Novell PLATESPIN ORCHESTRATE Development Client Reference
Development Client Reference
Novell®
PlateSpin® Orchestrate
novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
AUTHORIZED DOCUMENTATION
2.0.2
August 28, 2009
www.novell.com
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
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novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
4 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
Contents
About This Guide 9
1 Layout 11
2 Orchestrate Development Client Menus and Tools 15
2.1 The Operations Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.1 File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.2 Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.1.3 View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.1.4 Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.1.5 Provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.1.6 Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.1.7 Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.1.8 Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2 The Orchestrate Development Client Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
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3 The PlateSpin Orchestrate Job Scheduler 25
3.1 Understanding the Job Scheduler View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.1.1 Navigating The Job Schedules Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.1.2 Creating or Modifying a Job Schedule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.1.3 Understanding Cron Syntax in the Job Scheduler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2 Walkthrough: Scheduling a System Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.2.1 Deploying a Sample System Job. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.2.2 Creating a New Schedule for the Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.2.3 Defining the New Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2.4 Activating the New Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.2.5 Running the New Schedule Immediately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4 The Policy Debugger 51
4.1 The Constraints Table View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.1.1 The Match Context Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.1.2 The Constraint Type List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.1.3 The Verbose Check Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.1.4 The Capable Resources Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.1.5 The Constraints Column of the Constraints Table View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.1.6 The Policy Column of the Constraints Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.2 The Facts Table View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.2.1 The All Facts Check Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.3 Policy Debugger Use Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.3.1 Use Case 1: Determining Why a Job is in a Waiting State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5 The Explorer Tree 59
5.1 The Orchestrate Server Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.1.1 The Orchestrate Server Info/Configuration Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.1.2 The Orchestrate Server Authentication Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5.1.3 The Orchestrate Server Policies Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Contents 5
5.1.4 The Orchestrate Server Constraints/Facts Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.2 The Server Admin Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.3 The Job Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.3.1 Job Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.3.2 The Job Info/Groups Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.3.3 The JDL Editor Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5.3.4 The Job Library Editor Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5.3.5 The Job Policies Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.3.6 The Job Constraints/Facts Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.4 The Resource Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.4.1 Resource Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.4.2 The Resource Info/Groups Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.4.3 The Provision Info Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
5.4.4 The Resource Log Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.4.5 The Resource Policies Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.4.6 The Resource Health Debugger Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.4.7 The Resource Constraints/Facts Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.5 The VM Host Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.5.1 The VM Host Info Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.5.2 The VM Host Policies Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.5.3 The VM Host Health Debugger Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.5.4 The VM Host Constraints/Facts Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.5.5 The VM Host Action History Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.6 The Repository Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
5.6.1 Repository Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
5.6.2 The Repository Info/Groups Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
5.6.3 The Repository Policies Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
5.6.4 The Repository Health Debugger Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
5.6.5 The Repository Constraints/Facts Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
5.6.6 The Repository Action History Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
5.7 The User Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
5.7.1 User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
5.7.2 The User Info/Groups Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
5.7.3 The User Policies Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
5.7.4 The User Health Debugger Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
5.7.5 The User Constraints/Facts Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
5.7.6 The User Action History Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
5.8 Other Displayed Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
5.8.1 The Policy Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
5.8.2 Computed Fact Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
5.8.3 Event Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
5.8.4 Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
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6 The Health Debugger 127
6.1 The Constraints Table Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
6.1.1 The Match Context Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
