HPE XP7 Automation Director User Guide
Abstract
Automation Director is a software solution that provides the necessary tools to automate and
simplify the end-to-end storage provisioning process for storage and data center
administrators. The building blocks of the product are pre-packaged automation templates
known as service templates.
Part Number: P03776-005
Published: February 2019
Edition: 5
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Contents
Getting started with Automation Director ............................................8
About Automation Director............................................................................................................8
User responsibilities ........................................................................................................ 10
Operational workflow for service administrators and service users..................................11
Built-in user accounts..................................................................................................................12
Logging on.................................................................................................................................. 13
Accessing user profiles............................................................................................................... 13
Editing a user profile ....................................................................................................... 14
Changing the password for a user account......................................................................14
Changing the system account password.................................................................................... 14
Registering a license...................................................................................................................15
Logging off.................................................................................................................................. 15
Navigating the interface.............................................................................................................. 15
Navigating help........................................................................................................................... 17
Using search features ................................................................................................................ 18
Using column filters in tables........................................................................................... 18
Using instant filters...........................................................................................................18
About tags........................................................................................................................ 19
User workflows by role................................................................................................................20
Admin user workflow........................................................................................................ 20
Develop user workflow..................................................................................................... 21
Modify user workflow........................................................................................................21
Submit user workflow....................................................................................................... 22
Launching Service Builder.......................................................................................................... 22
Service Builder workflow.................................................................................................. 23
Viewing service and task summaries..................................................24
Viewing the dashboard................................................................................................................24
Viewing dashboard reports......................................................................................................... 25
Most Frequently Failed Services report........................................................................... 25
Most Frequently Used Services report ............................................................................25
Tasks Waiting for Action report.........................................................................................26
My Tasks report................................................................................................................27
My Favorite Services report............................................................................................. 27
Managing services................................................................................ 29
Overview of Automation Director services.................................................................................. 29
Services tab......................................................................................................................29
Workflow for creating a service...................................................................................................31
Creating or editing a service....................................................................................................... 32
Create Service window.....................................................................................................33
Testing a new service..................................................................................................................35
Releasing a service.....................................................................................................................36
Submitting a service....................................................................................................................36
Disabling a service......................................................................................................................37
Deleting a service....................................................................................................................... 37
Contents 3
Managing scheduled tasks.................................................................. 38
About tasks................................................................................................................................. 38
Tasks tab.......................................................................................................................... 38
About task status........................................................................................................................ 40
Viewing task details.....................................................................................................................42
Responding to tasks................................................................................................................... 43
Suspending scheduled tasks...................................................................................................... 43
Resuming scheduled tasks......................................................................................................... 43
Canceling scheduled tasks......................................................................................................... 44
Stopping tasks............................................................................................................................ 44
Forcibly stopping tasks............................................................................................................... 44
Retrying the task from the failed step......................................................................................... 45
Retrying a task from the step after the failed step...................................................................... 45
Creating a similar task request................................................................................................... 45
Archiving tasks............................................................................................................................46
Deleting tasks from history..........................................................................................................46
Working with service templates.......................................................... 47
Viewing service template information..........................................................................................47
Service Templates tab......................................................................................................47
Importing a released service template........................................................................................ 49
Creating a service from the Service Templates tab.................................................................... 50
Exporting a service template.......................................................................................................51
Deleting a service template.........................................................................................................51
Updating a service template version...........................................................................................51
About provisioning service templates......................................................................................... 52
About data mobility service templates........................................................................................ 52
About ESX cluster service templates..........................................................................................53
About ServiceNow ticketing service templates........................................................................... 54
About High Availability................................................................................................................ 54
4 Contents
Administering Automation Director.................................................... 56
Viewing the Administration tab....................................................................................................56
