Managing operations

The home page shows all of the operations to which your security group has access. Using this page, you can perform any of the following actions:

Note

If an operation is based on a job that was previously executed in BMC Server Automation, the home page shows results for that operation even if the operation has never been executed from the portal.

Executing an operation

When connected to BMC Server Automation, you can execute an operation from the home page.

This capability is not available when connected to BMC Network Automation. You cannot re-run jobs in BMC Network Automation.

In the operations list, find the row for the operation you want to run. At right, click the Actions menu and select Run Now.
The Execute Operations window opens.
Perform one of the following steps:
- To execute the job immediately, click Execute.
- To modify the list of targets where the job executes, use the Execute Operations window to add or delete targets. When you are done modifying the list, click Execute.
  Click here for more information on modifying the list of targets.
  To modify the list of targets, take any of the following actions. After modifying the list, click Execute.
  Search for targets
  Select the Search tab.
  Enter a text string in the Search text box.
  Your text is matched against any text visible on screen, such as part of a server name or description.
  Search strings cannot include spaces or hyphens.
  Optionally, use the filters at left to refine your search.
  In the list, select one or more targets to use in this operation. If a target has already been selected (denoted by a green check), you can remove it from the list by selecting it again.
  To see the full list of selected targets, click Load Selected Targets.
  Click Execute.
  Browse for targets
  Select the Browse tab.
  A list of folders appears at left.
  Navigate to the folder containing the targets you want to use and select it. If a selected folder contains targets, they appear in the list at right
  Optionally, inspect the properties of potential targets by clicking and selecting Show properties.
  A dialog box shows the properties of the target, as defined in BMC Server Automation.
  Inspecting properties allows you to learn more about a target before you take any action on it. You can inspect the properties of groups as well as individual targets.
  Select one or more targets to use in this operation. If a target has already been selected (denoted by a check), click the target to remove it from the list.
  In addition to selecting individual targets, you can also select groups.
  To see the full list of selected targets, click Load Selected Targets.
  Click Execute.
  Note
  Selecting targets where an operation executes does not change the targets of a job that were defined in BMC Server Automation.

Deleting an operation

In the operations list, find the row for the operation you want to delete. At right, click the Actions menu and select Delete. A message asks you to confirm the deletion.

To delete an operation, your role must be granted appropriate permissions in BMC Server Automation.

Only the user who created an operation in the portal can delete that operation.

Checking the approval status of an operation

If you have set up approval for an operation, you can use the operations list to check its approval status. Find the row for the operation you want to check. At right, click the Actions menu and select Approval Status. A window opens and provides information about the approval request and its current status.

Synchronizing information about an operation

An operation listed on the home page may not provide the most recent information if the same job has been run using BMC Server Automation. To ensure that the home page shows the most recent information for an operation, click the Actions menu at right and then select Sync.

Displaying detailed information about the most recent run

In the operations list, find the row for the operation for which you want information. At right, click the Actions menu and select View Results. A results page opens. It provides a range of information and lets you take various actions, depending on the type of operation. For more information, see Viewing-and-using-results-of-operations.

You cannot view job results for a VMware operation.

Displaying detailed information about network remediation operations

Currently, by default, you cannot view job results for network remediation operations within BladeLogic Portal. Instead, you must view detailed results within BMC Network Automation itself.

To view detailed information, click the Actions menu and select View Job Details. This action opens BMC Network Automation. After you log into BNA, you see results for the selected operation. The ID of the operation is the same as the suffix that was appended to the operation name when you defined the operation.

Configuring the portal to display network remediation operations

Optionally, you can configure the portal so it does display results for network remediation operations (like other portal operations). Be aware that performance may be an issue when viewing network remediation operation results within the portal.

If you have performed the necessary configuration, you can display network remediation results by selecting the Actions menu and then selecting View Results. This is the same action you perform to view results for any other operation). A results page opens and provides information about the remediation operation.

Obtaining information about failed operations

When an operation fails to get created in BMC Server Automation or BMC Network Automation, the name of the operation appears on the home page in a red font. Clicking the name of the operation provides information about why the operation failed, such as a timeout or insufficient permissions.

Designating favorite operations

In the operations list, click the star next to an operation to indicate that it is a favorite. The star turns yellow . You can filter the operations that are displayed by showing only favorites.

Click a yellow star to remove the favorite status.

Filtering the operations displayed

Using filters, you can choose the types of operations displayed on the home page. You can also choose to display only the operations you have defined or only favorite operations. When you make filtering selections, they remain in effect throughout your current portal session. When you log on to portal again, you must renew your filtering choices.

The following filtering options are possible:

To filter operations by name, enter a text string in the text box at the top of the Name column. The home pages shows only operations with names that include the string.
To filter operations by type, click the Type menu at the top of the Type column. Then select the types of operations you want to display.
To display only your operations, click My Operations, at top left.
To display all operations (not just your own), click All Operations at top left. If you have already filtered by operation type, those filtering choices remain in effect.
To display your favorite operations, click My Favorites at top left. To resume displaying all operations (not just your favorites), click My Favorites again.
If you belong to multiple security groups, you can display operations that only apply to certain security groups by clicking Security Group at top left and then selecting one or more security groups from the drop-down list. This option is not available if you only belong to one security group.