6.1.2 The Verbose Check Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.1.3 The Capable Objects Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.1.4 The Constraints Column of the Constraints Table View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.2 The Facts Table View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
6.2.1 The All Facts Check Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
6.3 Health Debugger Use Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
6.3.1 Use Case 1: ?? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
6 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
A Grid Object Health Monitoring 133
A.1 Health Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
A.2 Health Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
B Understanding Policy Elements 137
B.1 Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
B.2 Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
B.3 Computed Facts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
C Events 141
C.1 Event Object Visualization and Management in the Development Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
C.1.1 Deploying a New Rule-Based Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
C.1.2 Deploying a Pre-written Rule-Based Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
C.1.3 Undeploying an Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
C.1.4 The Event Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
C.2 The Event Debugger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
C.2.1 The Constraints Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
C.2.2 The Facts Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
C.3 Understanding the PlateSpin Orchestrate Events System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
C.3.1 Event Notification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
C.3.2 Built-in Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
C.3.3 Rule-based Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
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D Provisioning Actions and History 151
D.1 What are Provisioning Actions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
D.2 How Actions Are Displayed in the Development Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
D.2.1 Action History in Monitor Views of the Development Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
D.2.2 Action History in Admin Views of the Development Client. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
E Documentation Updates 155
E.1 August 28, 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
E.2 August 7, 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
E.3 July 20, 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
E.4 June 17, 2009 (2.0.2 Release). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Contents 7
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8 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
About This Guide
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This PlateSpin Orchestrate Development Client Reference introduces the Development Client of
PlateSpin
provides an introductory overview of the Orchestrate Development Client interface. The guide is
organized as follows:
Chapter 1, “Layout,” on page 11
Chapter 2, “Orchestrate Development Client Menus and Tools,” on page 15
Chapter 3, “The PlateSpin Orchestrate Job Scheduler,” on page 25
Chapter 4, “The Policy Debugger,” on page 51
Chapter 5, “The Explorer Tree,” on page 59
Appendix A, “Grid Object Health Monitoring,” on page 133
Appendix B, “Understanding Policy Elements,” on page 137
Appendix C, “Events,” on page 141
Appendix D, “Provisioning Actions and History,” on page 151
Appendix E, “Documentation Updates,” on page 155
Audience
This book is intended for data center managers and IT or Operations administrators. It assumes that
users of the product have the following background:
®
Orchestrate from Novell®, the product’s basic administration environment. The guide
General understanding of network operating environments and systems architecture.
Knowledge of basic UNIX* shell commands and text editors.
Feedback
We want to hear your comments and suggestions about this manual and the other documentation
included with this product. Please use the User Comments feature at the bottom of each page of the
online documentation, or go to www.novell.com/documentation/feedback.html (http://
www.novell.com/documentation/feedback.html) and enter your comments there.
Documentation Updates
For the most recent version of this Development Client Reference, visit the PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0
documentation Web site (http://www.novell.com/documentation/pso_orchestrate20/).
Documentation Conventions
In Novell documentation, a greater-than symbol (>) is used to separate actions within a step and
items in a cross-reference path.
®
A trademark symbol (
trademark.
, TM, etc.) denotes a Novell trademark. An asterisk (*) denotes a third-party
About This Guide 9
When a single pathname can be written with a backslash for some platforms or a forward slash for
other platforms, the pathname is presented with a backslash. Users of platforms that require a
forward slash, such as Linux* or UNIX, should use forward slashes as required by your software.
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10 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
1
Layout
Both the grid administrator and the job developer need to have access to and use the PlateSpin®
Orchestrate Development Client. The administrator needs to use the console to perform any
management functions, such as creating user accounts and managing Orchestrator Server activities.
The developer uses the console to access the JDL editor for creating or modifying jobs and policies.
The following figure shows the general areas on the console interface that are referred to in this
guide.
Figure 1-1 The PlateSpin Orchestrate Development Client with Parts Identified
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1
The following chart describes the functional areas of the main PlateSpin Orchestrate Development
Client display.
Layout
11
Table 1-1 Detailed Description of Console Areas
Area Description
Menu bar Provides operations categorized under menus such as File, Edit, View, Grid,
Server, Windows, and Help.
The File menu lets you save any changes you’ve made or exit the
console.
The Edit menu lets cut, copy, and paste items and choose general and
server preferences for console.
The View menu lets you manipulate the display of the different
components of the console and refresh the Explorer and Workspace
panels.
The Actions menu lets you launch specific tools that create and delete
users or user groups, computing resources, jobs, policies, and
computed facts.
The Server menu lets you start a local server, log in to the server, create
and display logs for logged in servers, log out from the server, and shut
down the server.