Setup workflow............................................................................................................................56
Managing groups in Automation Director....................................................................................57
About user groups............................................................................................................57
About service groups....................................................................................................... 58
About infrastructure groups..............................................................................................59
Managing your user profile......................................................................................................... 61
Viewing your user profile..................................................................................................62
Changing your own password..........................................................................................62
Editing your own user profile............................................................................................62
Managing users and permissions............................................................................................... 62
About user roles............................................................................................................... 62
Viewing users...................................................................................................................63
Creating a user account................................................................................................... 63
Editing the profile for a user account................................................................................64
Viewing permissions.........................................................................................................64
Changing permissions for a user account........................................................................64
Changing the lock status of user accounts...................................................................... 65
User ID and password policies.........................................................................................65
Configuring external authentication for users...................................................................65
Configuring external authentication for groups................................................................ 66
Deleting users.................................................................................................................. 67
Configuring connection settings..................................................................................................67
Configuring VMware vCenter connections.......................................................................68
Configuring Configuration Manager REST API connections............................................68
Configuring Web Service connections............................................................................. 70
Configuring a Web Service connection for ServiceNow...................................................71
Configuring remote connections...................................................................................... 72
Registering storage systems to a XP7 Configuration Manager REST API connection.............. 73
Registering a local storage system to a XP7 Configuration Manager REST API
connection........................................................................................................................73
Registering a remote storage system to a XP7 Configuration Manager REST API
connection........................................................................................................................75
Deleting local storage system information from a XP7 Configuration Manager REST
API connection................................................................................................................. 76
Deleting remote storage system information from a XP7 Configuration Manager
REST API connection...................................................................................................... 76
Using shared properties..............................................................................................................76
Built-in shared properties................................................................................................. 77
Modifying the shared service properties ......................................................................... 78
Modifying shared service properties for Data Mobility services....................................... 78
Configuring email and log settings..............................................................................................79
Setting up an external resource provider.................................................................................... 80
ServiceNow workflow integration................................................................................................ 81
Prerequisite products for workflow integration................................................................. 81
Creating a REST Message.............................................................................................. 81
Installing a MID server......................................................................................................82
Importing an update set................................................................................................... 83
Creating a service catalog item........................................................................................83
Creating a workflow..........................................................................................................83
Running the workflow.......................................................................................................85
Importing and exporting properties.................................................... 86
Importing property values........................................................................................................... 86
Exporting property values........................................................................................................... 87
CLI commands...................................................................................... 90
Hewlett Packard Enterprise XP7 Command View Advanced Edition CLI commands................ 90
hcmds64chgtsid command.............................................................................................. 90
hcmds64trust command...................................................................................................91
Automation Director CLI commands........................................................................................... 96
submittask command..................................................................................................... 101
listremoteconnections command....................................................................................109
setremoteconnection command..................................................................................... 113
deleteremoteconnection command................................................................................ 118
Services catalog..................................................................................120
Service template prerequisites..................................................................................................120
Service template supported platforms...................................................................................... 128
General settings for services.................................................................................................... 129
Allocate volumes service templates..........................................................................................130
Allocate Fabric Aware Volumes with Configuration Manager: Service details............... 131
Allocate Volumes with Configuration Manager: Service details..................................... 140
Contents 5
Allocate Like Volumes service templates..................................................................................143
Allocate Like Volumes with Configuration Manager: Service details..............................143
Data mobility service templates................................................................................................ 147
Allocate Volumes from Virtual Storage Machine: Service details...................................147
Export Virtual Storage Machine Configuration Across Sites: Service details.................152
Create High Availability Pair for Migration: Service details............................................ 154
Migrate Data Using High Availability Pair: Service details............................................. 160
ESX cluster service templates.................................................................................................. 163
Installing Python and Python Library (Windows OS)..................................................... 163
Installing Python and Python Library (Linux OS)........................................................... 164
Allocate Fabric Aware Volumes and Create Datastore for ESX Cluster: Service
details.............................................................................................................................165
Add Host to Cluster in vCenter: Service details............................................................. 175
Remove Host from Cluster in vCenter: Service details.................................................. 181
ServiceNow ticketing service templates....................................................................................185
Call ServiceNow Table API: Service details................................................................... 185
Create ServiceNow Incident Ticket: Service details.......................................................187
Update ServiceNow Incident Ticket: Service details......................................................195
