Creating or modifying an operation

The portal provides a standard interface for defining all types of operations except except provisioning. A simple wizard steps you through the process of creating an operation. 

To create an operation, specify the type of operation, the content that defines the operation, and its targets. You can also optionally specify the notifications the operation generates and a schedule for when it runs. 

This topic describes the full capabilities available when you create an operation. It includes the sections listed below. For a compact example demonstrating how to create a typical operation, see Example-of-creating-an-operation.

• • Types of operations
  • To create or modify an operation
  • Definition
  • Content
  • Targets
  • Notifications
  • Schedule & Run
  • Parameters
  • Local Properties

Types of operations

The following operation types are possible in BladeLogic Portal:

• Batch — Concatenates a series of jobs. To define a Batch operation, you must identify a Batch job in BMC Server Automation.
• Compliance — Determines whether BMC Server Automation components satisfy compliance rules established for a component template. To define a Compliance operation, you must identify a Compliance job or component template in BMC Server Automation.
• Deploy — Deploys content to one or more target servers or BMC Server Automation components. To define a Deploy operation, you must select content to deploy or identify a Deploy job in BMC Server Automation.
• Script — Deploys and executes a Network Shell (NSH) script. To define a Script operation, you must identify an NSH Script job or NSH script in BMC Server Automation.
• Patching — Performs patch analysis on one or more servers based on a collection of patches called a Patch catalog. To define a Patching operation, you must identify a Patching job in BMC Server Automation. You can set up a Patching operation for the following operating systems:
  • IBM AIX
  • Red Hat
  • Oracle Solaris
  • SUSE
  • Microsoft Windows
• Provisioning — Creates a new instance of a virtual machine (VM), including all computing, storage, and network capabilities and an unattended installation of an operating system. Optional post-install procedures can configure the newly provisioned VM. Although the process of creating a Provisioning wizard includes steps common to all portal operations, other steps are different enough that the procedure is described separately in Creating-a-Provisioning-operation.

To create or modify an operation

1. To create or modify an operation, do one of the following actions from the operations list page:
   • Click the Create Operation drop-down list and select a type of operation.
   • Position your cursor over an existing operation and click Edit.
     
     The Create Operation page opens. It presents the steps you must follow to create or modify an operation. Headings in a ribbon of chevrons at the top of the page identify each step. After you provide all required information, proceed to the next page by clicking Next (at bottom left) or clicking the next chevron.
     
     At any time you can click Back (at bottom left, not the browser's Back button) to display the previous page in the process.
     
     The blue boxes at right summarize the information provided for each step in the process.
     
     
2. Complete the steps listed below:
   • Definition
   • Content (not available when modifying an existing operation)
   • Targets
   • Notifications (optional)
   • Schedule & Run (optional)
3. If you are creating a Deploy or NSH Script operation, an additional step is needed for each:
   • Parameters (only applies to NSH Script operations)
   • Local Properties (only applies to Deploy operations)
4. When you are done defining the operation, take any of the following actions:
   • Click Execute Now to save the operation and run it immediately.

   • Click Finish to save a new operation or Update to save a modified operation.

     Notes

     After you complete the Content page, you can click Finish to save the operation even if some pages are incomplete.

     If you select a job on the Content page, all other options become read-only. Click Finish to save the operation.

      

The following sections describe in detail each step in the Operation wizard.

Definition

The Definition page provides general information about the operation.

Content

The Content page specifies the content that an operation uses when it executes. You can only specify content when creating an operation; for an existing operation, you cannot modify content. Typically, when specifying content, you select a BMC Server Automation job.

In addition to selecting jobs, you can use any of the following types of content to define an operation:

Find content by using any of the procedures described below:

Targets

The Targets page specifies the targets that an operation acts on when it executes. For targets, you can choose servers, server groups, components, or component groups.

Notifications

The Notifications page defines notifications that are generated based on conditions you specify. For example, you can instruct the portal to send an email when an operation fails or aborts.

