Managing ARCAD remote templates
| Required Roles | n/a |
| Required Rights (by category) |
n/a |
| Perspective |
 Configuration Management |
| Access |
 DROPS Server → Configuration → ( Client →)  ARCAD Configuration |
To deploy an ARCAD application runtime you must define the target operational libraries to which the ARCAD objects will be deployed on the target system. Previously, this pre-configuration had to be done manually on your target system prior to deploying ARCAD applications. Now, this process can be automated using templates that can either be manually applied to the target or automatically during the deployment process. ARCAD remote templates reproduce the original layout of the objects deployed on the target so that all of the objects are deployed to the location where they are required.
These templates are referenced in ARCAD-type infrastructure items' extended configuration.
Working with remote application templates
ARCAD applications are the highest-level organizational entities in which development objects are organized. They are broken down into a set of libraries, referred as application operational libraries, in which all of the functional objects for the application are managed. The layout of these libraries is essential. Applications also include library lists. The second organizational layer in the layout of an application are its child environments.
To preserve the integrity of an application's source layout when deploying an ARCAD application, you can create remote application templates which will reproduce the structure of the application on the target server.
Remote application templates must reference at least one remote environment template.
Searching for remote application templates
Follow the subsequent steps to search for remote application templates.
Step 1 Select 
Remote Application Templates from the ARCAD Configuration node in the Configuration Explorer.
If you are in multi-client mode, select the client first.
For more information about managing multiple clients, refer to Multiple clients.
Step 2 When the search view is opened, the list of templates is empty. Use the search criteria sections to filter the search.
- To search for an existing template by its Reference ID, enter all or part of the information in the corresponding field.
- To search for an existing template by the Application Code of the ARCAD application it will create, enter all or part of the information in the corresponding field.
Enter any combination of the above search criteria, then click the Search button to display the results. To display the complete list, click the Search button without entering any search criteria.
To display all of the items by default each time the search view is opened, select the 
auto search icon.
Result The ARCAD Remote Application Templates view displays all of the templates defined for the current server (and for the selected client, if applicable) that meet the search criteria.
Creating remote application templates
There are two ways to create remote application templates:
Create a new remote application template
Follow the subsequent steps to create a new remote application template.
Step 1 To access the Create a new ARCAD remote application template wizard, either click the 
create icon in the ARCAD Remote Application Templates view or right-click anywhere in the view and select Create a new ARCAD remote application template.
Step 2 Define the new template’s *Reference ID.
From the *Application Code field, select the ARCAD application to reproduce. The list is pre-populated with all of the applications available in the ARCAD development system, identified in the ARCAD Settings.
For more information about this machine, refer toConnecting to the ARCAD development server).
These values can be edited later.
Step 3 Click Finish.
Result New remote application templates are available in the ARCAD Remote Application Templates view after 
refreshing the list.
You must continue to configure the template by opening the editor and defining the libraries, before the template is finished.
Import an application's layout to create a template
Follow the subsequent steps to import the configuration of an existing ARCAD application to create a new template. The remote application template's properties will be automatically set up using the properties of the selected ARCAD application including the operational library list and the library list.
Step 1 To open the Import an ARCAD application wizard, click the 
import icon in the ARCAD Remote Application Template view or right-click anywhere in the view and select Import from an ARCAD application.
Step 2 Define the new template’s *Reference ID.
From the *Application Code field, select the ARCAD application to reproduce. The list is pre-populated with all of the applications available in the ARCAD development system, identified in the ARCAD Settings.
For more information about this machine, refer toConnecting to the ARCAD development server).
These values can be edited later.
Step 3 Click Finish.
Result New remote application templates are available in the ARCAD Remote Application Templates view after refreshing the list.
The source application’s properties and libraries have been imported and can be viewed and modified in the editor.
Editing remote application templates
To edit remote application template details, either right-click on it in the ARCAD Remote Application Templates view then select 
Edit, select the item then click the edit icon or double-click it. The ARCAD Remote Application Template editor is opened where all of the entity's details are managed.
The information that defines remote application templates can be edited at any time.
The operational libraries and the library lists are managed the same way. Each section allows you to 
create, 
delete and 
edit libraries or lists. When there are multiple entries, you can drag and drop them to reorder them.
- The Library Name is a max 10-characters length value.
- All library names are automatically converted into upper case.