Retrieve ServiceNow Incident Tickets: Service details.................................................. 203
Task Settings for services ........................................................................................................ 207
Additional service templates............................................................. 208
VSphere service templates....................................................................................................... 208
Modify Virtual Machine Configuration: Service details................................................... 209
Clone Virtual Machine: Service details...........................................................................215
Delete Cloned Virtual Machine: Service details............................................................. 220
Delete Datastore on VMware vSphere: Service details................................................. 223
Migrate Virtual Machine: Service details........................................................................ 226
Stop Virtual Machine: Service details.............................................................................229
Start Virtual Machine: Service details.............................................................................231
Restart Virtual Machine: Service details.........................................................................234
Create Snapshot of Virtual Machine: Service details..................................................... 237
Add Virtual Disk to Virtual Machine: Service details.......................................................241
Remove Virtual Disk from Virtual Machine: Service details........................................... 246
Delete Virtual Machine: Service details..........................................................................250
Deploy and Setup OS on Virtual Machine: Service details............................................ 254
Get List of Virtual Machines from VMware vSphere: Service details............................. 264
Pre-check for OS Deployment on Virtual Machine: Service details............................... 267
Script execution through the vCenter server: Service details........................................ 270
OS service templates................................................................................................................275
Get List of Users from Server: Service details............................................................... 275
Get Lists of Users from Multiple Servers: Service details.............................................. 277
Execute Remote Command: Service details..................................................................280
Windows update program installation: Service details...................................................281
OpenStack service templates................................................................................................... 287
Addition of a virtual server (deployment/OS initial setup): Service details..................... 288
Add Virtual Server (virtual disk): Service details............................................................ 294
Back Up Volumes: Service details................................................................................. 298
Delete a Virtual Server: Service details..........................................................................303
Delete a Virtual Server (virtual disk): Service details..................................................... 305
Start Virtual Server: Service details................................................................................308
Obtain a virtual server information list: Service details...................................................311
AWS service templates.............................................................................................................313
Add a virtual server (deploy): Service details.................................................................314
Delete a virtual server: Service details...........................................................................318
6 Contents
Start virtual servers: Service details...............................................................................320
Stop virtual servers: Settings......................................................................................... 321
Hyper-V 2012 service templates...............................................................................................323
Add a virtual server (deploy/OS initial settings): Service details.................................... 324
Change virtual server specifications (CPU and memory): Service details..................... 335
Delete virtual server: Service details..............................................................................341
Add virtual server (virtual disk): Service details............................................................. 346
Start virtual server: Service details.................................................................................350
Stop virtual server: Service details.................................................................................353
Restart virtual server: Service details.............................................................................354
Obtain virtual server information list: Service details..................................................... 356
Plug-in components for developers.......................................................................................... 358
Importing service templates........................................................................................... 358
AWS Components..........................................................................................................359
HCS Components: Service details.................................................................................359
Hyper-V Components: Service details........................................................................... 359
OpenStack Components: Service details.......................................................................359
Oracle Components: Service details..............................................................................359
vSphere Components: Service details........................................................................... 359
Websites.............................................................................................. 360
Support and other resources.............................................................361
Accessing Hewlett Packard Enterprise Support....................................................................... 361
Accessing updates....................................................................................................................361
Customer self repair..................................................................................................................362
Remote support........................................................................................................................ 362
Warranty information.................................................................................................................362
Regulatory information..............................................................................................................363
Documentation feedback.......................................................................................................... 363
Contents 7
Getting started with Automation Director
About Automation Director
As a storage administrator, you spend a lot of time performing repetitive manual tasks. These tasks are
not only time-consuming, but they also can be error-prone. Considering the changing landscape of data
center operation, you must spend your time on mission-critical tasks that assure the smooth functioning of
the data center. To fulfill the demand of data center tasks, you need software that can automate the
common infrastructure requirements and processes. With Automation Director, you can easily automate
time-consuming manual tasks and streamline workflows, such as provisioning, that otherwise take hours
to complete.
Automation Director is a software solution that provides the necessary tools to automate and simplify the
end-to-end processes, such as storage provisioning, for storage and data center administrators. The
building blocks of the product are prepackaged automation templates known as service templates.
Automation Director integrates with existing Hewlett Packard Enterprise XP7 Command View Advanced
Edition applications to automate common infrastructure management tasks by utilizing your existing
infrastructure services.
Some of the supported features of Automation Director are:
• Preconfigured service templates that help you customize automation services.
• Role-based access to defined services.
• Common service management attributes that can be assigned and shared across all automation
services.
• A customizable service catalog that users can create to address specific data needs.
• A RESTful API.
Before getting started with Automation Director, understand the following key concepts:
Service templates
A service template is a deployment blueprint for the application-based storage capacity provisioning
process. It is designed to encapsulate configuration settings, instructions, and tasks needed to automate
requests such as provisioning. The default configuration settings and tasks that are used in designing
service templates are based on best practices and real-world data center scenarios including resource
allocation, optimization, and configuration. When you install Automation Director, service templates are
automatically installed and are preconfigured for use.
Services
A service is an instance of a service template that is configured to work with your needs. When you
create a new service, you are creating a copy of the selected template and reusing the configuration
settings, tasks, and processes defined in the template. A service template is used as the starting point for
creating a new service and a service is the starting point for automating storage provisioning requests.
