Creating or modifying an operation

The portal provides a standard interface for defining all types of operations 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 and Run
  • Local Properties
  • Parameters

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 that was defined in BMC Server Automation or select a component template and define your own operation. 
  You can also select an SCAP Compliance Job. When you run an operation based on an SCAP Compliance Job, the portal presents a different set of results. You can view SCAP Compliance results by target and by rule–like you would any Compliance operation–but there are no built-in remediation options. 
• Deploy — Deploys content to one or more target servers or BMC Server Automation components. To define a Deploy operation, you must identify a Deploy Job that was defined in BMC Server Automation or select content to deploy (such as a BLPackage) and define your own operation
• NSH Script — Deploys and executes a Network Shell (NSH) script. To define an NSH Script operation, you must identify an NSH Script Job that was defined in BMC Server Automation or select an NSH script and define your own operation.
• Patch Analysis — Examines the patch configuration on one or more servers based on a collection of patches called a patch catalog. To define a Patch Analysis operation, you must identify a Patching Job that was defined in BMC Server Automation or select a patch catalog and define your own operation. For a detailed description, see Creating-or-modifying-a-Patch-Analysis-operation.
• 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. Depending on the type of job you selected, the Operation wizard requires you to complete different pages. Each row in the table below provides links to the steps required for each page.

   Tip

   Press "f" to view the table in full screen view.

   Operation Type	Definition	Content	Targets	Local Properties	Parameters	Notifications	Schedule & Run
   Batch	Required	Required	View only	n/a	n/a	View only	View only
   Compliance	Required	Required	Required for operations based on templates; view only for operations based on jobs	n/a	n/a	Optional for operations based on templates; view only for operations based on jobs	Optional for operations based on templates; view only for operations based on jobs
   Deploy	Required	Required	View only	Applicable only to operations based on packages	n/a	View only	View only
   NSH Script	Required	Required	Required for operations based on scripts; view only for operations based on jobs	n/a	Applicable only to operations based on NSH scripts	Optional for operations based on scripts; view only for operations based on jobs	Optional for operations based on scripts; view only for operations based on jobs
   Patch Analysis	See Creating-or-modifying-a-Patch-Analysis-operation
   Provisioning	See Creating-a-Provisioning-operation.

3. 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.

The following sections describe in detail each page in the Operation wizard, and the steps required for each page.

Definition

The Definition page provides general information about the operation.

The Definition page includes the following options:

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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.

Use any of the following types of content to define an operation:

Find content by using any of the procedures described below:

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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.

To specify targets

1. To specify targets, do one of the following:
   • If you selected a job on the Content page of the operation wizard and targets were already defined for the job, you do not have to specify additional targets. The procedure is complete.
   • If you selected a job as content and targets are already defined for that job but you want to modify the list of existing targets, proceed to the next step. 

   • If you are modifying an existing operation and targets are already defined, you may want to show those targets. If so, click Load selected targets in the blue information box for the Targets section at right. Then proceed to the next step.
     

     

   • If you selected something other than a job on the Content page of the operation wizard, you must specify targets. Proceed to the next step.
2. Find targets by following either of the procedures described below:

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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.

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Schedule and 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

At the bottom, click Execute Now. 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 operations.

To delete a scheduled operations

Select the operation and click Remove .

Requesting job approvals

If you integrate BladeLogic Portal with BMC Atrium Orchestrator, you can request a job approval through BMC Remedy ITSM Change Management for any BladeLogic Portal operation. 

If the content of an operation is a job already defined in BMC Server Automation and that job is defined to require job approval, the portal shows that job approval information in a read-only format. If the BMC Server Automation job does not include job approval, the portal does provide any options for job approval.

To request job approval 

1. For Approval Type, select one of the following options:
   • Manual Approval—Use this option for jobs that require a BMC Remedy ITSM administrator to review the job details and impact level prior to approving execution. By default, this option generates a change request with a Change Timing value of Normal.
   • No Approval Required—Use this option if you are not required to enter the additional BMC Remedy ITSM parameters. If a job type requires approval and you select No approval, the approval mechanism is bypassed and the job executes either immediately or as scheduled.
   • Emergency Approval—Use this option for jobs that need immediate attention and must be run immediately. By default, this option generates a change request with a Change Timing value of Emergency and an Urgency value of High.
   • Automatic Approval—Use this option for change requests that use an Approval Process Configuration form to automatically approve the request. By default, this option generates a change request with a Change Timing value of No impact.
2. If you want to customize the approval request, click Show Advanced Options and provide the information for any of the following options:
   • Change Type—Enter the type of change being requested.
   • Impact—Select the scope of the change being requested. For example, is the job targeted for one server or a large number of servers? The default value is Minor/Localized.
     
   • Risk Level—Select the severity of the change being requested.

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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.

The Local Properties page is active only when either of the following conditions are true:

• The content type (defined on the Content page) is a BLPackage and local properties have been defined for the BLPackage.
• The content type is a Deploy job and the job is defined to deploy a BLPackage for which local properties have been defined.

To modify a local property value

1. Click the name of a local property. A dialog box displays information and options about the property.
   
   
2. Modify the local property value by clicking in the Value text box and entering a new value.
3. Click OK.

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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 taking any of the following actions: 
   • To specify whether the operation should use a flag for this parameter, for Flag runtime usage, select one of the following options:
     • 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, for Value runtime usage, select one of the following options:
     • 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.

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