Finding specific operations

Click in the search text box at the top of the Name column and enter any number of characters. As you enter characters, the operations list narrows its results to shows all operations with names that include the text string you entered. Clear all text from the search box to show all operations.

Paging through operations

When a list contains more entries than a single page can display, you have options for navigating through the list.

Viewing logs

In the operations list, find the row for the operation for which you want to see log information. At right, click the Actions menu and then select View Log. A window displays the messages generated when the operation last ran.

You can filter the list by type of message, such as Error or Warning. You can also search for messages by entering text in the Search Messages box and then clicking the Search icon .

When viewing the log for Provisioning operations, you can also view log messages generated by any Deploy Jobs that the Provisioning Job initiated. To view Deploy Job log messages, click View Log for a Provisioning job and then click the Deploy tab.

Displaying a history of all runs

In the operations list, click the name of an operation to open the Run Results page, which shows the history of all runs of the operation, along with a chart graphing success for each run.

You cannot display a history of runs for a VMware operation.

Operation run graphs

In the operations runs graph:

Blue vertical bars indicate how many targets are available for evaluation during each run. Numbers on the right vertical axis show the number of targets evaluated.
The blue line (only present for Compliance operations) indicates the percentage of rules that are satisfied on all targets that are evaluated. For example, if there are 100 rules set for the servers that are evaluated and 45 of those rules are satisfied, the percentage of evaluated compliance is 45%.

The green line provides different types of information depending on the type of operation:

Operation type	Meaning
Compliance, Patching	Percentage of compliant targets. For example, if you evaluate five targets and only one is fully compliant, the evaluated target compliance is 20%.
Deploy, NSH Script	Percentage of targets where the operation executed successfully. For example, if you run an operation on five targets and it succeeds on four, the passed target rate is 80%.
Batch	Percentage of targets where first-level child jobs ran successfully. For example, if a Batch operation includes child jobs that run on four targets and the operation runs successfully on three, the percentage is 75%. If a Batch job includes another Batch job, its child jobs are considered second-level child jobs. This page does not include their results.

Operation run data

In the operations runs list, the data at bottom varies by type of operation:

Operation type	Data provided for each run of an operation
Compliance	Start time End time Duration Status—Click to see detailed results for that run of the Compliance operation Number of targets successfully evaluated Percentage of evaluated targets that comply with all rules Percentage of all rules across all targets that are satisfied Total number of rules satisfied across all targets Total number of rules not satisfied across all targets
Patching	Start time End time Duration Status—Click to see detailed results for that run of the Patching operation Number of targets to be evaluated Number of targets successfully evaluated Percentage of evaluated targets that are compliant with patch analysis Total number of missing patches across all targets
Deploy	Start time End time Duration Status—Click to see detailed results for that run of the Deploy operation Percentage of targets where Deploy operation succeeded Number of targets where Deploy operation succeeded Total number of targets where Deploy operation was attempted
NSH Script	Start time End time Duration Status—Click to see detailed results for that run of the NSH Script operation Percentage of targets where NSH Script operation succeeded Number of targets where NSH Script operation succeeded Total number of targets where NSH Script operation was attempted
Batch	Start time End time Duration Status—Click to see detailed results for that run of the Batch operation Percentage of targets where first-level child operations succeeded Number of targets where first-level child operations succeeded Total number of targets where first-level child operations was attempted

Executing an operation from the Run Results page

Click Execute at top right. The Execute Operation page opens. It allows you to to add or delete targets. When you are done modifying the list, click Execute.

Click here for more information on modifying the list of targets.

To modify the list of targets, take any of the following actions. After modifying the list, click Execute.

Search for targets
1. Select the Search tab.
2. Enter a text string in the Search text box.
  Your text is matched against any text visible on screen, such as part of a server name or description.
  Search strings cannot include spaces or hyphens.
3. Optionally, use the filters at left to refine your search.
4. In the list, select one or more targets to use in this operation. If a target has already been selected (denoted by a green check), you can remove it from the list by selecting it again.
5. To see the full list of selected targets, click Load Selected Targets.
6. Click Execute.
Browse for targets
1. Select the Browse tab.
  A list of folders appears at left.
2. Navigate to the folder containing the targets you want to use and select it. If a selected folder contains targets, they appear in the list at right
3. Optionally, inspect the properties of potential targets by clicking and selecting Show properties.
  A dialog box shows the properties of the target, as defined in BMC Server Automation.
  Inspecting properties allows you to learn more about a target before you take any action on it. You can inspect the properties of groups as well as individual targets.
4. Select one or more targets to use in this operation. If a target has already been selected (denoted by a check), click the target to remove it from the list.
  In addition to selecting individual targets, you can also select groups.
5. To see the full list of selected targets, click Load Selected Targets.
6. Click Execute.