Import strategies

Required Roles n/a
Required Rights
(by category)		 Applications
Perspective  Configuration Management
Access  DROPS Server →  Artifacts →  Applications →  Application editor →  Component editor →  Import Strategies manager

The artifact repository is populated with artifacts imported from external sources, sometimes called artifact providers. Import strategies are dedicated engines that communicate with one particular artifact provider in order to find the defined artifacts and import them, nested under the associated component, into the artifact repository.

When defining import strategies, the link to the external source that points to the artifacts to retrieve creates, by default, the directory structure to respect when storing the imported artifacts. Strategies are created inside the Component editor so they are linked by default to that component. The imported artifacts are automatically stored under that component in the artifact repository. DROPS ensures that each artifact is associated with the correct application and release via the component.

An external artifact provider may be a simple file system or a complex SCM. Choosing the type of import strategy to use depends solely on the kind of source from which you are importing artifacts. Only one source type can be defined per import strategy but a component can contain multiple strategies in order to import artifacts from different sources.

Import strategies can be configured to recognize updated files in the defined paths and only import them, instead of the entire group of artifacts available.

Strategies reach the artifacts to import via the object's absolute path. The artifacts in this Root Directory are browsed after the import is launched to determine which to import or not.

Some import strategy parameters can be defined using properties.

Example

The two components in your application are to be deployed to two different destinations (a server in New York and a website host in Paris). The server's installation files are all imported from the same location - there is only one import strategy necessary for the New York server component. However, the website component for Paris must contain HTML files that your web designer created and sent to you via email and the .css style sheet that your company hosts on a shared network. In order to import all of these artifacts from two different source locations, you will need two different import strategies: one for each source location.

Import strategies are defined and accessed in components. To access the list of import strategies for a component, select it from the components tab in the  Application editor and refer to the Import Strategies section.

This tab displays all of the strategies defined for the current component.

The Component editor - Create Import Strategies

Note

The order in which import strategies are created is the order in which they will be carried out when the import process begins.

There are three ways to create import strategies:

  1. Create a new strategy using the Create a new import strategy wizard.
  2. Use or Copy from strategy templates to quickly create a strategy with predefined parameters.
    1. Using a template means that whenever the template is changed, the changes will be carried over to all of the Strategies that use it. There is a connection between the template and the new Strategy which permanently inherits the template's parameters.
    2. Copying from a template creates a copy of the template's parameters which can be modified. There is no on-going connection between the template and the new Strategy.
Important!

No matter how you create an import strategy, you must edit it once it is created to finish the configuration. However, how you configure a strategy depends on which type of strategy you create.

Refer to the instructions that correspond to the type of strategy created to finish the import strategy configuration.

Follow the subsequent steps to create a new import strategy.

Step 1   Open the component for which you want to create a new import strategy.

Step 2   Click the  Create button in a component's Import Strategies manager to open the Create a new import strategy wizard.

Step 3   Define the Import Strategy Code, Import Strategy Name and the Root Directory. These values can be edited later. By default the Root Directory is set to *AUTO.

Click Next > to continue.

Step 4   Select the Strategy Type to use.

Important!

Take care when selecting the type to use based on the type of source your artifacts are coming from.

Step 5    Click Finish.

Result   New import strategies are displayed in the Import Strategies manager. It is important to edit the Strategy and finish the configuration before using it.

Follow the subsequent steps to create a new import strategy by either using or copying from a template.

Step 1   Click the  Use a template or the  Copy from a template button in a component's Import Strategies manager. See above for more information about the differences between using and copying from strategy templates.

Step 2   Select the template from the Strategy Templates dialog.

The list of available templates is prepopulated with the templates created by users who have the rights to do so.

Important!

Take care when selecting the type to use based on the type of source your artifacts are coming from.

Reference

For more information about creating strategy templates, refer to Import strategy templates.

Step 3   Click OK.

Result   New import strategies are displayed in the Import Strategies manager. If a strategy uses a template, the name of the template is displayed in the template Name column to remind you that it is linked to the template. It is important to edit the Strategy and finish the configuration before using it.

To view or edit an import strategy, double-click it or select it then click  Edit to open the  Import Strategy editor. It is important to edit import strategies before using them in order to configure them correctly based on your artifact provider.

