Introduction to operational rule steps

BMC Client Management software includes a large number of predefined operational rule steps which are located in the data/Vision64Database/opsteps directory. In this directory CM expects to find pairs of files: an .xml file describing an individual operational step and a .chl file which is the script to execute for the step.

Upon finding such a pair, the .xml file is parsed to see if a new step can be imported into the database. If the .xml file is wrong, both files remain where they are and nothing happens. If it is correct, the script it points to is compiled using the local Operational Rules module. If the compile passes, the step is added to the database and the two files are placed in a specified directory structure under opsteps . This allows a history to be kept of all versions of this specific step. If the compile fails, the files are moved to a directory called opsteps.invalid . The reason for the failure is described in the chilli.log file. For more information, refer to the debug chapter of the Chilli Reference manual.

A step always needs two files:

• a <StepName>.xml file describing an individual operational step and
• a <StepName>.chl file which is the script to execute for the step

Custom operational rule steps can be added to CM by simply creating the necessary scripts and adding them to the respective directory. The operational rules steps can easily be localized for different languages if necessary. The following paragraphs explain the contents of both the .xml and .chl file, and how to create your own steps. In the following topic you can see some examples of custom operational rule steps for specific needs and situations.