To add a notification

1. From the Notify On drop-down list, select the operational status that generates a message:
   • Success
   • Failed
   • Aborted
   • Consistent (only available for Compliance operations)
   • Inconsistent (only available for Compliance operations)
2. From the Notification Method drop-down list, select the type of notification to be generated: Email or SNMP.
3. For Recipient(s), enter email addresses to notify when a job completes with the status that you specify. Separate multiple email addresses with semicolons. For SNMP traps, enter email addresses or names of servers to notify.
4. Click .

To remove a notification

Find the row for the notification you want to delete and click  under Remove.

Schedule & Run

The Schedule & Run page is where you schedule the execution of an operation. From this page, you can also run an operation immediately.

To run an operation immediately

Click Execute Now, at bottom. The operation is saved and runs immediately.

After you have defined content for an operation, the Execute Now option is always available.

To schedule an operation

1. Specify a time for the operation to run by clicking the clock icon beside Start At.
   An interface similar to a digital clock appears.
   
2. Set the hour and time. Then click AM or PM to toggle between those choices.
3. At right of the clock icon, select a time zone.
4. Set the interval at which the operation runs:
   • Run Once
   • Daily
   • Weekly—If you select this option, you must also select the day of the week and specify the weekly interval, such as every 2 weeks.
   • Monthly—If you select this option, you must also select one of the following options for when the operation runs:
     • A date, such as Day 15.
     • A weekday, such as Second Monday,.
     • The last day of the month.
   • Interval—If you select this option, you must also select the first date for running the operation and the interval at which it runs afterwards, such as every 8 hours.
5. Click .
   The operation appears in the list of scheduled job runs.

To delete a scheduled job run

Select the job run and click Remove .

Parameters

In the Parameters page, you can review and modify values for parameters that are used when an NSH Script Job in BMC Server Automation runs a script. The Parameters page is only available when you create or modify an NSH Script operation.

Any values you enter on the Parameters page override default values that were defined for parameters in the script. This page also lets you choose whether parameter flags and values should be used when the job runs. For more information on creating an NSH script, see Adding a Network Shell script.

When entering a string value for a parameter, you can parameterize the string by inserting a variable that represents a property value. When the job runs, the property references are resolved using values defined for target servers. You can only insert property references in this way when the script is defined in BMC Server Automation to use either the "runscript" or the "copy and execute" command (that is, you chose the first or third script types when defining the Network Shell script). Property references cannot be used when Network Shell scripts execute centrally against target servers because the property references cannot be resolved for each target server.

To modify parameter values

1. Click the name of a parameter. A dialog box displays information and options about the parameter.
   
   
2. Modify parameter values by doing any of the following: 
   • To specify whether the operation should use a flag for this parameter, under Flag runtime usage, select one of the following:
     • Use — The operation uses the parameter flag.
     • Ignore — The operation does not use the parameter flag.
       If the Network Shell script is defined so the job requires a flag for this parameter, you cannot modify the setting.
   • To modify the value of the parameter, click in the Value text box and enter a new value.
     You can only modify parameters that are defined to be editable when the Network Shell script was created. 
     If you want to include a reference to a property in the parameter, enter a variable bracketed with double question marks (such as ??WINDIR??/rsc). Alternatively, you can click Properties to find and select the appropriate property.
   • To specify whether the operation should use a value for this parameter, under Value runtime usage, select one of the following:
     • Use — The operation uses this parameter value.
     • Ignore — The operation does not use this parameter value.
       If the Network Shell script is defined so the job requires a value for this parameter, this cell is set to Required and you cannot modify the setting. 
       If the parameter is defined so it does not accept a value, and the parameter has never had a value associated with it, you cannot modify the setting.
3. Click OK.

Local Properties

In the Local Properties page, you can review and modify values for local properties that are used when a Deploy job in BMC Server Automation deploys a BLPackage for which local properties have been defined. Typically, local properties are used to deploy a package multiple times to the same target server.