Creating an operation - Content

For Provisioning operations, use the Preferred content (Prov.) tab to select a Virtual Guest Package (VGP) that an administrator has chosen for you.

BMC Server Automation administrators populate the Preferred Content tab by setting the IS_HIGHLIGHTED property for an item to True.

1. Select the Preferred Content tab.
2. Using the search or browse techniques, find the preferred content you want to use. To show all applicable preferred content, click load all.

3. Select an item to use in this operation.
   
   

   

4. When you make a selection, you are prompted to select a job group. Navigate to the job group where this operation can be stored in BMC Server Automation. Select it and click OK.
   A default job group may already be assigned for all users at your site or for your portal security group. If a default job group is assigned, you are not prompted to assign one. However, if you want to use a different job group, click Browse and navigate to the job group.

Perform a text search to identify the job or other material that forms the basis of an operation.

1. Select Search content, enter a text string in the text box at right, and then click Search . You can click without entering any text to show all possible content.
   The results of the search appear in a list. For each item in the list, the portal provides the BMC Server Automation folder where the item is stored.
   Results of a search return the first 100 items found.
   
   
    
2. Optionally, use the filters at left to refine your search.
   
   
   
   When performing a search, you can limit results to certain types of content. For example, if you are defining a Compliance operation and you want to limit content to templates, select Template. Search results then display only templates.If you do not choose to limit search results, the portal displays all types of content.To clear all filtering choices, click clear all.

3. In the list, select an item to use in this operation. 
   

   

   
   

4. When you make a selection, you are prompted to select a job group unless you have selected a job. Navigate to the job group where this operation can be stored in BMC Server Automation. Select it and click OK.
   If you selected a job in the previous step, a job group is already assigned and you cannot modify it.
   A default job group may already be assigned for all users at your site or for your portal security group. If a default job group is already assigned, you are not prompted to choose one.
   
5. Deploy Operations only: If you are defining a Deploy operation and the content you select is not an existing BMC Server Automation job, you can optionally specify a deploy template, which encapsulates the deploy settings to be used for the new operation.
   Click here for the steps to specify a deploy template.

   1. Next to the Deploy Template field, click Browse.
      
      
      A window shows possible deploy templates. (The list of possible deploy templates can be assigned for a portal security group or the entire site.)
   2. Select a Deploy job in the list of templates.
      The Deploy job appears in the Selected Deploy Template field. To remove a Deploy template, select the Deploy job again from the list of possible Deploy jobs. 
      
       
   3. Optionally, inspect the settings of the template by clicking Details. The portal lists settings for the selected job, such as its logging level and reboot settings. To return to the list of template jobs, click Templates.
      
      

      Warning

      NoteMany options are available for controlling the behavior of a Deploy Job (that is, a deploy template) used for remediation purposes. See here for a complete list. For instructions on using BMC Server Automation to implement those options, see Setting deploy options for remediation jobs.
   4. If you have selected a Deploy template that is defined as an Advanced Deploy job in BMC Server Automation, you can schedule the individual phases of the remediation operation (that is, simulate, stage, and commit). Take the following steps:

      1. Click the Phase Schedules and Execution tab.
         
         
      2. Take any of the following actions:

      • 
        
        • If you do not want to schedule the phases of the remediation action, select Do not execute. 
        • If you want to schedule all phases to run sequentially, select Execute sequentially and then specify a time zone and a start time for when execution begins.
        • If you want to schedule each phase individually, select Execute selected phases. Select a time zone. Then specify a start time for each phase that you want to schedule. Instead of setting a start time, you can click After Previous Phase to indicate that the phase should begin after the previous phase completes. You can also click Not Scheduled to specify that a particular phase is not scheduled.
   5. Click OK. The settings in the Deploy job that the template identifies are used to define the Deploy operation you are creating.

For Provisioning operations, perform a text search to identify a Virtual Guest Package (VGP).

1. Select Search content, enter a text string in the text box at right, and then click Search . You can click without entering any text to show all possible content.
   The results of the search appear in a list. For each item in the list, the portal provides the BMC Server Automation folder where the item is stored.
   
