Building deployment process diagrams

Activities are the sum of all the actions taken for an infrastructure item or the initialization or finalization phases during the deployment process. They contain the different deployment actions to carry out.

Deployment actions are driven by scripts which each carry out a specific Ant project. Actions are added directly to the  Initialization and  Finalization activities during which no artifacts are managed. These first and last phases' tasks should not be related to actually deploying content. They cannot be removed from the deployment process diagrams but do not require actions.

 Infrastructure item activities are for individual items and are unique because each one may have specific requirements or because the components deployed to multiple items may need to be treated differently depending on the target setup. Therefore, the actions needed to properly deploy content to a target service are defined inside each individual infrastructure item activity in the diagram. Artifacts are deployed during these phases and actions specific to deploying content are divided into stages. Stages define where and when actions are carried out.

By default, the infrastructure items associated with the environment, and selected when creating the deployment process, are included in a new deployment process diagram. They are represented by  infrastructure item activities. New activities can be added only if new infrastructure items are added to the environment or all of the items were not selected when the process was created.

Create new deployment activities

Note

New Initialization or Finalization Activities cannot be added.

Follow the subsequent steps to create a new infrastructure item activity.

Step 1   Click the Deployment Activity node in the right-hand menu.

Step 2   Draw a box in the grid for the new activity, guided by the shaded outline.

Step 3   From the dialog box that is automatically displayed, select the corresponding infrastructure item and click OK.

Note

If the dialog box is not displayed, there are no infrastructure items associated with the environment that can be added to the diagram. All of the items must already have an activity in the diagram.

Result   The new  activity is automatically linked to the infrastructure item and is ready to be edited and linked to its parent and child activities.

Step 4   Click on the activity to modify its properties.

Reference

For more information about editing an activity's properties, refer to Edit deployment activity properties.

Step 5   Right-click on the activity and select Edit > Component to view and modify the component defined for the infrastructure item if one has already been defined in the activity's properties.

If the application associated with the process only has one component, the component is automatically assigned to be deployed to (all of) the infrastructure item(s). It can be changed if more components have been added to the application since the initial creation of the process.

Warning!

Infrastructure item activities must be linked to a component in order to save the deployment process. If you do not add a component to every activity and you close the deployment process diagram editor, all changes will be lost.

Reference

For more information about editing components, refer to Components.

Step 6   Right-click on the activity and select Edit > Infrastructure Item to view and/or modify the infrastructure item.

Reference

For more information about editing items, refer to Infrastructure items.

Step 7   Save the changes (, Ctrl+S or File > Save).

Use deployment activity templates

Pre-defined deployment activity templates can be included in any deployment process diagram. They must include pre-defined stages (with actions included) and its properties must always be defined in the template. The only elements in an activity template that can be modified are the Component to deploy and the Transfer options. When a template is used in a diagram, the activity or stage is dark blue, instead of the default gray. The difference in color makes it easy to see which parts of a diagram are inherited from a template and which are unique.

Follow the subsequent steps to use a deployment activity template in a process diagram.

Step 1   Create the box for a new deployment activity and select the infrastructure item to use.

Step 2   Link the activity to its parent and child activities.

Reference

For more information about linking activities, refer to Define the order in which to deploy activities.

Step 3   Right-click on the activity and select Use Template Activity.

Step 4   Select the deployment activity template from the Process Template Selector dialog. This list is prepopulated with all of the activity templates available on the current DROPS Server.

Step 5   Click OK.

Result   The activity element is now dark blue which implies that the template is applied.

Step 6   Configure the Component to deploy and the Transfer options in the activities Properties view.

Warning!

Infrastructure item activities must be linked to a component in order to save the deployment process. If you do not add a component to every activity and you close the deployment process diagram editor, all changes will be lost.

Save the changes (, Ctrl+S or File > Save).

Define the order in which to deploy activities

The hierarchical order in which the activities in the deployment process are carried out is defined by the black arrows that connect them. The flow of the deployment process follows the direction of the arrows.

By default, the Initialization activity is the first activity carried out in order and the Finalization the last. Between the two, infrastructure item activities can be carried out in a defined uni-lateral order or simultaneously by linking two activities to the same parent activity. If a new deployment process contains multiple infrastructure items, they are configured to be deployed simultaneously by default (they are both automatically children of the Initialization activity).

Follow the subsequent steps to create connections between deployment activities.

Step 1   Hover over the activity that should be carried out first during deployment.

Step 2   Click the  Create connection icon and drag the cursor to the next activity, guided by the orange dotted line.

Step 3   When the connection is made the orange line changes to a black arrow that confirms the source activity will be carried out before the second activity. The second activity will not begin until the first is complete.

Save the changes (, Ctrl+S or File > Save).

Warning!

Infrastructure item activities must have both a parent and a child activity in order to save the deployment process. Most commonly, the parent will be an  Initialization activity and the child a  Finalization activity. If you do not define both parent and child activities for every infrastructure item activity and you close the deployment process diagram editor, all changes will be lost.

To delete a connection, select the arrow and press the Delete key.

Rearrange deployment activity boxes

The  Select and  Marquee tools enable you to select individual or several activities in the diagram to move them around the grid. Use these tools to visually reorder the boxes on the screen.

To select multiple activities, the whole activity box must be included in the square drawn with the  Marquee tool to include it in the section.

Note

Moving the activities around the screen does not change the order that activities are carried out. Only the black connection arrows define the order.