You can create as many instances of a service template as required. You can classify services by usage
and type categories and display them in a hierarchical structure. Because Automation Director enables
you to tag a service with multiple categories, you can filter services according to purpose, such as for
displaying services by workload or business unit.
8 Getting started with Automation Director
Tasks
A task is an instance of a service. When you submit a service, Automation Director creates a
corresponding task that can be scheduled to run immediately or based on a schedule. A task can also be
suspended, resumed, stopped, and archived based on your needs.
The following figure shows the relationship between templates, services, and tasks.
Infrastructure groups
An infrastructure group organizes storage resources and enables you to associate them with services and
grant access to users. Resource groups that contain pools for storage are assigned to infrastructure
groups. The infrastructure groups are associated with service groups. The services in a service group can
access the resources in the associated infrastructure group.
Service groups
A service group is a collection of services. A service group is associated with a user group and a role is
assigned to give the users permission to use the services in the service group. In addition, the service
group is associated with an infrastructure group, to enable the services in the service group to use
resources in the Infrastructure groups.
Getting started with Automation Director 9
User groups
A user group is a set of users with a defined level of access. User groups are associated with service
groups to enable users to access the services in the service group. Automation Director includes
predefined user groups and users can also create new user groups.
User responsibilities
System administrator
After installing Automation Director, the system administrator completes the initial setup tasks of creating
pools, discovering storage systems, registering hosts, creating users and defining user permissions.
When the initial setup is complete, the service administrator and service user take over management of
the system.
Service administrator
The service administrator is an administrator who has advanced knowledge of data center operations and
is responsible for managing end-to-end IT infrastructure including prioritizing and routing service requests
to service users, attending to all critical service requests, and meeting Service Level Objectives (SLO). In
Automation Director, this type of storage administrator is responsible for creating and managing all
automation services and delegating the responsibility of running services to service users as needed.
Service user
The service user is an administrator who is responsible for the management of automation requests,
which consists of submitting and verifying the completion of automation services and monitoring all
pending and scheduled tasks.
User Actions
The actions that users can complete after the initial setup depend on the Automation Director user role as
follows.
10 User responsibilities
Users Available Actions Automation Director User Roles
System administrators Modify shared property settings.
Create users and user groups.
Create service groups and
associate services with the groups.
Create infrastructure groups and
add storage resources with the
groups.
Associate infrastructure groups
with service groups to enable the
services in the service groups to
use resources in the infrastructure
groups.
Service administrators
Service users
Create requests.
Stop tasks.
Suspend schedules.
Cancel schedules.
Resume schedules.
Resubmit tasks.
Admin
Admin, Develop, Modify, or Submit
Service administrators Archive tasks.
Create services.
Edit services.
Service administrators Service Builder actions:
Create, modify, build, and release
templates and plug-ins.
Admin, Develop, or Modify
Admin or Develop
Operational workflow for service administrators and service users
The following figure shows the basic prerequisite tasks and high-level flow of operations for a service
administrator.
Operational workflow for service administrators and service users 11
The following figure shows the high-level flow of operations for a service user.
Built-in user accounts
The System account (default password: manager) is for administering user management tasks, such as
registering users, enabling access, and managing roles and permissions. It is also used to manage XP7
Command View Advanced Edition tasks and provides access to the XP7 Command View Advanced
Edition UI. By logging on using the System account, you can access the user management window in
12 Built-in user accounts
Automation Director and manage user access to storage systems registered in XP7 Command View
Advanced Edition. The System account does not belong to any user group.
NOTE: For information on how to change the system account password, see the HPE XP7 Automation
Director Installation and Configuration Guide.
Logging on
Prerequisites
To log on to Automation Director, have the following information available:
• Automation Director web URL
• User ID
• Password
Procedure
1. In a web browser, enter the Automation Director URL:
http://Automation-Director-server-address:port-number/Automation/
where
• Automation-Director-server-address is the IP address or host name of the Automation Director
server.
• port-number is the port number of the Automation Director server. The default port number is
22015.
To access Automation Director in secure mode, enter:
https://Automation-Director-server-address:port-number/Automation/
where:
• Automation-Director-server-address is the IP address or host name of the Automation Director
server.
• port-number is the SSL port number of the Automation Director server. The default port number is
22016.
2. Enter a user ID and password to log on.
3. Click Login.
Accessing user profiles
Procedure
1. Access your User Profile in one of the following ways:
Logging on 13
• In the global toolbar, click Tools > User Profile.
• If you are an Admin user, you can click User Profile in the Administration tab.
