Using the multi-server template push extension

The multi-server template push extension provides an easy way to deploy a template from a source server to a number of devices, which might be present on one or more destination servers. You can pass the device list to the extension through an XML file or a CSV file. For each destination server, the template push extension executes the Deploy to Active action where the template is deployed to the active configuration of the devices that match the given list of target devices. This extension is a web service client that is launched by running a script by using the CLI.

This topic includes the following sections:

About the multi-server template push extension

The multi-server template push extension is installed with BMC Network Automation. Before using it, expand the BCAN_HOME\public\bmc\bca-networks\extras\bcan-template-push-extension-v.r.mm.zip file into any convenient directory.

Expanding this file creates a bcan-template-push-extension subdirectory structure. The following utility script is included in the bcan-template-push-extension\bin directory:

• (Windows) multi-server-template-push.bat 
• (Linux) multi-server-template-push.sh

The bcan-template-push-extension\bin directory also includes the MultiServerTemplatePushTargetParams.xml and TemplatePushConfig.xml files, in which you need to specify various parameters.

MultiServerTemplatePushTargetParams.xml

This input file enables you to specify the following target parameters:

• deviceList: Includes names of devices on which the template is deployed.

  Note

  You can also specify this input by using a CSV file and pass that file as an argument to the –deviceList option as <devicename>,<devicename>,<devicename>. For example, Aceess1,Edge2,CiscoAgg1. For more information, see Launching the multi-server template push extension.

• serverInfo: Includes the details of the target servers (such as the URL and authentication details) on which the devices in the device list reside.

The following code snippet shows the MultiServerTemplatePushTargetParams.xml file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<!--target Params device list, destination server list -->
<tpeTargetParams>
  <!--list of devices -->
  <deviceList>
    <deviceInfo>
      <name><!--name of device --></name>
    </deviceInfo>
    <deviceInfo>
      <name><!--name of device --></name>
    </deviceInfo>
  </deviceList>
  <!--list of destination servers-->
  <destServerList>
    <serverInfo url="<!--destination server url-->">
      <password><!--password for authenticating server--></password>
      <username><!--username for authenticating server--></username>
    </ServerInfo>
    <serverInfo url="<!--destination server url-->">
      <password><!--password for authenticating server--></password>
       <username><!--username for authenticating server--></username>
    </ServerInfo>
  </destServerList>
</tpeTargetParams>

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TemplatePushConfig.xml

 This input file enables you to specify the following parameters:

• maxConcurrentTemplatePush: Specifies the maximum number of template push actions that can be executed in parallel.
• senderEmailAddress: Specifies the sender's email address.
• smtpGateway: Specifies the SMTP gateway details.
• sourceServerInfo: Specifies the details of the server on which the template is present.
• wsRequestTimeoutInMilliseconds: Specifies the maximum time after which the web service request will time out.

The following code snippet shows the TemplatePushConfig.xml file:

<?xml version="1.0"encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<!--source server details, email sending details, timeoutmillis for template push-->
<tpeConfig>
  <maxConcurrentTemplatePush><!--maximum concurrent template push actions. This value should be between 1 and 30.-->
  </maxConcurrentTemplatePush>
  <senderEmailAddress>localhost@bmc.com</senderEmailAddress>
  <smtpGateway><!-- smtp gateway --></smtpGateway>
  <!--source server details -->
  <sourceServerInfo url="<!--source server url-->">
    <password><!--password for authenticating server--></password>
    <username><!--username for authenticating server--></username>
  </sourceServerInfo>
  <!-- timeoutmillis for which server will be authenticated-->
  <wsRequestTimeoutInMilliseconds><!-- long value for timeout --></wsRequestTimeoutInMilliseconds>
</tpeConfig>

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Launching the multi-server template push extension

To launch the extension, modify the MultiServerTemplatePushTargetParams.xml and TemplatePushConfig.xml files, as required, and run the multi-server-template-push script from the CLI. When you run the script, it prompts you for the runtime parameters required for the template. You can specify up to 2000 characters in the runtime parameter value.

The multi-server-template-push script has the options listed in the following table:

-?

-deployTemplateName arg

-deviceList arg

-syntaxScan arg

-makeTrusted arg

-commit arg

-email arg

-format arg

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Examples

The following table describes various use cases for the multi-server template push extension: 

multi-server-template-push.bat -?

multi-server-template-push.bat -deployTemplateName newConfigtemplate

multi-server-template-push.bat -deployTemplateName newConfigtemplate
 -deviceList C:\Inputs\devices.csv

multi-server-template-push.sh –deployTemplateName newConfigtemplate
 –syntaxScan true –makeTrusted true –commit true

multi-server-template-push.sh –deployTemplateName newConfigtemplate
 –email “shirley_thompson@hotmail.com” –format rtf

multi-server-template-push.sh –deployTemplateName newConfigtemplate
 –commit true –makeTrusted true –syntaxScan true
 –deviceList /home/jsmith/js.csv –email “john_smith@abc.com
 shirley_thompson@hotmail.com” -format html

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Related topic

Using the single server template push extension