The Windows menu lets you select console windows to display when
you have more than one console window open. You can open the
Explorer panel and the two tabs of the Info panel (<Orchestrator> Log
and Console Output) in their own windows by right-clicking the tab and
choosing Open in window in the pop-up menu.
The Help menu provides access to the About box for the console. It also
provides a link to ZENworks Orchestrator documentation on the Web.
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Main toolbar The main toolbar has buttons for executing common tasks. The basic tasks
are Go Back, Go Forward, Refresh the view, Hide or Show the Explorer
Panel, Cut, Copy, Paste, and Save changes in workspace view and Open the
Find Dialog.
The toolbar also includes buttons that open monitoring views for Jobs,
Resources, and Users.
To the far left of the toolbar, a pinwheel icon indicates when the console is
busy.
Explorer panel The Explorer panel displays a hierarchical tree. The tree lets you navigate to
different objects; you can click items in the tree to see their details. For
example, you can display computing resources for a selected grid. When you
click Computing Resources in the tree, its details appear in the Workspace
panel with a list of active computing resources. You can edit the Computing
Resource attributes in the workspace panel.
Workspace panel The Workspace panel displays a detailed view for an item you select in the
Explorer panel. For example, if you select a computing resource under
physical in the Explorer panel, the Workspace panel view changes to show
the details for that resource. You can edit the properties of an Orchestrator
object in the views displayed in the Workspace panel.
Info panel The Info panel displays a variety of information, such as validation and error
messages, log files, and query results. You can display or hide the Info panel
by clicking the Info panel button in the Status bar.
12 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
Area Description
Status bar The status bar displays general identity information about the Orchestrator
Server where you are logged in.
For information about launching the console and using it for the first time, see “Walkthrough:
Launching the PlateSpin Orchestrate Development Client”in the PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0
Installation and Configuration Guide.
For detailed information about the components, icons, and usage of the PlateSpin Orchestrate
Development Client, see Chapter 2, “Orchestrate Development Client Menus and Tools,” on
page 15.
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Layout 13
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14 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
2
Orchestrate Development Client
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Menus and Tools
A number of operations are available from the PlateSpin Orchestrate Development Client from
®
Novell
2.1 The Operations Menu Bar
The Operations Menu Bar in the Orchestrate Development Client provides options that help you to
create and administer objects in the Explorer Tree.
and can be accessed from its menu bar and toolbar.
Section 2.1, “The Operations Menu Bar,” on page 15
Section 2.2, “The Orchestrate Development Client Toolbar,” on page 23
Section 2.1.1, “File,” on page 15
Section 2.1.2, “Edit,” on page 16
Section 2.1.3, “View,” on page 19
Section 2.1.4, “Actions,” on page 19
Section 2.1.5, “Provision,” on page 19
Section 2.1.6, “Server,” on page 21
Section 2.1.7, “Windows,” on page 23
2
Section 2.1.8, “Help,” on page 23
2.1.1 File
The File menu (Alt+F) provides keyboard and mouse accessible methods for users to save changes
or to exit the application.
“Save” on page 15
“Exit” on page 15
Save
The Save operation provides a mouse and keyboard (File > Ctrl+S) accessible method for users to
save any changes made in the visible view.
Exit
The exit operation provides a mouse and keyboard (File > Alt+X) accessible method for users to
close all server connections and to exit the Orchestrate Development Client application.
Orchestrate Development Client Menus and Tools
15
2.1.2 Edit
The Edit menu (Alt+E) provides keyboard and mouse accessible methods for users to save changes
or to exit the application.
“Undo Addition” on page 16
“Redo” on page 16
“Cut” on page 16
“Copy” on page 16
“Paste” on page 16
“Find” on page 17
“Find Next” on page 17
“Find Previous” on page 17
“Enter Find String” on page 17
“Load Text” on page 17
“Save Text” on page 17
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“Preferences” on page 17
Undo Addition
The Undo operation provides a mouse-accessible method for users to undo the action they have just
performed in the Orchestrate Development Client. The operation can also be executed from the
keyboard (Ctrl+Z).