- Each library name must be unique.
For more information about operational libraries and library lists, refer to the ARCAD documentation.
Save the changes (
, Ctrl+S or File > Save).
Linking remote environment templates
To link a remote environment template to a remote application template, click on the 
Add button in the Linked Remote Environment Templates section. The list of all the available ARCAD remote environment templates is displayed. Ctrl+click to select multiple environment templates to associate with the application template.
If a remote application template and a remote environment template were generated automatically, the environment template will automatically be linked to the parent application template.
To remove an environment template, select it and click 
Remove.
Linking remote application templates to infrastructure items
Link an ARCAD remote application template to an infrastructure item to recreate the layout of the ARCAD application on its target system.
ARCAD remote application templates can only be linked to ARCAD Runtime-type infrastructure items.
In the 
Infrastructure Item editor, click the Edit configuration link in the Extended Configuration field. In the item's extended configuration editor, select the ARCAD remote application template. Click the browse button to access the dialog that is pre-populated with all of the templates available on the current server.
For more information about ARCAD extended configuration, refer to Infrastructure item type extended configuration.
Deleting remote application templates
Deleted remote application templates cannot be accessed or recovered. Deleting application templates does not affect any remote environment template that may have been referenced, but those templates will no longer have a parent application template.
To delete a remote application template, either right-click on it in the ARCAD Remote Application Templates view, then select 
Delete or select it, then click the delete icon. Click OK to confirm or click Cancel to keep the template.
Working with remote environment templates
Each ARCAD application contains one or more dedicated workspaces used for specific needs in its maintenance cycle. These workspaces are called ARCAD environments. Just like their parent applications, ARCAD environments are broken down into operational libraries and include library lists.
Remote environment templates are linked to parent remote application templates in the template's editor.
Searching for remote environment templates
Follow the subsequent steps to search for remote environment templates.
Step 1 Select 
Remote Environment Templates from the ARCAD Configuration node in the Configuration Explorer.
If you are in multi-client mode, select the client first.
For more information about managing multiple clients, refer to Multiple clients.
Step 2 When the search view is opened, the list of templates is empty. Use the search criteria sections to filter the search.
- To search for an existing template by its Reference ID, enter all or part of the information in the corresponding field.
- To search for an existing template by the Environment ID of the ARCAD environment it will create, enter all or part of the information in the corresponding field.
Enter any combination of the above search criteria, then click the Search button to display the results. To display the complete list, click the Search button without entering any search criteria.
To display all of the items by default each time the search view is opened, select the auto search icon.
Result The ARCAD Remote Environment Templates view displays all of the templates defined for the current server (and for the selected client, if applicable) that meet the search criteria.
Creating remote environment templates
There are two ways to create remote environment templates:
Create a new remote environment template
Follow the subsequent steps to create a new remote environment template.
Step 1 To access the Create a new ARCAD remote environment template wizard, either click the 
create icon in the ARCAD Remote Environment Templates view or right-click anywhere in the view and select Create a new ARCAD remote environment template.
Step 2 Define the *Reference ID and *Environment ID. These values can be edited later.
Step 3 Click Finish.
Result New remote environment templates are available in the ARCAD Remote Environment Templates view after refreshing the list and can be referenced in remote application templates.
You must continue to configure the template by opening the editor and defining the libraries, before the template is finished.
Import an environment's layout to create a template
Follow the subsequent steps to import the configuration of an existing ARCAD environment to create a new template. The remote environment template's properties will be automatically set up using the properties of the selected ARCAD environment including the operational library list and the library list.
Step 1 To open the Import an ARCAD environment wizard, click the 
import icon in the ARCAD Remote Environment Templates view or right-click anywhere in the view and select Import from an ARCAD environment.
Step 2 Define the new template’s *Reference ID and *Environment ID. These values can be edited later.
Step 3 Click Finish.
Result New remote environment templates are available in the ARCAD Remote Environment Templates view after refreshing the list and can be referenced in remote application templates.
The source environment’s properties and libraries have been imported and can be viewed and modified in the editor.
Editing remote environment templates
To edit remote environment template details, either right-click on it in the ARCAD Remote Environment Templates view then select 
Edit, select the item then click the edit icon or double-click it. The ARCAD Remote Environment Templates editor is opened where all of the entity's details are managed.
