Creating a generic job

This topic describes general instructions and features related to creating any type of job.

To create a generic job

1. Open the Add Job page by navigating to Network > Actions > Jobs.
   The Jobs page displays a list of defined jobs.
2. Click Add.
   The Add Job page opens.
   

3. In the Details tab, enter information in the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Change ID	(Optional) Track this span action to an external Change ID (for example, internal RFC process, Remedy, and so forth). To assist with change documentation, the Job Summary report summarizes the job details for each job referencing the same Change ID.
   Task ID	(Optional) Track this span action to an external Task ID. To assist with change documentation, the Job Summary report summarizes the job details for each job referencing the same Task ID.
   Run At	Select when to execute the job: Now or When Approved; or a future Date/Time.
   (Applicable for version 8.9.01 and later) Send Notification	(Optional) Send email and SNMP trap notification to one or more recipients and SNMP manager stations based on the selected job state changes (for example, when job completes with errors).
   (Applicable for version 8.9.00) Send Email	(Optional) Send email notifications to one or more recipients based on the selected job state changes (for example, when job completes with errors).
   Options	(Optional) Select the following options as required: On Error, Skip Remaining Actions: Skip remaining actions if a prior action fails (for example, when a change requires a sequence of ordered actions across different devices). By default, this option is disabled. Include Debug Trace in Communication Transcripts: Enable logging of low-level debug statements in the job transcripts for all device command/response interactions included in this job. For security purposes, login passwords are {HIDDEN} in the transcript. When you select this option, additional lines starting with the prefix DEBUG: are added to the transcript output corresponding to the processing details of each <prompt>, <command>, and <response> XML tag from the device adapter being executed. Default value of this option depends on the current setting of the Include Debug Trace in Communication Transcripts system parameter. Recommendation: Include Debug Trace in Communication Transcript is a debug tool. BMC recommends that you enable it only when you are actively troubleshooting a device interaction issue. Leaving this setting on over long periods increases the size of the BMC Network Automation database hugely.
   Login User Name	(Optional) If system parameters are configured to request device credentials at job creation time, enter the device login user name. The credentials are used for all devices in non-snapshot span actions. Snapshot actions always use the device security profile associated with the device.
   Login Password	(Optional) If system parameters are configured to request device credentials at job creation time, enter the device login password.
   Privileged User Name	(Optional) If system parameters are configured to request device credentials at job creation time, enter the device privileged mode or enable user name.
   Privileged Password	(Optional) If system parameters are configured to request device credentials at job creation time, enter the device privileged mode or enable password.
   User Assigned Dynamic Fields	Additional job fields, as configured by your administrator.

4. If you want to add actions to the job, click  and select the type of action. A pop-up window appears that allows you to specify parameters for that particular type of action. For example, the following window appears for a Deploy to Active action.
   
   
   
5. Enter information for the action in the displayed fields and click OK to add the action. The job actions are displayed on the Actions tab:
   
   
6. Click Report  to view the proposed configuration changes for a span action. When the Remediate, Deploy to Active, or Deploy to Stored action enforces one or more rules, the Compliance Summary report is shown in a pop-up window:
   
   For an action that remediates all assigned rule sets, the report shows results only for the rules that have been actively tested against the device (that is, rules for which there is stored compliance status from a previous Refresh Device Status, or from the rule checked at the most recent configuration change). For an action that remediates selected rule sets and rules, the report shows results only for those rules. The Failed results indicate which rules would be corrected by this action.
   
7. On the Add Job page, click Preview  to preview the change scripts built for the Remediate, Deploy to Active, Deploy to Stored, and Scan Syntax actions.
   Depending on the action, the Preview Sub-Actions and Scripts window shows the full configuration, the incremental merge script, or the resolved template that is to be deployed. These are review copies of the scripts. The actual scripts are generated again at execution time, to ensure that the current data is used. Some template substitution parameters might resolve differently at the execution time. For example, any login credentials entered with the job are not used here, however, they are used at execution time.
   
   The left pane shows a tree of the action, any sub-actions, and the devices in the network span. The right pane shows the corresponding details. If you click an action or a sub-action, the settings are displayed. If you click a device, the script to be deployed to that device is displayed.
   Sub-actions appear only when an action performs remediation. For a non-remediating action, that level of the tree is absent. For this type of action, the action is displayed at the top with its owned devices directly underneath it.
8. (Optional) Click Save As Template in the right pane to save the script as a template.
9. When you are ready to save the job, choose one of the following options on the Add Job page:
   • Save as Draft: Job is saved but not submitted for approvals or scheduling. You can edit the job multiple times when in Draft state.
   • Save and Submit: When job approval is required, select the job approval type. Even when the Enable Job Approval option is set under Admin > System Parameters (see Testing rules), job approvals are not required for passive actions. These actions include Snapshot, Assign as Target, Log Event, Send Email, Send Trap, and the custom actions configured for no approvals.