Redo
The Redo operation provides a mouse-accessible method for users to redo the action they have just
performed in the Orchestrate Development Client. The operation can also be executed from the
keyboard (Ctrl+Y).
Cut
The Cut operation provides a mouse-accessible method for users to cut the selected object and move
it to the clipboard. The operation can also be executed from the keyboard (Ctrl+X).
Copy
The Copy operation provides a mouse-accessible method for users to copy the selected object to the
clipboard. The operation can also be executed from the keyboard (Ctrl+C).
Paste
The Paste operation provides a mouse-accessible method for users to paste the contents of the
clipboard to the desired location. The operation can also be executed from the keyboard (Ctrl+V).
16 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
Find
The Exit operation provides a mouse-accessible method for users to open the Find and Replace
dialog box, where they can search for and replace (if necessary) editable strings located in logs and
editing views (for example, the Policy Editor).
Figure 2-1 The Find and Replace Dialog Box Invoked From the Policy Editor
The operation can also be executed from the keyboard (Ctrl+F).
Find Next
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The Find Next operation provides a mouse-accessible method for users to find the next occurrence
of the string they previously searched for. The operation can also be executed from the keyboard
(F3).
Find Previous
The Find Previous operation provides a mouse-accessible method for users to find the previous
occurrence of the string they searched for. The operation can also be executed from the keyboard
(Shift+F3).
Enter Find String
The Enter Find String operation provides a mouse-accessible method for users to load the text of the
string they want to search for. The operation can also be executed from the keyboard (Ctrl+E).
Load Text
The Load Text operation provides a method for users to load text from an existing file into the open,
editable view. When selected, the operation opens a browse dialog box where the file can be
selected.
Save Text
The Save Text operation provides a method for users to save text in an editable, active view to a file.
When selected, the operation opens a save dialog box where you can browse to a network location
where you want to save the file. By default, the file is named according to the view and the context
within which you are viewing it. You can change the name of the file when you save it.
Preferences
The Preferences operation provides a method for users to change the preferences for the Orchestrate
Development Client display. When selected, the operation opens the Orchestrate Development
Client Preferences dialog box.
Orchestrate Development Client Menus and Tools 17
The dialog box has three tabbed pages.
General Page
Figure 2-2 General Page of the Orchestrate Development Client Preferences
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Preference settings on this page that you can change are self-explanatory. If you click Initialize
Preferences, the preference settings (except Look and Feel settings) are initialized to installation
values.
Server Page
Figure 2-3 Server Page of the Orchestrate Development Client Preferences
Preference settings on this page that you can change are self-explanatory.
18 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
Java Properties Page
Figure 2-4 The Java Properties Page of the Orchestrate Development Client Preferences
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This page lists the Java property names and values that Novell uses to render the Orchestrate
Development Client interface in Java Swing. The list is for your information only.
2.1.3 View
The View menu includes various operations that let you manipulate the Orchestrate Development
Client display of the various PlateSpin Orchestrate component views. The function of the options
under this menu are self explanatory, and are a compilation of view operations that are also available
from the Operations toolbar.
For more information about the View operations, see Section 2.2, “The Orchestrate Development
Client Toolbar,” on page 23.
2.1.4 Actions
The multiple operations listed as options under the Actions menu provide a quick way for you to
perform operations that can also be performed (generally by right-clicking an object) in the Explorer
Vie w.
For example, if you select a Create option from the Actions menu, the create dialog remains open
after you create each object. Here you can repeatedly create new objects in the dialog, pressing OK
or Create after each is created. Similarly, in the dialog boxes of some operations in the Actions
menu, you can select many objects and delete them at the same time.
2.1.5 Provision
The Provision menu is added to the menu bar only if you have installed Virtual Machine
Management. The multiple operations listed in the menu include two of the provisioning actions that
you can execute by right-clicking a VM object in the Explorer Tree.
