as for Dev, Test, Production, or for different parts of the business (HR, Finance, Operations), each will have its own dedicated database. If required, these schemas can co-exist within the same SQL Server instance and the Blue Prism application server is then responsible for directing the communications to the relevant database.

See also the specific data sheets available for Provisioning and Maintaining a Blue Prism Database Server.