• An Admin user can also access user profiles in the Administration tab by navigating to Resources
and Permissions > Users and Permissions > Users. Click a User ID link to open the profile.
2. Perform one or both of the following:
• Click Edit Profile to open the Edit Profile dialog box and change the name, email address, and
description. Click OK.
• Click Change Password to open the Change Password dialog box and enter the old and new
passwords. Click OK.
3. Click Close to close the User Profile window.
Editing a user profile
Procedure
1. From the User Profile window, click Edit Profile.
2. Edit the profile information and click OK.
3. Confirm that the updated user profile information appears in the Users area.
More information
Changing the password for a user account on page 14
Changing the password for a user account
As user passwords expire or are compromised, they can be changed.
Procedure
1. From the User Profile window, click Change Password.
2. Enter the old and new passwords and verify the new password.
3. Click OK.
Changing the system account password
Procedure
1. From a management client, log on using the following credentials:
User ID: system
Password (default): manager
2. On the Administration tab, click User Profile.
3. Click Change Password, type the required passwords, and click OK.
14 Editing a user profile
Registering a license
Register a license when accessing Automation Director for the first time after installation or when a
license is expired.
NOTE: You must obtain the Automation Director server license from your HPE representative.
Procedure
1. Enter the Automation Director URL in a web browser.
2. In the logon window, click License.
3. In the License Information by Product dialog box, enter the license key using one of the following
methods:
• Click Key and enter the license key.
• Click File, then click Browse to upload the license file.
4. Click Save.
Logging off
On the Automation Director global task bar, click Log Out.
Navigating the interface
Registering a license 15
Global task bar
The global task bar provides menus for accessing various features provided by Automation Director and,
in the upper, right area of the task bar, includes your user name and details about when you last logged
on. A button is also included that you can use to quickly log off the system.
The global task bar is always visible, regardless of which window is active. Its three menus provide
access to high-level actions and online help. The menus are:
• File: Click this menu to close the application or log off.
• Tools: Click and choose from the following:
◦ Service Builder: Open Service Builder. This option is available to Admin and Develop users.
◦ User Profile: Open the user profile.
◦ Reset Preferences: If you have changed some display settings such as customized dashboard
layout to display your preferred reports or modified the column settings in the Services tab, and you
want to undo your changes, you can restore the display setting to the original (default) settings. To
do so, select Tools > Reset Preferences. This action logs you off of the current session. You must
log on again to view the default settings.
• Help: Click to select one of the following options:
16 Getting started with Automation Director
◦ Select Online Manual and open Help with the navigation pane visible.
◦ Select About to open the About window to view license information.
Global tabs
The Dashboard and Tasks tabs are always visible, regardless of which window is active. Access to
Services, Service Templates, and Administration tabs is dependent on the user role assigned. The tabs
provide access to services, tasks, and administrative functions.
Navigation pane
This pane varies with the active tab. From the navigation pane, you can access resources and frequently
used tasks.
Application pane
This pane varies with the active tab. The application pane shows summary information, resource objects,
and details about the current task.
Global monitoring bar
This bar is always visible, regardless of which window is active. It provides links to information about
submitted tasks.
Search
This box is available on the Service, Tasks, and Service Templates tab and provides keyword and criteriabased search functions.
Navigating help
When you access Help > Online Manual from the global task bar, or select the help icon [?] from the
application pane or a dialog box, you can see the Automation Director help and access the Contents,
Index, and Search.
Navigating
To navigate between topics, use the navigation pane, or right-click the topic (left pane) and select Back or
Forward.
Use the breadcrumb trail at the top of each topic to see your location, or to return to a higher-level topic.
To find information for a specific topic, click the Related topics links.
Using navigation buttons
• Contents
Click the topic of interest to reveal topic entries and subsections. As you move through Help, the
current topic is highlighted.
• Index
Provides an alphabetical list of topics. Click an Index entry for complete details.
• Search
Navigating help 17
Provides a list of topics based on the search criteria entered in the search text box. Click topics
returned by the search for details.
Printing topics
To print topics, right-click the topic and select Print or click the printer icon on the button bar.
Role-based help
Throughout Automation Director, help is provided based on the current user's logon ID and the assigned
role and permissions. Role-based help is on the Guidance menu and on various windows, views, and
dialog boxes. The help content is focused on the visible features or actions based on the role assigned to
the current user.
Using search features
Using column filters in tables
Column filters
You can turn on the column filters to customize the table view. Select one or more column attributes and
apply filter conditions, if required. The view continues to display its contents using the column filters until
the feature is turned off. When the column filters are turned off, the view is visible using the default
settings.