Orchestrate Development Client Menus and Tools 19
Discover VM Hosts & Repositories
When you select this option, the Discover VM Hosts and Repositories dialog box is displayed.
Figure 2-5 VM Discovery Dialog Box
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Using this dialog box, you can select a provisioning adapter (
xen30
) that discovers all VM host machines where the PlateSpin Orchestrate Agent is installed and
esx, hyperv, vcenter, vmserver
creates objects in the model. The provisioning adapter also discovers the VM Repositories where
VM hosts reside.
Discover VM Images
When you select this option, the Discover VM Images dialog box is displayed.
Figure 2-6 VM Images Discover Dialog Box
, or
Using this dialog box, you can select a provisioning adapter (
xen30
) that discovers all VM images and creates objects in the model.
Other Provisioning Operations
The other operations listed in the menu are self-explanatory.
Start VM Hosts
Shutdown VM Hosts
20 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
esx, hyperv, vcenter, vmserver
, or
Shutdown VMs
Resync VM’s State
Resync VMs’s Host State
Reset State of all VMs
2.1.6 Server
The Server menu lets you start a local server, log in to the server, create and display logs for logged
in servers, log out from the server, and shut down a server.
“Select Server” on page 21
“Discover Servers” on page 21
“Shutdown Server” on page 21
“Login” on page 21
“Logout” on page 22
“Display Log” on page 22
“Create Custom Log” on page 22
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Select Server
The Select Server operation lets you select one of the Orchestrate Servers in your grid to log onto.
When you select a server, you are required to log on. This operation accomplishes the same thing as
selecting a server object from the Explorer Tree.
Discover Servers
The Discover Servers operation lets you launch the discovery process for servers. This is the same
process that initiates (if so chosen in your server preferences) when the Orchestrate Development
Client starts.
Shutdown Server
The Shutdown Server operation lets you shut down the current, logged on Orchestrate Server. The
shutdown dialog box also lets you create a snapshot of the server state when you shut down.
Figure 2-7 The Server Shutdown Dialog Box
Login
The Login operation lets you establish a remote connection to another Orchestrate Server. The server
IP address is required for the login. When you enter the IP address, you need to provide the
username and password for the server where you are logging on.
Orchestrate Development Client Menus and Tools 21
Logout
The Logout operation lets you log out of the current, logged on Orchestrate Server without exiting
the Orchestrate Development Client. Logging out removes the server’s nodes from the Explorer
Tree and its workspace views.
Display Log
The Display Log operation displays the default server log for the current, logged on Orchestrate
Server. The display is in the Information window located at the bottom of the Orchestrate
Development Client. The server log file is also located by default in the
zenworks/zos/server/logs
Figure 2-8 Server Log Opened in Information Window of the Orchestrate Development Client
directory.
/var/opt/novell/
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When a log is displayed, you can right-click its tab to further direct the actions of the display. You
can pause logging in the window, copy the log to the clipboard, clear its contents, undock the log
display as a new window, or remove it from the Information window.
If you right-click on the log display, all of the default editing capabilities of the Orchestrate
Development Client are available for your use inside the window. For more information, see
Section 2.1.2, “Edit,” on page 16.
Create Custom Log
The Create Custom Log operation opens the Custom Log View Parameters dialog box.
Figure 2-9 The Custom Log View Parameters Dialog Box
By enabling a custom log, you can monitor various components of the Orchestrate Server. For
example, you can view debugging information for the Audit facility. You can create, update, or
remove a log view from the dialog box. You can open a custom view in the Information window by
selecting Open in the dialog box.
22 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
Log View Name: Enter the name of the log view. This will be displayed on a tab in the log display
panel.
NOTE: You can enter only alphanumeric characters and spaces in the Log View Name field.
Log Level: From the drop-down list, select the minimum log level for the log view. The log
messages included in the custom view will be of this level and those of greater severity.
Log Channels: A log channel provides log information specific to an PlateSpin Orchestrate
component or facility, such as the Audit facility.
