Infrastructure items

There are several ways to create infrastructure items:

Create new infrastructure items

Follow the subsequent steps to create a new infrastructure item.

Step 1   To access the Create a new infrastructure item wizard, either click the  create icon in the  Infrastructure Items search view or right-click anywhere in the view and select  Create a new infrastructure item.

Step 2   Complete all of the fields. These values can be edited later.

1. Define the new item’s *Infra. Item Code and *Infra. Item Name.

2. Select the item's Infra. Item Type. The drop-down list is prepopulated with infrastructure item types defined by the administrator in the Preferences menu.

   Reference

   For more information about entity types, refer to Entity types.

3. Select the *Remote Agent Type that has been or will be installed on the item. This decision will affect the options available in the Protocol field. There are two options:

   • DROPS Agent: relies on HTTP(S) connection to the DROPS Agent.
   • Agentless: there is no target agent - the connection is secured by SSH or SSL.

4. Select the *OS Family that the agent is running on. There are three options:

   • Windows
   • Linux
   • IBM i
5. Select the Protocol to use to connect to the target machine and its Host name & Port and port.
6. If you selected to use an SSH Protocol, select the pre-defined SSH key from the list.
7. Enter the Login & Password and password required to connect to the infrastructure item.

Step 3    Click Finish.

Result   New infrastructure items are available in the  Infrastructure Items search view and are ready to be configured and added to environments.

Important!

It is important to continue editing a new infrastructure item's information right away to complete the configuration for the infrastructure item type.

Reference

For more information about configuring Items, refer to Infrastructure item type extended configuration.

Duplicate an existing infrastructure item

Duplicating an infrastructure item is a quick way to create a new infrastructure item with similar settings and properties. Follow the subsequent steps to duplicate an existing infrastructure item.

Step 1   Select an existing infrastructure item from the  Infrastructure Items search view, and click the  duplicate icon or right-click on the item and select  Duplicate from the list to open the duplication wizard.

Note

If the duplicated infrastructure item does not appear in the list, refresh the search view.

Step 2   Modify the definitions and properties of the duplicated infrastructure item in the wizard. These values can be edited later. Click Finish.

Reference

For more information about infrastructure item edition, refer to theEditing infrastructure items.

Result   New infrastructure items are available in the  Infrastructure Items search view and are ready to be configured and added to environments.

Import infrastructure items

Follow the subsequent steps to create multiple infrastructure items automatically by importing a pre-configured .csv file.

Step 1   Create the .csv file to upload.

The .csv file to upload must contain a minimum amount of information for each infrastructure item to create. The details should be configured in a specific order - the information corresponding to each required field must be included in the correct column in order for the upload process to be successful.

The details defined in the .csv file will be automatically transferred to each item DROPS creates. The corresponding fields will be automatically populated. The columns can be remapped but the default order is as follows.

Important!

Do not include a header row in the .csv file.

Column A (0)(the first column): the infrastructure item's *Infra. Item Code.

Column B (1): the Protocol://Host name & Port:Host name & Port that points to the target system on which the DROPS Agent is installed.

Important!

This URL must follow the syntax exactly:
<protocol>://<hotname>:<port>

JT400, JT400s and PowerShell do not use ports. If you use these protocols, the syntax is:
<protocol>://<hotname>

The syntax for each protocol is:

Agent

Syntax for agent protocols

Agent type	Syntax to enter in the URL
HTTP	http://hostname:port
HTTP(s)	https://hostname:port

Agentless

Syntax for agentless protocols

OS	Agent type	Syntax to enter in the URL
Linux	SSH	ssh://hostname:port
Windows	PowerShell ≥4	pshell://hostname
IBM i	SSH	ssh://hostname:port
	JT400	jt400://hostname
	Secure JT400 via SSL	jt400s://hostname

Column C (2): the Login & Password required to connect to the target system.

Column D (3): the Login & Password required to connect to the target system.

Column E (4): the infrastructure item's Infra. Item Type. Enter only the item type code, which is defined when entity types are created in the Preferences menu.

Reference

For more information about entity types, refer to Entity types.

Column F (5): the *Remote Agent Type that is running on the remote system. There are two types of agents. Enter the code that corresponds to the type that the item connects to on the target system. The codes are:

• 2 for the DROPS Agent
• 3 for the agentless solution

Column G (6): the *OS Family that the remote system is running on. Enter the code that corresponds to the OS on which the DROPS Agent is running. The codes are:

• 0 for Windows (default)
• 1 for Linux
• 2 for IBM i

Column H (7): [Optional] the remote Installation Properties. Enter the properties following this pattern:

installpath=<DROPS Agent install location>;storagepath=<DROPS Agent opt/dropsagent/storage path>;installuser=<user>;installuserpassword=<password>

Each key=value pair must be separated by a semi-colon (;). The following properties are shared by all OS families:

• installpath: installation path
• storagepath: the local repository storage area
• installuser: the user used or to use during the installation process
• installuserpassword: the installation user's password

The OS-specific properties to add depending on your target are:

Windows

• serviceuser: the user profile that will run the agent
• serviceuserpassword: the service user's password

Linux

• serviceuser: the user profile that will run the agent

IBM i

• library: target IBM i installation library
• iasp: the installation library's iASP

Step 2   Import the .csv file.