Column settings
Column settings allow you to customize the view by choosing the attributes you want to display in the
view columns. Click Column Settings on the table view to see the available column attributes and their
descriptions and make selections.
Using instant filters
Mark as Favorite
You can mark services that you frequently use as a Favorite. You can mark a service as a Favorite using
any of the following methods:
• In the Card View of the Services tab, do one of the following:
◦ Click the Favorite (star) icon for the service.
◦ Click the service to open the service preview and click the Favorite (star) icon.
◦ Click the service to open the service preview. Click More Actions and select Mark as Favorite.
• In the Table View of the Services tab, do one of the following:
◦ Click the Favorite (star) icon for the service.
◦ Click the service and select More Actions > Mark as Favorite.
The services marked as Favorite appear on the dashboard. You can quickly access the services that you
marked as Favorite by using the instant filter located next to the text search box on the Services tab, or
sorting by the Favorite column in the view.
18 Using search features
Mark as To Do
If you must pay attention to a task or respond to a task, you can mark it as To Do. You can mark a task as
To Do using any of the following methods:
• In the Table View in the Tasks tab:
◦ Select More Actions > Mark as To Do for the task, or:
◦ Click the Mark as To Do flag for the task in the To Do column.
• In the Task Details window, click the Mark as To Do button.
You can quickly access the tasks that you marked as To Do by using the instant filter (red flag) located
next to the text search box on the Tasks tab, or sorting tasks by the To Do column in the view. Tasks
marked as To Do are seen by all users.
About tags
Tags are available on the navigation pane of the Services, Tasks, and Service Templates tabs. Only tags
used in the tab are visible. You can click one or more tags to filter and quickly view the content by the
associated tag. Click Clear to reset the view to the default settings.
More information
Services tab on page 29
Tasks tab on page 38
Service Templates tab on page 47
Creating and assigning tags to services
You can assign tags to a service in the Edit Service window of a service. When a service is submitted,
the associated tasks inherit the tags from its service and cannot be modified.
When a service is created from a service template, the service inherits the tags from the service template.
The Admin or Develop role is required to create and update a tag for a service template. You cannot
change the tags that are assigned by a predefined service template.
When creating a custom tag, assign a unique tag name. Duplicate tag names are not allowed. You can
assign multiple tags to services templates and services.
Procedure
1. On the Services tab, click the service whose tags you want to modify to open the service preview
window for that service.
2. Click Edit to open Edit Service window.
3. In the Settings pane, modify tags for the service in the Tags box. You can perform any of the
following:
• To add tags, expand the list and select the tags.
• To remove a tag, click the "X" next to the tag.
About tags 19
• To create a tag, scroll to the end of the tag list, select Create Tag, enter a name and tag group for
the new tag, and click OK.
• To create a tag group, first create a tag. Then scroll to the bottom of the Tag Group list and click
Create Tag Group to enter a tag group name. Click OK.
4. Click Save.
Creating tag groups
You can organize tags in tag groups by dragging and dropping the tags to the desired group. Each tag
can belong to only one tag group. A tag group cannot belong to another tag group. Tags without a tag
group are listed as Uncategorized.
Procedure
1. Create a custom tag group by using one of the following methods:
• On the Tag Search navigation pane:
a. Click Organize Tags.
b. In the Organize Tags dialog box, go to the tag group section and enter the new tag group.
• When creating or modifying a service:
a. In the Edit Service window, go to the General Information section Settings pane and click
inside the Tags area to open the list of tag groups and tags.
b. Scroll to the bottom of the list and click Create Tag .
c. In the Create Tag dialog box, enter a tag name and click the Tag Group list to open it. At the
end of the list, click Create Tag Group and enter a tag group name.
d. Click OK to save the tag group and the tag.
2. Click OK to save the tag group.
You can search for tags and tag groups from the Tag Search navigation pane located on the Services,
Tasks, or Service Templates tab.
User workflows by role
Admin user workflow
The Admin user role is the only one that confers access to the Administration tab and the Admin user is
responsible for configuring Automation Director. The Admin user also has access to all parts of
Automation Director and Service Builder.
The Admin user workflow in the Administration tab is as follows:
1. Log on to Automation Director.
2. Click the Administration tab.
3. Configure remote connections, if needed.
20 Creating tag groups
4. Create users. This step is not necessary if you have integrated users from XP7 Command View
Advanced Edition with Active Directory.
