ONE Automation Platform - v11 Features and Functions

1. Automic World 2015
One Automation Platform - V11 Features and Functions
Dave Kellermanns
Chief Automation Architect

2. New Installer

3. 3 Property of Automic Software. All rights reserved
Installer Features
• Out of the box installer for single box
installations
• Get a complete system up and running in
minutes instead of hours
• All needed binaries in one download file
• Easily test new Automic features
• Minimal dependencies on external pre-
requisites

4. 4 Property of Automic Software. All rights reserved
Installer Capabilities
• Leverage new package structures including installation of content
packs
– Includes pre-packaged external Software: Tomcat, Java, VC
Redistribution Pack
• Setting up engine processes, OS agent, Tomcat, and ECC
• Easily manage all processes in the service manager
• Multi platform support
– Windows 2008/2012
– Linux: RedHat Linux, Suse Linux
• Three installation modes
– GUI (WIN only)
– Command Line
– Unattended
• Support for MS-SQL and Oracle
• Minimal Input required

5. Objects

6. © Automic. All rights reserved.
6
Support for Perl, Python, etc. in the process tab
ONE Automation Platform

7. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Binary Store Object

8. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Adaptive Runtime Calculation
• Calculate the expected runtime based on any set of task properties
• When you re-use objects in multiple Workflows – these objects can
estimate thier runtime as a unique process independent of other uses
• By default it uses Parent alias, Parent name, Agent, and Start Time
• Additional parameters can be defined

9. © Automic. All rights reserved.
9
• LDAP over an SSL port can now be authenticated.
• Oracle Directory Server and Active Directory supported.
• Authentication of users through PAM
(Pluggable Authentication Module)
now supported on all UNIX/Linux Agents.
LDAP SSL and UNIX/Linux Login Object Support

10. © Automic. All rights reserved.
10
• Keep your Platform in Sync with Active Directory (AD)
• Add new users to the Platform if added in AD
• Auto-Assign to Groups according to groups
• Keep Platform Audit log by deactivating AD deleted users
• Free Tool Compatible with v9, v10, v11
LDAP Sync

11. © Automic. All rights reserved.
• Dependent Promptset Fields
• Multiline Input Fields
• New DataTypes
• Complex XML Data (VARA.XML)
• Dynamic Execution Data (VARA.EXEC)
PromptSet Improvements
1
1 Dependent Promptset Fields are reset when
master field changes

12. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Enhanced Grouping Criteria (Object level)
1

13. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Enhanced Grouping Criteria (Activity Window)
2

14. ECC

15. © Automic. All rights reserved.
New ECC Layout

16. © Automic. All rights reserved.
ECC – Global Search
• Always available on the top right of the UI
• Search starts as you type
• Search for all object names and description
(“Name” and “Title” fields)
• Works on all objects, including Release
Automation specific workflows
• The “*” character is allowed to extend the result of
the search

17. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Edit Objects in the ECC
*JOBS.WIN, JOBS.UNIX, SCRI, INCL

18. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Edit Objects in the ECC
Access to JOBS properties:
• General
– Sync
– Runtime
• Process
– Pre & Post
• Attributes
• Output
– Output Scan
• Variables and Prompts
– Variables
– Prompt Sets
• Rollback
• Version Management
• Documentation

19. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Edit Objects in the ECC
Access to more editable content :

20. Zero Downtime
Upgrades

21. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Zero Downtime Upgrades Goal
• An upgrade is an “IT” project, not a “Business” project
• Reliable step-by-step procedure
• Rollback reduces Risk of Upgrades
• Simply rollback if the new version does not work as expected
• “Zero Downtime” for the Business Line users
• Best user experience as a System Administrator
• No reengineering of workflows needed

22. © Automic. All rights reserved.
What does Zero Downtime Upgrades Mean?
“Zero Downtime”
Means
• The production plan (jobs / workflows) runs
as expected
• Monitoring (ECC) and notifications are up
and running at any given time
• Includes the ability for the operator to take
actions via the UI (start / stop / hold / rerun
jobs…)
• Includes 3rd party monitoring tools
• Upgrade can be a new version, a service
pack or a hotfix
No “reengineering of workflows”
Means
• The upgrade procedure allows workflows
to behave “as before”
• The procedure does not require Workflow
Designers to update their workflows in
order to match the new version’s behavior

23. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Zero Downtime Upgrades Restrictions
• For a limited period of time users might not be able to:
• Update the definition of the workflows
• Use Advanced Reporting (Forecasting / Capacity planning)
• Users might need to re-login when upgrade is completed

24. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Zero Downtime Upgrades

25. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Technical Detail: Zero Downtime Upgrade
• As a system admin, you can upgrade these components separately as today in a fixed sequence
• WPs of different versions can work in parallel. Old WPs continue completing old and currently running requests, while new WPs
carry out all new tasks. Old WPs will work as long as all tasks started by the old version are worked off.

26. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Technical Detail: Zero Downtime Upgrade
• Zero downtime upgrade is available starting with version 11.2
(not possible from a pre-11.2 version)
• During DB upgrade existing fields can’t neither be removed nor
modified. If DB modifications are needed (e.g. varchar to blob),
old fields remain unchanged and new fields have to be created
instead.
• Same with XREQs (which include the Automic business logic). We
introduced a version marker so that old/new XREQs can exist
parallel during upgrade.
• DB cleanup procedure cleans up old DB fields and XREQ
versions after a successful upgrade

27. Monitoring via JMX
EMI (External Monitoring Interface)

28. © Automic. All rights reserved.
JMX Monitoring
• Monitor the Automation Engine and the process runs
• Notifications (Active Type)
• Get notified automatically - e.g. a signal state changes or a problem is
detected
• Query statistics (Proactive Type)
• Display Automation Engine metrics in a third party monitoring console
• Standard integration into existing monitoring environments,
that support JMX Monitoring (e.g. HP OpenView, IBM Tivoli)

29. © Automic. All rights reserved.
JMX Monitoring Functionality
• Components from the system overview
• E.g. agents, database, cache, licenses, MQ, users, etc.
• Message Window (Console)
• Time stamp, severity, type, and internal message representation

30. © Automic. All rights reserved.
JMX Monitoring Architecture

31. © Automic. All rights reserved.
What can be monitored via JMX?

32. © Automic. All rights reserved.
Contact
Dave Kellermanns
Chief Automation Architect
dave.kellermanns@automic.com
+1 (720) 440-2838

33. Thank you!