Executing custom commands

A custom command allows you to take a variety of actions. You can:

• Launch a script or executable program on a target server. If necessary, the script or program can execute against a file or directory on the target server.
• Launch an application that resides on the user's local computer.

Scripts, programs, or applications can execute in a command line interface, a graphical user interface, or a tabular format like a spreadsheet that is displayed within a separate tab in the BMC Server Automation Console. Custom commands allow you to perform many functions from within the system that might otherwise require you to launch command line interfaces, such as Network Shell, or other external applications.

If a custom command such as NSH Here requires a connection to an agent and you are set up to use a Network Shell proxy server, the custom command authenticates to the proxy server using the single sign-on credential that the system generated when you logged on to the console. For more information about configuration needed to use a Network Shell proxy server, see Configuration for Network Shell proxy server traffic.

For information about creating custom commands, see Custom commands.

To execute a custom command

1. In the Servers folder, select the server or server group where you want to execute a custom command. If the custom command should run against a file or directory, use the File System object to navigate to the correct file or directory.

   Note

   Custom commands can be defined to run locally on servers where no RSCD agent is installed. For more information, see Custom commands.

2. Right-click the server group, server, file, or directory and select Run Custom Command from the pop-up menu. The Command Selection dialog box opens. Select the command you want to execute or enter text into the text box at the top. The choice of commands is filtered to only those commands with names that begin with the text you have entered.
3. Click OK.
   
   One of the following occurs:
   • If the command is defined so that it only executes against a single host, the command executes and the procedure is complete.
   • If the command is defined so you can choose additional hosts against which the command should execute, a window opens, allowing you to choose additional servers. Proceed to the next step.
     
     If you select a server, the only commands you can choose are those designed for that server's operating system. If you select a server group, you can choose any custom command. However, the command only executes against servers running the operating system for which that custom command is designed.
4. From Available Servers, specify the operating system of the servers you want to select. To display servers running any operating system, select All.
5. Select servers from a tree or sortable list by doing one of the following:
   • Click the By Group tab at the bottom of the window. The left panel displays servers in a hierarchical list arranged by server group. Choose servers by doing one of the following:
     • Click a server group to select all servers within the group.
     • Click one or more servers, if necessary expanding server groups.
   • Click the By Name tab at the bottom of the window. The left panel lists servers by name in a Group Explorer view. Sort servers in ascending or descending order by clicking on any column header. Click one or more servers.
     
     If you select a server group, the job runs against the servers assigned to that group at the time of execution. The servers assigned to smart groups can change dynamically based on their server properties. You can modify static server groups manually by adding or removing servers.
6. Click the right arrow to move your selections to the right panel.
7. Do one of the following:
   • If the command is defined so you can modify the command's arguments, enter your changes in the Command Options field.
   • If the command is defined so you cannot modify the command's arguments, the Command Options field is not shown. Instead the command and its arguments all appear in the Server Command field, which is not editable.
8. Click Execute and the remote command runs on the servers you have specified.