Delete deployment activities

Note

Initialization and Finalization activities cannot be deleted.

Warning!

Deleted deployment activities cannot be accessed or recovered. Any associated stages and any actions defined inside them are also deleted.

Deleting an activity template from a deployment process diagram does not delete the template itself.

To delete an activity, hover over its title bar and click the  Delete icon or right-click on the bar and select Delete. Click OK to confirm or click Cancel to keep the deployment activity.

Stages are linked to the mode in which a deployment is executed and are always carried out in a specific location. They are added to activities to regroup deployment actions in order to define where and when they are carried out. There are four types of stages:

1. The Preparation Stage executes actions to prepare or transform the necessary artifacts before transferring them to the target infrastructure item. This is the first stage carried out when the deployment process is executed. All actions are performed on the DROPS Server. This stage is not mandatory.

2. The Transfer Stage is always performed behind the scenes and cannot be modified. The artifacts are transferred to the infrastructure item using the DROPS Agent running on the remote service.

   The transfer stage is only activated (meaning files are transferred from the DROPS Server to the target DROPS Agent/infrastructure item) if either a Receiving or an Installation stage is defined in the activity. You can force the transfer of content without defining these stages by ticking the Force Transfer checkbox in the activity's properties.

   Note

   If a deployment schema is included in the infrastructure item, it is applied during this stage. If not, the artifacts are copied directly from the artifact repository to the Root Directory defined in the infrastructure item.

   Reference

   For more information about schemas, refer to Deployment schemas.

3. The receiving stage is intended to enable you to modify the deployed artifacts once they are available in the Root Directory on the target infrastructure item. The deployment process can be suspended after this stage in order to work with artifacts before installing them onto the target item. This stage is not mandatory.

   If you execute a deployment process instance in transfer-only mode, the process stops after this stage is complete.

4. The Installation Stage executes actions to deploy the artifacts to their final destination on the infrastructure item. This stage is not mandatory.

If you execute a deployment process instance in transfer-only mode, once it's finished, manually execute the instance in installation-only mode which executes only the actions contained in the installation stage.

Add new stages to deployment activities

To add stages to an activity, right-click on it and hover over Add stage. Select the stage to add. The new stage is added to the activity and must be filled with at least one deployment action.

Save the changes (, Ctrl+S or File > Save).

Add template stages to deployment activities

Pre-defined stage templates can be included in any activity in a deployment process diagram except a deployment activity template. They must include pre-defined actions and can only be modified in the template editor. When a template is used in a diagram, the activity or stage is dark blue, instead of the default gray. The difference in color makes it easy to see which parts of a diagram are inherited from a template and which are unique.

Follow the subsequent steps to add a stage template to a deployment activity.

Step 1   Right-click on the activity and select Add template stages.

Step 2   Select the stage template from the Process Template Selector dialog. This list is prepopulated with all of the stage templates available on the current DROPS Server.

Step 3   Click OK.

Result   The stage element is now dark blue and the template is applied.

Save the changes (, Ctrl+S or File > Save).

Delete stages from deployment activities

Warning!

Deleted stages cannot be accessed or recovered. Any associated actions are also deleted.

Deleting a stage template from an activity does not delete the template itself.

To delete a stage, hover over its title bar and click the  Delete icon or right-click on the bar and select Delete. Click OK to confirm or click Cancel to keep the stage.

Actions are carried out sequentially in their parent activity following the uneditable order of their parent stages.

Add deployment actions to activities and stages

Follow the subsequent steps to add deployment actions to an Initialization or Finalization activity or to a stage in an infrastructure item activity. Activities cannot be added to template activities/stages.

Drag and drop actions inside their parent containers to reorder them.

Step 1   Click and hold the Action node in the right-hand menu.

Step 2   Drag your cursor to the activity or stage.

Step 3   Releasing opens the Script Selection dialog where you select the action's script.

Use the Name, Script Category and Execution Platform fields to filter the list of scripts displayed on the right. Click the Search button to display all of the scripts available.

Important!

When you have selected a script, be sure to also select the Version of the selected script to ensure you have the correct file.

Reference

For more information about all the built-in scripts DROPS Software offers, refer to the Script Inventory.

Click OK.

Result   The new Action is automatically created in a blue box and is ready to be configured.

Reference

For more information about editing an action's properties, refer to Edit deployment action properties.

Right-click on the blue Action box and select Edit > Script to modify the identification details of the script defined for the action.

Right-click on the blue Action box and select Edit > Script Content to modify the version of the ANT script used in the diagram (defined for the action).

Reference

For more information about editing scripts, refer to Edit script details and Edit script content.

Save the changes (, Ctrl+S or File > Save).

Delete deployment actions

Warning!

Deleted deployment actions cannot be accessed or recovered.

To delete a deployment action, hover over the blue bar and click the  Delete icon or right-click on the bar and select Delete. Click OK to confirm or click Cancel to keep the action.

Creating connections between deployment actions enables you to define which Action(s) should not begin until another Action in the process defined for another activity has completed. If an action is linked to another Action it will wait for that Action to finish before it begins.

Follow the subsequent steps to create a "wait for" connection between deployment actions.

To delete a "wait for" connection, select it and press the Delete key.

Save the changes (, Ctrl+S or File > Save).

Right-click on any activity, stage or Action in a deployment process diagram, or anywhere in the empty grid, then select  Print to print a section of or the whole deployment process diagram.