Managing automation

With BMC Release Process Management (BRPM), you can automate manual tasks for deploying an application. To deploy components of an application in the specified environment, you create requests. These requests consist of sequential steps that execute the deployment process. During the execution of steps, you might perform manual or repetitive tasks. In some cases, you might need to switch to another application to execute a step. You can automate these steps by using default or writing your own automation scripts.

In RPM 5.0, you can write automation scripts both in Ruby and any other programming language as long as its interpreter is present in the system that runs the appropriate step.

By default, all automation scripts are divided into the following types:

• Data retriever—Automation scripts in the Ruby programming language that run on the target servers to obtain the necessary configuration data.

  Note

  When you upgrade RPM from 4.6.x or earlier to 5.0.x, resource automation scripts from your previous product version are transferred into 5.0.x as data retriever scripts.

• Local ruby—Automation scripts in the Ruby programming language that run on the agent host of the engine that starts an automation step.

  Note

  When you upgrade RPM from 4.6.x or earlier to 5.0.x, automation scripts from your previous product version are transferred into 5.0.x as local ruby scripts.

• Remote dispatcher—Automation scripts in the Ruby programming language that run on the engine server. They implement various transport protocols (agent types) for transferring files and executing scripts on remote servers. 
  Remote dispatcher scripts are executed based on the agent type of the target server.

• Local shell—Automation scripts that run on the agent host of the engine that starts an automation step and can be written in any interpreted language available on the engine server.
• Remote shell—Automation scripts that run on the target servers, perform actions specific to the target server, and can be written in any interpreted language available on the target server.

You can also create custom automation types.

To enable automation

To use automation, you must first enable automation functionality in RPM.

1. Log in to RPM as a user with permissions to access the Settings option under the System tab.

2. Go to System > Settings > General.
3. Ensure that Enable Automation is selected.

To use an alternate Ruby interpreter

By default, all automation scripts are run on JRuby. For Local Ruby automation scripts, you can use an alternate Ruby interpreter.

1. Go to RLMhome \releases\productVersion\RPM\config and open the automation_settings.rb file.

2. In the file, add the $AUTOMATION_RUBY_PATH parameter with the full path to the executable file of the installed alternate Ruby interpreter.

   Example

    $AUTOMATION_RUBY_PATH = "/opt/alternateRuby/bin/ruby"

3. Save the file.

4. Restart the RPM services.

5. To use the alternate Ruby interpreter, you must specify the alternate_ruby parameter with the value set to true in each Local Ruby script that you want to run on the interpreter.

   Example

   ###
# command:
# name: Name of command
# success:
# name: Term or Phrase to indicate success
###

   #============== User Portion of Script ==================

   # Run the command directly on the localhost
result = run_command(params, params["command"], '')

   params["alternate_ruby"] = true

   params["success"] = params["success"] || ""

   # Apply success or failure criteria
if result.index(params["success"]).nil?
write_to "Command_Failed - term not found: [#{params["success"]}]\n"
else
write_to "Success - found term: #{params["success"]}\n"
end