Parameterizing BLPackages by adding local properties

Parameterization allows you to deploy the same BLPackage with different configurations. For example, if you have an Apache HTTP package, you may have requirements to install the web server on different ports. Instead of creating multiple BLPackages for each potential HTTP port, you can create a single Apache HTTP package with a local property that modifies the listening port for the web server. BLPackage parameterization give you the flexibility to deploy applications with specific configurations without creating additional management sprawl.

This topic includes the following sections:

• • Before you begin
  • To parameterize BLPackages by adding local properties
  • To import assets

For BMC Server Automation documentation related to this topic, see:

• Adding-a-local-property-to-a-BLPackage
• Adding-or-modifying-properties
• Software-and-BLPackage-Deploy-Job-overview

Before you begin

Use BMC Server Automation to create a BLPackage that installs an application on a target virtual machines. A BLPackage can include installers, files, configuration objects, and so on.

Before you can parameterize the BLPackage, you must determine the required steps to configure your application. For this example, we are going to create a local property called HTTP_PORT. This property is going to be used to configure the HTTP "Listen" port that the web server uses to communicate. In our example, we are going to configure this value by modifying the httpd.conf file.

To parameterize BLPackages by adding local properties

To import assets

These steps continue the Apache server example by showing you how to select the server objects you want to include inside the BLPackage and then editing it (for example, changing the object attributes). It assumes that you have already created the local properties in the BLPackage.

1. Open the BLPackage.
2. Click the Package tab.
3. From BLPACKAGE, select BLPackage > Import Assets to open the Import wizard.
4. Select Live server objects and then click Next.
5. Add a server object by clicking .
6. Navigate to the live server that contains the server objects that you want to bundle with the BLPackage.
   
   In this example, you navigated to the live Apache server apache-7.
7. Click Configuration and then navigate to the server object to bundle with the BLPackage (for example, the specific ServerAdmin value instead of the entire configuration file).
   
   In addition to a configuration file, other live server objects you can import are an executable installer, a granular setting of a configuration file, the state of a windows service, and so on.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Finish.
    The assets are now imported into the BLPackage.