Add background
This document explains the elements for creating a start/stop automation at a high level.
Example: OZSoft tenant.
When creating new start/stop automation procedures, always test on OZsoft tenant first.
Elements of Start/Stop
Impersonating as OZSoft admin, navigate to Management → Automation → Definition and expand the menus
Process Definitions
The process definition is the core and the first step of the start/stop process.
While you’re creating the start-stop workflow, you must take note of the following:
The external variables that are going to be input in the form
The steps that are going to be in the workflow
The workflow’s sequence
Each step in the workflow represents a process definition. Inside a process definition, you can modify the following fields
Name: Name of step
Owner: All process definitions in a workflow must have a robot user as owner, otherwise the process won’t run. This robot user must have assigned an OS user that can run sudo commands (for Linux) and SQL commands (for Windows)
Work queue: This is where the activity is going to run. For start/stop, make sure to use a dynamic work queue. In this example, it’s running on Linux, so it’s specified in the name DBLINUX. This name will be used later in the form template
Command: This is the core and main instruction of the process definition. You can use both Linux and SQL commands for start/stop processes. sapcontrol? However, it is important that you manually test the command to make sure it works before testing it on the process definition in IT-Conductor. In this case, the name of the database is ORACLE_SID. This name will be used later in the form template.
You can also create a verification process definition.
In this example, this verification asks for the status of the SAP system. To specify this process definition, you need to add the following:
Name: Name of process definition
Owner: Robot user owner of the process definition, as specified before
Left object: Insert the name of the object that’s being verified. In this case, the name of the variable is APPSAP. This name will be used later in the form template.
Criteria: The criteria that is being asked from the object in the “Left object” field
In the example, the criteria is asking if the object’s status id is different than 40. If the criteria is true, then it’ll move on the step to the right. If it’s false, it’ll do the final step and end the workflow.
In other types of criteria, you can about the system’s class. In this example, it’s asking if the object’s class is from an ABAP system.
what other types of criteria to include?
In case, it’s an ABAP system, you can create process definitions for running jobs/programs. This job is launched via the interface with ABAP.
The main requirements for this job step are:
Name of step
The object has to be specified on the “Work queue” field
Program name
Owner and User name. The user name’s account has to be specified under the owner (the automation user
Job name. It’ll be assigned by default after creating the job step
*the command to stop/start java is the same for abap from a subcontrol standpoint and database standpoint
Form Templates
To create the form templates you need to have identified the fields, variables, or data that will serve as input parameters for the start/stop wizard.
Chances are that there already exists a form template with the necessary inputs, in that case, you may reuse it instead of creating a new one.
Otherwise, you can duplicate the one with the closest parameters. You can see which variable, app, class, or object the form is calling on the “Property” column. To edit the template, you can select a row and click on “Modify row.”
Execution Configs
Execution configs are a list of variables that you pre-configure to use in the future, for example, if you’re going to schedule a process to run in the future. Ad-hoc execution configs won’t appear on this list.
Wizard
The wizard in IT-Conductor is a combination of the form template and the process definition. It’s where the user will launch the start/stop workflow.
The creation of the wizard is divided into three steps:
Input parameters: Here, the user will enter the parameters needed to run the workflow. These parameters are specified in the selected form template.
This step also includes entering the name and description of the wizard, the owner (usually the admin user of that tenant), the target class (choose execution config), and the form template
Create process: In this step, on the “Wizard_Element.Definition” option, you select the previously created process definition
View process: It’ll show you a final view of what the workflow looks like before you save the wizard
Same as with process definitions and form templates, you may copy an existing wizard and modify the “Input parameters” and “Create process” steps, and change the name, description, process definition, and form template.
Dashboards
You may design a dashboard for start/stop automation like the one for OZsoft and add them to the tenant’s main menu if necessary.
The Start/Stop automation dashboard for OZsoft has a tile for the Start/Stop Wizards that you can modify by entering the Design Mode (to enter design mode you need to use your admin IT-Conductor account, not impersonate the tenant’s admin), or by going to the dashboard tiles button and selecting the Wizard
How to assign a dashboard to a tenant?
Go to the modify view of the dashboard
Specify the following parameters on the dashboard.
Dashboard → Role: demonstration
Menu item → Parent menu: dashboards
General → Tenant: Tenant’s name. Owner: ITC Admin of selected tenant
How to select the items that the Wizard tile will display?
The wizard tile contains the following options:
Dashboard: Select the dashboard that it’ll belong to
Title: Name of the tile
Parameters: Insert the id of the tenant that this tile/dashboard will be associated to
Menu item: Here you insert the pre-created wizard items that the tile will display. The items are inserted inside a saved search which has the object ids of the pre-created wizards. In the saved search, in “Display mode” you may also select how the wizard items will be displayed on the dashboard. how to create a saved search?
Add Comment