The Empirum Interface Service is an interface that allows users to execute various jobs via external systems automatically; for instance, it is possible to assign computers to configuration groups, create and delete systems or assign software packages.

The Empirum Automation Interface is based on defined tables in the Empirum database and can be used from any system with access to tables in Microsoft SQL; this ensures the fast integration of Empirum with other system management solutions. It is, for example, possible to initiate software reinstallations directly from the helpdesk.

The Empirum Automation Interface provides many advantages, compared to other interfaces, which are often based on command lines:

• Simultaneous transfer of many jobs; queue-based job processing
• Queue monitoring, even for long processes
• Hand-over of messages from Empirum to the external system
• Several instances can work with and query the interface
• Platform-independent usage

The interface is controlled through predefined tasks and parameters, which are entered into three tables in the Empirum database or handed over via an XML file. Information on the initiator, the status, the priority and error messages are also stored. The Empirum Interface Service accepts the jobs after a plausibility check and updates the status accordingly. Error messages created by Empirum are also recorded, which allows the external system to request the status of its own jobs any time and delete processed jobs.