5. Configure user groups, if needed. Automation Director includes four built-in user groups.
6. Create infrastructure groups and assign resources to them. If necessary, you can also assign Web
Service Connections and Agentless Remote Connections to infrastructure groups.
7. Create service groups and associate user groups with service groups. This step also assigns the user
role (Admin, Develop, Modify, Submit) associated with the user group.
8. Associate infrastructure groups with the service groups to enable the services in the service group to
use the resources in the infrastructure groups.
More information
Configuring VMware vCenter connections on page 68
Configuring remote connections on page 72
Viewing the Administration tab on page 56
Develop user workflow
Much of the Develop user's workflow takes place in Service Builder. The Develop user has access to all
parts of Automation Director except the Administration tab.
The Develop user workflow is as follows:
1. Log on to Automation Director and launch Service Builder.
2. Create or modify a service template in Service Builder.
3. Build the service template in Service Builder.
4. Test the service template in Automation Director.
At this point the template in not available for use.
5. Release the template from Service Builder.
After the template is released, you can access it in Automation Director and use it to create services.
More information
Working with service templates on page 47
Modify user workflow
The Modify user role is designed to enable expert users to create services from within their service
groups. This means that the Modify user can only create services that are in the service group that is
associated with the Modify user's user group.
The Modify user can access the Dashboard, the Services tab, the Tasks tab and the Service Templates
tab.
The Modify user workflow is as follows:
1. Log on to Automation Director and access the Service Templates tab to find a service template.
The Modify user can only view service templates that are released.
2. Locate a service template that matches the service requirements.
3. Use the service template to create a service.
Develop user workflow 21
4. Test the service.
5. Release the service for use.
More information
Creating or editing a service on page 32
Releasing a service on page 36
Testing a new service on page 35
Services tab on page 29
Submit user workflow
The Submit user can only access services that have already been released and does not have access to
the Debug tab in the Tasks tab. The Submit user can access the Dashboard, the Services tab and the
Tasks tab.
The workflow for the Submit user is as follows:
1. Log on to Automation Director and access the Services tab.
2. Select the service that you want to submit and create a request. Submit the service.
3. Click the Tasks tab to verify that tasks associated with the service are in the Tasks tab.
4. (Optional) Monitor the tasks and their status.
More information
About tasks on page 38
Submitting a service on page 36
Services tab on page 29
Launching Service Builder
Service Builder can be launched from three different points.
Open Service Builder in one of these three ways:
• Click the Dashboard tab and click one of the options under Manage Template in the Guidance
Menu:
◦ Create New Template
◦ Edit Template
◦ Copy Template
• In the global toolbar, click Tools and select Service Builder.
• Click the Templates menu and in the Templates pane, click one of the following: Create, Copy and
Edit, View Flow, or More Actions > Update Service Template.
NOTE: Update the Service Template if there is a more recent revision of the template available.
Service Builder opens in a separate browser window.
22 Submit user workflow
More information
Service Builder workflow on page 23
Service Builder workflow
Phase 1 - Preparing
• Decide on the need and purpose of the service template. Consider the steps involved to automate the
process and determine if the steps require creating a new template or modifying an existing template.
• Prepare to create the service template. This involves identifying existing plug-ins, or creating new
plug-ins (preparing icon files, and setting definition, resource files and script files).
Phase 2 - Creating
• Create new plug-ins, or copy and modify existing plug-ins, in the Service Builder Edit view of the
service template.
• Create the service template as new, or copy and modify an existing service template, in the Service
Builder Edit view. The service template is in Under Development status.
• Set the process flow of the service template.
• Create and map the data flow of the service template.
• Set the service definitions of the service template.
Phase 3 - Testing
• Build the service template for testing.
• Perform testing. Create services based on the debug configuration of the service template.
• Make corrections as the result of testing.
• Rebuild and retest the service template until it performs properly.
Phase 4 - Releasing
Release the service template. A service template must be in Released status to submit the service
template to the operating environment.
Service Builder workflow 23
Viewing service and task summaries
Viewing the dashboard
Guidance Menu
The Guidance menu serves as a navigation pane and provides links to information on how to perform
common functions in Automation Director. The current user role determines which categories are visible.
This menu pane can be turned on or off using the Dashboard Settings.
Dashboard reports
The dashboard reports show information based on status and performance. You can quickly access
services and tasks by clicking the links in these reports.
The dashboard reports refresh every 10 minutes.