When the custom view is displayed, you can right-click its tab to further direct the actions of the
display. You can pause logging in the window, copy the log to the clipboard, clear its contents,
undock the log display as a new window, or remove it from the Information window.
If you right-click on the log display, all of the default editing capabilities of the Orchestrate
Development Client are available for your use inside the window. For more information, see
Section 2.1.2, “Edit,” on page 16.
2.1.7 Windows
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When you right-click various views and panels in the Orchestrate Development Client, you can
select the Open in Window option to open these views and panels in separate windows. This allows
you the perspective you sometimes need when working with PlateSpin Orchestrate objects in
conjunction with one another. The Windows menu lets you toggle between the various views or
panels that are open. You can also choose to Show All, Hide All, or Close All of these windows.
When a given window is open, its fields and selectable dialogs remain functional so that you can
perform object operations or text editing as you would when these views or panels are docked
normally to the Orchestrate Development Client.
2.1.8 Help
From the Help menu, you can access a link to the online PlateSpin Orchestrate documentation
(available in
view its version number, its license expiration date, and a list of its current management pack
capabilities (for example, the Virtual Machine Management capability).
.html
or
.pdf
format) or you can open the About box for the product, where you can
2.2 The Orchestrate Development Client Toolbar
The Orchestrate Development Client Toolbar includes several iconic buttons that let you perform
command tasks in the Development Client workspace views and the Explorer Tree. The table below
lists the functions of these buttons.
Table 2-1 Tool Buttons from the Orchestrate Development Client Toolbar
Tool Icon Tool Name Tool Function
Back Go back to the previous workspace view seen.
Orchestrate Development Client Menus and Tools 23
Tool Icon Tool Name Tool Function
Forward Go forward to the next workspace view.
Refresh Refresh the Explorer and Workspace views.
Open/Hide Explorer Open the Explorer Tree in a window
Hide the Explorer window
Cut Cut the selected object from the workspace and copy it to the
clipboard
Copy Copy the selected object to the clipboard while keeping the original
in place
Paste Paste the contents of the clipboard
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none (blank
area)
Find and Replace Open the Find dialog box
Save Save changes (in the workspace views or in the Explorer)
Resource Usage
Meter
Bookmark Toolbox Click and drag any object from the Explorer tree into this area to
Busy Indicator (Not an active button). This pinwheel shape appears to rotate when
(Not an active button) visual indication of resource usage. Mouse
over for a listing of Active Resources, Busy resources and Available
Resources, right-click to stop the meter
create a bookmark to jump to that object’s view. Right-click the
bookmark to select options to open and show the object or to
remove it from the toolbox. Right-click to remove all objects when
some are not visible.
the Server is busy performing an operation.
24 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
3
The PlateSpin Orchestrate Job
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Scheduler
You can use the Job Scheduler in PlateSpin® Orchestrate Server from Novell® to automatically start
deployed jobs on your grid by using either time or event triggers.
You can think of the functionality provided by the time triggers as being similar to a distributed cron
system (in fact, time triggers can be described in cron syntax). This triggering, coupled with the job
control functions in PlateSpin Orchestrate, allows for the sophisticated automation of routine data
center tasks.
For example, suppose you want to periodically harvest a large log file in a coordinated way from a
farm of several hundred machines. First, you could create an PlateSpin Orchestrate job that uses the
datagrid for file movement. The job control options specify that the job should run on not more than
three machines at once and sweep across the entire grid. You would then create a schedule to run this
job at the desired interval.
As another example, you could use the Job Scheduler to trigger a discovery job every time a new
resource is added to the grid. In this case, the job developer writes the discovery job to discover and
set facts about the resource. Next, you would create a schedule to run this job on the
RESOURCE_ONLINE
set of deployed discovery jobs to detect specific resource CPU and OS information.
Yet another example would be to run a job on server startup that sends a notification e-mail to an
administrator.
built-in trigger. In fact, this type of triggered job is currently used in the standard
3
This section includes the following information:
Section 3.1, “Understanding the Job Scheduler View,” on page 25
Section 3.2, “Walkthrough: Scheduling a System Job,” on page 41
3.1 Understanding the Job Scheduler View
Click Scheduler on the main toolbar of the PlateSpin Orchestrate Development Client to open the
Job Scheduler view.
