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Write to a JSON File

The Write to a JSON File output connector can be used to write GeoEvents, adapted as generic JSON, to a JSON file.

Usage notes

Keep the following in mind when working with the Write to a JSON File output connector:

  • This output connector pairs the Generic JSON outbound adapter with the File outbound transport.
  • The registered server folder can be specified using an absolute path or UNC path.
  • If a UNC path is used, the Windows service account running GeoEvent Server needs read/write permission to the folder.
  • As a best practice, use absolute paths, for example, C:\GeoEvent\input, for the Folder parameter.
  • The Subfolder parameter allows a subfolder relative to the registered server folder to be specified.
  • If you restart the output, GeoEvent Server will create a new file in the registered system folder path.
  • Depending on the rate and volume of processed GeoEvents, it is recommended that you increase the File Rollover Size (KB) parameter beyond the default 1 to avoid creating a cascade of JSON files that Windows cannot keep up with.
  • This output connector represents each event record as a separate JSON object in the JSON file. With the File Header, File Footer, and Event Separator parameters set to the defaults, each JSON object gets organized in a valid JSON array of comma-separated items. The opening square bracket of the file header delineates the start of the JSON array, and the closing square bracket of the file footer delineates the end of the JSON array. The comma of the event separator separates each JSON object.

Parameters

The following are the parameters for the Write to a JSON File output connector:

ParameterDescription

Name

A descriptive name for the output connector used for reference in GeoEvent Manager.

Folder

The registered system folder under which files will be created and written to.

Filename Prefix

Specifies the name of the output file GeoEvent Server will create and write to. Appended to the file name is the date/time of when the file was first created. The default is output.

Example: A filename prefix of output created on March 19, 2019 at 2:30:05 p.m. would result in a file named output2019-03-19_14-30-05.out.

Subfolder

Specifies the name of a subfolder (or subdirectory) relative to the registered system folder under which files will be created and written to. This parameter should be left blank if no subfolder exists.

Example: Specifying a registered system folder as C:\GeoEventand a subfolder as output will result in GeoEvent Servercreating its file at C:\GeoEvent\output assuming the file path exists and is accessible by the Windows service account running ArcGIS GeoEvent Server.

File Extension

The file extension used when creating files. The default for this parameter is json, meaning GeoEvent Server will create a JSON (.json) file.

File Rollover Method

Specifies the method used to determine when GeoEvent Server will stop writing to a current file and will start writing to a new file. The options include By Size or By Time. The default is By Time.

  • By SizeGeoEvent Server will stop writing to the current file when a specified file size threshold is met. A new file will be created when the threshold is met.
  • By TimeGeoEvent Server will stop writing to the current file when a specified age threshold is met. A new file will be created when the threshold is met.

File Rollover Size (KB)

(Conditional)

Specifies the maximum size, in kilobytes (KB), a file can reach before GeoEvent Server stops writing to it. Once the maximum file size has been reached, GeoEvent Server will create a new file to start writing to. The default is 1kilobyte.

The parameter is shown when File Rollover Method is set to By Size and is hidden when set to By Time.

File Rollover Frequency

(Conditional)

Specifies the frequency in which GeoEvent Server will stop writing to the current file and instead will create a new file to start writing to. The available age-based rollover strategies include Hourly, Daily, or Monthly. The default is Hourly.

  • HourlyGeoEvent Server will stop writing to the current file and will start writing to a new file each hour.
  • DailyGeoEvent Server will stop writing to the current file and will start writing to a new file each day.
  • MonthlyGeoEvent Server will stop writing to the current file and will start writing to a new file each month.

The parameter is shown when File Rollover Method is set to By Time and is hidden when set to By Size.

File Cleanup Age (minutes)

Specifies the age, in minutes, from which old files will be managed in accordance with the File Cleanup Method parameter. The default is 4320 minutes.

Example: Every 3 days (4,320 minutes) files will either be deleted or archived.

File Cleanup Method

The method used for managing old files that have reached the File Cleanup Age (minutes) value. The available file cleanup methods are Delete and Archive. The default is Delete.

  • Delete—File that have reached the age specified by the File Cleanup Age (minutes)parameter will be deleted.
  • Archive—Files that have reached the age specified by the File Cleanup Age (minutes) parameter will be archived.

Archive Folder

(Conditional)

The registered system folder under which files that have reached the File Cleanup Age (minutes) will be archived.

The parameter is shown when File Cleanup Method is set to Archive and is hidden when set to Delete.

Archive Subfolder

(Conditional)

The subfolder relative to the Archive Folderunder which files that have reached the File Cleanup Age (minutes) will be archived. Leave this parameter unspecified if there is no subfolder for archiving files. There is no default for this parameter.

The parameter is shown when File Cleanup Method is set to Archive and is hidden when set to Delete.

Formatted JSON

Specifies whether the generic JSON will be formatted (prettified). Also known as PJSON. The default for this parameter is No.

  • Yes—The generic JSON will be formatted (prettified).
  • No—The generic JSON will be not be formatted.

File Header

The characters that will be inserted at the start of every JSON file. GeoEvent Server can use any normal ASCII character, or combination of characters, as a file header. The default is left bracket.

File Footer

The characters that will be inserted at the end of every JSON file. GeoEvent Server can use any normal ASCII character, or combination of characters, as a file footer. The default is right bracket.

Event Separator

The character that will be used to separate each event record in the JSON file. GeoEvent Server can use any normal ASCII character as an event separator. The default is a comma.


In this topic
  1. Usage notes
  2. Parameters