The following reports appear on the dashboard:
• Most Frequently Failed Services
• Most Frequently Used Services
• Tasks Waiting for Action
• My Tasks
• My Favorite Services
Customizing the dashboard display
You can customize what is visible on the dashboard. Either select or clear the check boxes for the items
that must appear on the dashboard. You can also click the Settings icon to open the Settings dialog box
and select the reports you must see.
Dashboard tips
Helpful tips are provided when following links from the dashboard. These tips can be turned off as you
become more familiar with Automation Director.
24 Viewing service and task summaries
Viewing dashboard reports
The following sections provide information about each dashboard report.
Most Frequently Failed Services report
The Most Frequently Failed Service report can be viewed by Admin, Develop, and Modify users.
You can click a link to open the Service Preview, where you can access further actions to take.
More information
Services tab on page 29
Most Frequently Used Services report
This report helps users to analyze the success/failure rate of their most frequently used services and take
any necessary action.
The first row at the top of the window shows the number of times the service has been run and the
number of days since Automation Director was installed. The second row shows the number of times the
service was run in either 7 or 30 days. You can use the Time Range list to choose one or the other.
Viewing dashboard reports 25
You can click a link to open the Service Preview, where you can access further actions.
More information
Services tab on page 29
Tasks Waiting for Action report
The Tasks Waiting for Action report lists tasks that require your attention, which includes the following:
• Tasks that require your input to proceed.
• Recently failed tasks, so you can fix the problem that caused the task to fail and run the task again.
• Long running tasks that can affect system performance.
If any tasks exist, the link provides a list of the specific tasks. Otherwise, the link opens the Tasks tab,
filtered by the status.
More information
Tasks tab on page 38
26 Tasks Waiting for Action report
My Tasks report
The task states and corresponding statuses are as follows.
Task state Task status
Active
Scheduled
Finished
If any tasks exist, the link provides a list of the specific tasks. Otherwise, the link opens the Tasks tab,
filtered by the status.
More information
Tasks tab on page 38
• In Progress
• In Progress (with Error)
• In Progress (Terminating)
• Waiting for Input
• Long Running
• Waiting
• Suspended
• Completed
• Failed
My Favorite Services report
The My Favorite Services report is available on the dashboard. You can add to this list by marking
services as favorites on the Services tab.
You can click a link to open the Submit Service Request window for that service.
My Tasks report 27
More information
Submitting a service on page 36
Services tab on page 29
28 Viewing service and task summaries
Managing services
Overview of Automation Director services
A service is a customized set of instructions that follow a process flow to automate data center tasks such
as provisioning. Services are integrated with infrastructure groups so they operate within the designated
storage profiles to help manage resources. A storage administrator can create a service and then allow
users to run it. Access to services is managed by user groups and service groups.
Services are classified by tags to indicate the purpose or type and to display them in a hierarchical
structure. Because Automation Director lets you register the same service in multiple tags, you can
display a list of services according to usage, such as by workload or business unit.
More information
Workflow for creating a service on page 31
Creating or editing a service on page 32
Services tab
The Services tab enables users to do the following:
• View services and filter them using tags.
• Create custom tags or tag groups using Organize Tags.
• Using the Card view or Table view, see service details, status, and actions.
• Create and submit service requests.
• Copy a service to make a new service.
Tag Search pane
The Tag Search pane enables users to filter services that have been tagged.
Tags are organized into groups, such as Applications, Hypervisors, and Storage Services. Each group
has one or more tags.
To use tags, click a tag name to see only services tagged with that name in the Services pane. Click the
tag again to expose all tags in that group and all services that were filtered out.
You can only use one Service Group tag at a time.
You can click Organize Tags to create your own tag groups and then add tags to the groups. You can also
add tags to the provided groups.
Services pane
The Services pane displays all the services that a user can use, based on the user's permissions.
The Services pane has two views; Card View and Table View. You can toggle between them using the
buttons at the top of the Services pane.
The Card View includes graphical representations of services that can include badges and watermarks.
The following table contains the watermarks that are visible in the services Card View.
Managing services 29
Watermark Description
Service is in Debug status.
Service is in Test status or Maintenance status.
Service is in Disable status.
The following table contains the badges that are visible in the services Card View.
Graphic Description
OUTDATED The service is using an outdated version of a service template. You can
use Apply Latest Version to update the service.
NEW The service is fewer than 14 days old.
You can click a service card to open the service preview and view information about the service and
access additional controls as shown in the following figure.
The following table lists the actions that are available to manage services in the Services tab or in the
service preview.
30 Managing services
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