The PlateSpin Orchestrate Job Scheduler
25
Figure 3-1 Job Scheduler View of the Orchestrate Development Client
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This section includes information to help you understand the functions of the Job Scheduler and how
to use it to launch PlateSpin Orchestrate jobs.
Section 3.1.1, “Navigating The Job Schedules Table,” on page 26
Section 3.1.2, “Creating or Modifying a Job Schedule,” on page 28
Section 3.1.3, “Understanding Cron Syntax in the Job Scheduler,” on page 37
3.1.1 Navigating The Job Schedules Table
PlateSpin Orchestrate includes several predefined and predeployed discovery jobs that have
predefined launch schedules. Among these jobs are the
cpuinfo, findapps, osinfo
jobs, depending on the options (that is, the “server profile”) you chose and the configuration you
used during the installation. After installation, these jobs are listed by name in a table in the Job
Scheduler view.
Figure 3-2 The Job Schedules Table in the Job Scheduler View
, and other
By default, PlateSpin Orchestrate uses schedule names that are similar to the job name so that
schedules are easy to match (although this is not required). The schedules list shows all of the
existing job schedules that accompany predefined jobs, along with the schedules that you create in
the Job Scheduler.
26 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
NOTE: The Job Scheduler view is not a real-time monitor view of jobs, so if a job attribute (for
example, Last Job Status or Last Fire Time) has changed, it might not be displayed until you click
Refresh.
The Job Schedules Table has functionality that lets you decide how you want to display information
about the job schedules:
You can drag any column in the table to move it left or right in the table according to your
preference.
You can mouse over any column heading in the table to view tool tip text about the purpose of
the data in that column.
You can right-click any column heading in the table to open the Job Scheduler Column Editor
dialog box.
Figure 3-3 Job Scheduler Column Editor Dialog Box
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You can select any column heading in this dialog box to display it in the Job Schedules Table.
The columns display the attributes of a previously configured job schedule. As the figure
shows, this dialog box also includes text that clarifies the purpose of the data in each column.
In the Job Scheduler view, there are seven function buttons next to the Job Schedules Table (see
Figure 3-2 on page 26) that let you take action on any schedule you select inside the table. (Only one
schedule at a time can be selected.)
New: Opens a dialog box where you can create a new schedule. When you create a new
schedule, the Job Scheduler adds a new line to the Job Schedules Table. When the new line is
added, you can use the Job Schedule Editor to edit the attributes of the schedule. A new
schedule must be given a unique schedule name.
The Job Scheduler forces a new schedule to be created in the Disabled state to prevent it from
running while it is being defined. You click Enable when a job is ready to be used.
Copy: Copies a schedule you have selected in the Job Schedules Table. Clicking this button
opens a dialog box where you rename the copy. If you want to create a schedule similar but not
identical to an existing schedule, use this button to save time in adding attributes to a job
schedule configuration. A copy of a schedule must be given a unique schedule name.
Deploy: Opens a dialog box where you can select a schedule (that is, a deployable
.sched
file)
to deploy.
Delete: Deletes the selected schedule from the Job Schedules Table. You cannot recover a
deleted job schedule.
The PlateSpin Orchestrate Job Scheduler 27
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NOTE: Deleting a schedule that was deployed as part of a
confirmation dialog box. Deleting the schedule undeploys all contents of the
.job
or
.sar
displays a
.job
or
.sar
that
contains the schedule.
Disable: Disables the selected schedule in the Job Schedules Table. The jobs associated with
the schedule are not re-run, but any currently running instances of this job continue to run.
Enable: Enables a disabled job schedule.
Run Now: Forces the specified schedule to run immediately. This updates statistics such as
Last Fire Time.