The information that defines remote environment templates can be edited at any time.
The operational libraries and the library lists are managed the same way. Each section allows you to create, delete and edit libraries or lists. When there are multiple entries, you can drag and drop them to reorder them.
- The Library Name is a max 10-characters length value.
- All library names are automatically converted into upper case.
- Each library name must be unique.
For more information about operational libraries and library lists, refer to the ARCAD documentation.
Save the changes (, Ctrl+S or File > Save).
Deleting remote environment templates
Deleted remote environment templates cannot be accessed or recovered. Deleted templates will also be deleted from any remote application template that referenced them.
To delete a remote environment template, either right-click on it in the ARCAD Remote Environment Templates view, then select 
Delete or select it, then click the delete icon. Click OK to confirm or click Cancel to keep the template.
Working with the target ARCAD runtime updater
The process in charge of applying the information from ARCAD remote application and environment templates to the target systems is carried out by dedicated ANT tasks. The process is the same for every infrastructure item and every template.
Because each technical target is only reachable using the DROPS Agent, it is important to use a standard Remote Execution Process to guarantee that all the tasks are executed the same way. Thanks to this centralized process manager, all the secured execution mechanisms are ensured.
The setup and maintenance of target ARCAD runtimes is done using a single ANT project that calls these dedicated ANT Tasks.
You must have advanced notions in ANT coding to successfully modify this ANT project.
From the 
ARCAD Settings view, click the Edit the ANT Project button to modify the ANT project in charge of maintaining the ARCAD layout via templates on target systems.
The ANT project is edited in a local editor.
Before execution, the properties defined in the infrastructure item's extended configuration will be injected into the ANT Execution Context to be usable by the ANT project via variables:
- the target ARCAD-Server
- the ARCAD remote application template (and any linked remote environment template) to use to update the target server
Additionally, the following properties may be used in the project.
All the properties' values are already formatted to be directly used by the dedicated ANT Tasks.
- ARCAD Server Config.Properties
-
Property Description ${config.server.host} The IP Address or DNS of the server ${config.server.login} A valid ARCAD user that will be used to execute all the operation ${config.server.password} The related password ${config.server.secured} Indicates if the connection use TLS or not ${config.server.ccsid} The CCSID of the connection ${config.server.instance} The target ARCAD instance ${config.server.language} The language of the ARCAD Server {ENG |FRA} - Remote Application (template) Properties
-
Refer to Edit application templates
Property Description ${config.application.code} The ARCAD Application Code ${config.application.text} The Application Description ${config.application.prefix} Prefix used for the associated version libraries ${config.application.manager} The Manager of this application ${config.application.updateliblistscopeValue} Library List Change scope ${config.application.updatejobdscopeValue} JOBD Library List Change scope ${config.application.operationalLibraries} The comma-separated list of the operational libraries ${config.application.libraries} The comma-separated list of the library list - Remote Environment (template) Properties
-
Refer to Edit environment templates
Property Description ${config.environment.code} The ARCAD Environment ID. ${config.environment.text} The environment Description ${config.environment.prefix} The Prefix used for the associated version libraries ${config.environment.owner} The owner of the environment ${config.environment.environmenttypeValue} The Environment Type ${config.environment.implementationmodeValue} The Implementation Mode ${config.environment.updateliblistscopeValue} Library List Change scope ${config.environment.updatejobdscopeValue} JOBD Library List Change scope ${config.environment.operationalLibraries} The comma-separated list of the operational libraries ${config.environment.libraries} The comma-separated list of the library list
Save the changes (, Ctrl+S or File > Save).
Updating an ARCAD target's runtime
The Arcad Runtime Deployment script (provided by default) is in charge of launching the ANT project to update target ARCAD runtimes before deploying an ARCAD application. There are two ways to launch this process:
- automatically during the deployment process that includes an ARCAD RUNTIME-type infrastructure item and ARCAD runtime scripts (ref.:Add deployment actions to activities and stages
- manually at any time from the ARCAD RUNTIME-type infrastructure item.
To manually push the layout template to an ARCAD runtime without executing a deployment process, right-click on the infrastructure item in the Infrastructure Items search view and select 
Apply target ARCAD runtime templates.
Only ARCAD RUNTIME-type items will display this option.
When the update is complete, the execution log will open automatically allowing you to confirm the changes have taken place on the target system.
