WebSphere brand IBM WebSphere Premises Server, Version 6.1.x

Using containers

Location Awareness Services for WebSphere® Premises Server allows you to use containment relationships to track items. For example, a containment relationship makes it easier to track items being shipped together, such as on a pallet.

About this task
Containment relationships are based on:
  • Defined containment classes. You can define containers in Location Awareness Services for WebSphere Premises Server by explicitly defining specific item classes (new or existing) in the Classes/Items Manager portlet and specifying them as container classes or by importing containment relationships with a CSV file. Items in container classes can contain other items. For example, the item "palette1" is associated with the class "palettes". The item "palette1" contains item "screwdriver42".

    You can dissolve containment relationships by editing the properties of the class to remove the container classification.

  • External events that are processed by Location Awareness Services for WebSphere Premises Server. For example, if the position of item indicates it is inside the container, it is automatically associated with the container. This requires that containers be precisely defined with spatial dimensions and the system property ContainerSupportOn must checked. Since containers can be mobile, the spatial area occupied by them can change over time. Also, devices, such as complex Data Capture and Delivery devices, can be set up to deliver special events to indicate a container relationship. Containers cannot add other containers dynamically.

Using containers also allows you to visualize the location of all contained items, even if they are not tagged or their tags are not visible to a tag reader. In this case, when the container moves, Location Awareness Services for WebSphere Premises Server assumes the contained items also move. Also, if a container enters or leaves a zone, Location Awareness Services for WebSphere Premises Server assumes all contained items also enter or leave the zone and all rules apply to both the container and contained items. Rules can also be defined to prevent items from being removed from a container or added to a container.

It is important to note that the last reported position of a container and the position of its content can differ. This might be the case if the items in the container and the container itself are actively tagged. If contained items are removed from the container's location, you might want to remove the containment relationship and track all items separately. If the tags of the contained items are not visible or are read from a different tag reader than that of the container, the position coordinates might be read as being located outside of the container. In this case, you might want to define business rules that cause the position of the tagged items in the container to be ignored.

The following restrictions apply to containers and contained items:
  • Contained items do not need to be equipped with active tags; however, if contained items are equipped with active tags, the container must also be equipped with an active tag.
  • If both containers and contained items are equipped with active tags, the same technology must be used for all tags and the accuracy and send frequency of the tags must be identical.
  • Location Awareness Services for WebSphere Premises Server assumes all containers are cubes; therefore specify a cube size that will most closely resemble the actual size of the container.

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