Removed Jobs or Users: Scheduler Behavior
If a job or a user is undeployed or removed from PlateSpin Orchestrate, the Job Schedules Table
continues to list the schedule previously associated to that removed grid object, but the removed grid
object no longer displays the icon that represents the object (job or user).
Figure 3-4 Some User Object and Job Object Icons Not Displayed
In the preceding figure, the CpuDiscovery schedule displays no Job icon for the cpuInfo job in the
schedules table. Even though the job has been undeployed, the schedule is still listed.
In the osinfo schedule, the system user has no User icon. That user has been removed from PlateSpin
Orchestrate.
If you choose a new user or job to be associated with a schedule, a deleted or undeployed user or job
is never displayed in the popup menu for that schedule again.
3.1.2 Creating or Modifying a Job Schedule
The Job Schedule Editor is located immediately below the Job Schedules Table in the Job Scheduler
view.
Figure 3-5 The Job Schedule Editor in the Job Scheduler View
28 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
There are several times when you can use this part of the Job Scheduler tool:
When you create a new schedule by clicking New.
When you modify the attributes of an existing schedule (available when you select a schedule
in the table).
When you create a copy of an existing schedule by clicking Copy.
The Job Schedule Editor lets you create or modify a job schedule by specifying its attributes.
You can use the following controls and data when you create or modify a job schedule:
“Schedule Name” on page 29
“Job” on page 29
“User” on page 29
“Priority” on page 30
“Description” on page 30
“Matching Resources” on page 30
“Test Schedule Now” on page 30
“Triggers” on page 30
“Job Arguments” on page 35
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“User Environment” on page 36
“Constraints” on page 37
Schedule Name
When you create a new schedule, the unique name you specify is displayed in this field. If you select
a schedule from the Job Schedules Table, the name of the schedule is displayed in this field. The
field is not editable, because schedules cannot be renamed after they are created. (You can use a
copy if this is required.)
Job
When you create a new schedule, you need to associate a deployed job with it. You can select the job
you want to run from this drop-down list.
If you want to use a previously created schedule to run a different job, you can change the job here.
User
When you create a new schedule, you need to associate a user with it. The user represents the user
for whom the job will run. The choice of user might affect the permissions, privileges and
constraints of the job. You can select the user from this drop-down list.
If you want a different user to run a job on a previously created schedule, you can change the user
here.
If you decide to change the user who runs the job, check the Priority field to make sure that the
priority you want is selected.
The PlateSpin Orchestrate Job Scheduler 29
Priority
When you create a new schedule and associate a job and a user with it, a list of possible run
priorities becomes available in this drop-down list. The list of priorities varies, depending on the
user that is specified in the previous field. In this field, you select the priority of the job that is to be
run so that if other jobs are to start concurrently or are competing for resources, PlateSpin
Orchestrate can determine which job takes priority.
Description
For predeployed jobs, this field contains a default description of what the job’s schedule does. The
field is editable, so you can enter a description of your own for job schedules that you create.
Matching Resources
This button displays a list of resources where the job runs now or where it could run. This list is
useful for checking the context of constraints that might have been affected by a choice of user or by
manually specifying additional constraints under the Policy tab. The list is also useful to verify that
a discovery job (that is, one that is triggered by the Run on Resource Start option) runs on the
preferred set of machines.
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Test Schedule Now
Click this button to test the new or modified schedule you are working with. The test runs the new or
modified schedule without permanently saving the current configuration of the schedule or
recording statistics. This control differs from the Run Now control in the Job Schedules Table, which
runs a saved (persisted) schedule, disregarding any unsaved modifications that have been made to it
in the Job Schedule Editor.
Triggers
When you click the Triggers tab in the Job Scheduler view, the following page opens:
Figure 3-6 The Schedule Triggers Page in the Job Scheduler
In this view, you can add or define the triggers you want to associate with job schedules. A trigger is
the signal to the Job Scheduler to initiate, or “fire” a schedule at a given time or at the occurrence of
a given event. Job Scheduler triggers can be classified with regard to two conditions: events and
time.
30 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
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