The Import Strategy editor

The information that defines import strategies can be edited at any time by users with the rights to do so.

Reference

For more information about the different actions managed from the tabs in the  Import Strategy editor that are not described in this chapter, refer to:

The Main Properties tab contains the details common to all of the different types of import strategies, however each type requires very specific configuration as well.

The import strategy's parent entities are displayed in the Parent Items section.

Import Strategy Code
A unique string that identifies import strategies. This label is used throughout DROPS to select the entity.
Import Strategy Name
A label used to give additional information about the import strategy. This label is used throughout DROPS to select the entity.
Root Directory
The directory path where retrieved artifacts are temporarily stored before being imported into the artifact repository.

For all of the types of Import Strategies except the File System Strategy, the root directory is used to temporarily store the artifacts to be imported before DROPS actually imports them into the Artifact Repository. When the import is launched, DROPS:

  1. [clears the root directory IF OPTION IS SELECTED];
  2. fills it with the appropriate artifacts for temporary storage;
  3. communicates with the DROPS Server parameters to learn what directory structure to use to store the artifacts in the Artifact Repository;
  4. copies the artifacts to the Artifact Repository;
  5. [clears the root directory IF OPTION IS SELECTED].

For the File System Strategy, the root directory must be the absolute root of all of the artifacts to be imported using this Strategy. Only the path up to the artifacts' shared root should be entered in this field. When the import is launched, DROPS:

  1. [clears the root directory IF OPTION IS SELECTED];
  2. analyzes this root path to find the artifacts to import;
  3. communicates with the DROPS Server parameters to learn what directory structure to use to store the artifacts in the Artifact Repository;
  4. copies the artifacts to the Artifact Repository;
  5. subtracts the exact path of the Root Directory field from the absolute path of each artifact and appends the results to the Artifact Repository path;
  6. [clears the root directory IF OPTION IS SELECTED].

The path to the imported artifact is no longer c://rootdirectory/../.artifact, but is now ${root}/app${application}/cmp${component}/rls${release}/../.artifact (where ${root} is the Repository Storage Area defined in the DROPS Server parameters).

Enter an absolute path here or keep the default value (*AUTO) to point to the default path defined in the high-level server configuration. By default, this path leads to a relative tmp path where the DROPS Server is installed.

This path must be on the same machine as the DROPS Server.

For more information about defining the temporary and final locations involved in the import process, refer to Repository storage area settings and Default import process settings.

Post-import Ant script
The selected script will be executed after the import process is finished but before the artifacts are copied to the artifact repository. Select the script to execute then click the Edit Ant script link to open the script to edit.
*NO or nothing selected: no script is executed.
*AUTO: the script specific to this import strategy. The core of the script exists already but the actions to execute must be defined.
Enter an absolute path to script: Enter the path to an existing script outside of DROPS. The script must be accessible to the DROPS Server. If no script already exists at the defined location, DROPS will generate the script template and save a new script file there for you (i.e. you can create new external Ant scripts using this method).
Clean Root Directory before execution
If ticked, the content of the Root Directory is cleaned before executing the import. By default, this option is disabled.
Be careful using this option as you may lose content that you did not intend to be cleaned! This is especially important if you have multiple strategies that point to the same Root Directory.
Clean Root Directory after execution
If ticked, the content of the Root Directory is cleaned after executing the import. By default, this option is disabled.

Be careful using this option as you may lose content that you did not intend to be cleaned! This is especially important if you have multiple strategies that point to the same Root Directory.

Initialization Strategy
If ticked, the import strategy is only used when running an  initial import.

For more information about initial imports, refer to Importing artifacts immediately by application.

Strategy Type
This drop-down list contains all the available strategy types provided by DROPS. By default it is set to the type selected when the import strategy was created. Each type of strategy requires different extended configuration and it is essential that the type correspond to the method you use to collect artifacts to import.

If the extended configuration for an import strategy has already been defined, changing the type will delete all of the existing information.

To create a different type of strategy and keep the information defined in the current one, create a new import strategy.

For more information about the extended configuration necessary for each type of import strategy, refer to Import strategy type configuration.

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

Warning!

Deleted import strategies cannot be accessed or recovered.

To delete an import strategy, select the item from the components editor then click  Delete. Click OK to confirm or click Cancel to keep the strategy.