   

   

   
   

2. In the list, select an item to use in this operation. 
   
   

   

   
   

3. When you make a selection, you are prompted to select a job group. Navigate to the job group where this operation can be stored in BMC Server Automation. Select it and click OK.
   A default job group may already be assigned for all users at your site or for your portal security group. If a default job group is assigned, you are not prompted to assign one. However, if you want to use a different job group, click Browse and navigate to the job group.

Navigate to a job or other material that forms the basis of an operation.

1. Select the Browse tab. A list of folders appears at left. 
   
   
2. Navigate to the folder containing the content you want to use. If the folder holds content that is appropriate for this type of operation, the content appears in the list at right. 

3. Select an item from the list to use in this operation.
   

   

   
   To find content, you may need to navigate through a folder structure. As you traverse folders, a trail of "bread crumbs" appears above the Folder list. You can select any name in the bread crumbs to display the contents of that folder.

4. When you make a selection, you are prompted to select a job group unless you have selected a job. Navigate to the job group where this operation can be stored in BMC Server Automation. Select it and click OK.
   If you selected a job in the previous step, a job group is already assigned and you cannot modify it.
   A default job group may already be assigned for all users at your site or for your portal security group. If a default job group is already assigned, you are not prompted to choose one.
5. Deploy Operations only: If you are defining a Deploy operation and the content you select is not an existing BMC Server Automation job, you can optionally specify a deploy template, which encapsulates the deploy settings to be used for the new operation.
   Click here for the steps to specify a deploy template.

   1. Next to the Deploy Template field, click Browse.
      
      
      A window shows possible deploy templates. (The list of possible deploy templates can be assigned for a portal security group or the entire site.)
   2. Select a Deploy job in the list of templates.
      The Deploy job appears in the Selected Deploy Template field. To remove a Deploy template, select the Deploy job again from the list of possible Deploy jobs. 
      
       
   3. Optionally, inspect the settings of the template by clicking Details. The portal lists settings for the selected job, such as its logging level and reboot settings. To return to the list of template jobs, click Templates.
      
      

      Warning

      NoteMany options are available for controlling the behavior of a Deploy Job (that is, a deploy template) used for remediation purposes. See here for a complete list. For instructions on using BMC Server Automation to implement those options, see Setting deploy options for remediation jobs.
   4. If you have selected a Deploy template that is defined as an Advanced Deploy job in BMC Server Automation, you can schedule the individual phases of the remediation operation (that is, simulate, stage, and commit). Take the following steps:

      1. Click the Phase Schedules and Execution tab.
         
         
      2. Take any of the following actions:

      • 
        
        • If you do not want to schedule the phases of the remediation action, select Do not execute. 
        • If you want to schedule all phases to run sequentially, select Execute sequentially and then specify a time zone and a start time for when execution begins.
        • If you want to schedule each phase individually, select Execute selected phases. Select a time zone. Then specify a start time for each phase that you want to schedule. Instead of setting a start time, you can click After Previous Phase to indicate that the phase should begin after the previous phase completes. You can also click Not Scheduled to specify that a particular phase is not scheduled.
   5. Click OK. The settings in the Deploy job that the template identifies are used to define the Deploy operation you are creating.

For Provisioning operations, navigate to a Virtual Guest Package (VGP) stored in the Depot.

1. Select the Browse tab. The Depot folder appears at left. 
   
2. Navigate to the depot folder containing the content you want to use.
   If the folder holds content that is appropriate for this type of operation, the content appears in the list at right. 
   As you navigate through folders, a trail of "bread crumbs" appears above the Folder list. You can select any name in the bread crumbs to display the contents of that folder.

3. Select an item from the list to use in this operation.
   

   

   
   

4. When you make a selection, you are prompted to select a job group. Navigate to the job group where this operation can be stored in BMC Server Automation. Select it and click OK.

   A default job group may already be assigned for all users at your site or for your portal security group. If a default job group is assigned, you are not prompted to assign one. However, if you want to use a different job group, click Browse and navigate to the job group.