Rest API - Reading from and adding to Audit log?

Hi All.

Based on some of the other questions here I suspect I already know what the answers are going to be, but for completeness:

Is it possible to read the Audit log for a given object using RESTful calls (or would I need to resort to scraping &objAction=audit)?

and

Can I inject new rows into the Audit log for an object using RESTful calls (in fact, will any of the APIs allow me to inject additional rows with arbitrary event values into the Audit)?

Thanks.

Kris Boutilier

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Comments

Ferdinand Prantl

I am afraid that there is no official REST API for this yet. The CS UI Widgets do browse an object audit log by a RESTful call, but it is not public. The DocumentManagement service from the SOAP web services (CWS) provides the getting functionality, but I am not aware of any remote API for adding audit entries. Adding audit entries is possible in OScript; you could use it and write your REST call specific for your scenario.

Kris Boutilier

Ferdinand, thanks for clarifying that. Unfortunately I'm working with a vanilla Content Server installation (+RM +PO) with no access to the SDK/OScript.

We are still in the testing phase of our new deployment and initially I was looking for a way to inject and usefully preserve pertinent object audit records extracted from our previous auditing systems (Netwrix Auditor).

I also have some scenarios where I would like to be able to push informational entries into the permanent record for an object based on actions undertaken by external actors and systems (eg. embed the outcome of helpdesk requests to review item(s) as being possibly mis-classified).

I'll have a look around the 3rd party modules and see if there is something there that will fill the gap until an official interface (hopefully) emerges for the Audit data.

Ferdinand Prantl

Actually, your scenario is similar to document archiving from AGA (SharePoint integration). They copy the file to the CS and then append the original (SharePoint) audit log entries to the audit log of the CS document as custom audit entries.

The next CS version is planned to include a public REST API to browse the item audit log. I am not sure about appending to it; I would not bet on it. Custom audit log entries can be added by 3rd-party modules, but this needs OScript development too. You might end up hiring an OScript developer in the end... Anyway, good luck finding the module which fits your needs!

Kris Boutilier

OScript development definitely looks like the solution to achieving a number of our desired features and behaviors, sadly it looks like we have to license a minimum of 10 seats which simply isn't feasible cost-wise.

One slightly off-topic question you might be able to answer for me: if we were to pay a third party developer to produce an OScript extension for us is there any way to freely distribute it back to the community for reuse without charge, or are OScript customizations custom-compiled against the specific Content Server deployment and patch level at each customers site, necessitating owning a SDK (or contracting for recompilation)?

Ferdinand Prantl

You'd have to contact OpenText legal department to ask about what you're allowed to do with the module developed by the CS SDK. There are companies selling modules they developed; I think that you're allowed to sell it or give away for free.

OScript modules may need a specific version or patch, if they require a particular API introduced there. It depends on the implemented feature. Usually you specify what is the minimum server version it should run on and the developer says it one module is possible or if there need to be different module versions for different server versions. A lot of functionality is stable from the 9.7.1 version. The binary OScript module format is the same for currently supported versions - 10.0 and 10.5. I implemented custom audit log events with a code working on 9.7.1, 10.0 and 10.5 versions. However, this is not guaranteed. When you upgrade the server, you may not need to upgrade your modules too.

Kris Boutilier

For others who may come looking for information on this topic: look towards the SOAP API (aka. Content Web Services) and consider using it to fill in the gaps in the RESTful API for the time being. CWS is included with the base product.

The get/setNodeAuditRecords() classes of the DocuementManagement_JAXWS class, and the getAuditString() and setAuditString() methods of the NodeAuditRecord class, among others.