To open the .csv import wizard, either right-click anywhere in the  Infrastructure Items search view and select  Import from a .csv file or click the  .csv import icon.

Step 3   Complete all of the fields.

Warning!

These fields cannot be edited later.

1. Enter the exact path to the .csv file created in Step 1. Click the  browse button to navigate to the file.
2. If you did not change the order of the columns as suggested in Step 1, do not modify the fields in the Column Index Mapping section.

Note

If you changed the order of the columns in the .csv file, modify the corresponding fields' indicator(s) in the Column Index Mapping section.

'0' corresponds to the first column on the far-left (column A), '1' to the next column to the right (column B) and so on.

Step 4   Click Finish to launch the import.

Result   All of the infrastructure items listed in the .csv file are created. The number of the items created that are automatically active depends on your license key. If the .csv file contains more items than your license allows, the extra items will be created but they will be temporary.

Example

If there are 45 rows with accurate and complete information in the .csv and you have a license that permits 50 items, 45 items will be created. If you have a license that only permits 40 items, all 45 items will be created, but the final 5 in the .csv will be temporary items. If your license does not allow the full number of items to create, an email is sent to the user who uploaded the .csv file.

Reference

For more information about temporary items, refer to Temporary Infrastructure Item.

New infrastructure items are available in the  Infrastructure Items search view and are ready to be configured and added to environments.

Important!

It is important to continue editing a new infrastructure item's information right away to complete the configuration for the infrastructure item type.

Reference

For more information about configuring Items, refer to Infrastructure item type extended configuration.

To edit infrastructure item details, either right-click on it then select  Edit, select the item then click the  edit icon or double-click it. The  Infrastructure Item editor is opened where all of the entity's details are managed.

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

*Infra. Item Code

A unique string that identifies infrastructure items. This label is used throughout DROPS to select the entity.

*Infra. Item Name

A label used to give additional information about the infrastructure item. This label is used throughout DROPS to select the entity.

Infra. Item Type

A read-only value set to the infrastructure item type selected when the item was created.

Reference

For more information about infrastructure item types, refer to Entity types.

Extended Configuration

Some infrastructure item types require extended configuration. If the item's current type does, this field will be a link to the type-specific configuration editor.

Reference

For more information about extended configuration editors, refer to Infrastructure item type extended configuration.

Technical Platform

[Optional] Select the type of OS that the infrastructure item points to. The drop-down list is prepopulated with the platforms defined by an administrator in the Preferences menu.

Reference

For more information about Technical Platforms, refer to Defining technical platforms.

The item's parent entity is displayed in the Client section.

The License Type section displays critical information concerning the current server's Activation Key.

Temporary Infrastructure Item

If this checkbox is ticked, the activation key associated with the current DROPS Server does not have any more available License Units.

Temporary infrastructure items can only be created if every license unit in the current activation key's is consumed. The number of temporary license units available depends on the number of purchased License Units that the current activation key contained.

If no activation key has ever been registered for the current DROPS Server, only five (5) temporary infrastructure items can be created and used for a limited period of time (up to one month). This enables you to use DROPS while your activation key is being generated.

A temporary infrastructure item becomes definitive as soon as a new license unit is available (as soon as a new license unit pack is registered).

Temporary Activation Date

Temporary infrastructure items are available for one month starting from the current date (the date the item was created).

Note

When a deployment involves a temporary infrastructure item and if its temporary activation date is over, when it is used in a deployment process, the process will be suspended. If the temporary activation date is not over, a warning will be produced in the deployment log to remind you that you are using a temporary infrastructure item.

Reference

For more information about suspended processes, refer to Suspended actions.

The Agent Remote Installation section displays important information about the DROPS Agent on the infrastructure item and the target machine's OS.

*Remote Agent Type

Select the type of DROPS Agent that is running or will be installed on the remote system to which you are connecting.

If the DROPS Server must connect to an agent using HTTP(S), select DROPS Agent.

If there is no target agent because you are running the agentless solution, select DROPS Agentless.

*OS Family

The type of OS on which the DROPS Agent is installed. The OS can be changed in the  Infrastructure Items search view. Depending on the OS family defined for the item, the Installation Properties and the security Protocol options will change.

Warning!

If you change the OS Family for an existing infrastructure item, any install properties or connection protocol details defined will be lost.

Installation Properties

The properties required to define the installation path and connection to the remote host of the DROPS Agent. These properties are only used when the when the DROPS Agent is installed or updated remotely on the infrastructure item.

Reference

For more information about remote installation refer toManaging an infrastructure item’s remote installation properties and Installing the DROPS Agent.

Provisioning Template

Select a provisioning template to use if your infrastructure item must be configured before deploying content. The list is pre-populated with the templates defined on the current DROPS Server.

Reference

For more information about these templates, refer to Environment provisioning templates andProvisioning infrastructure items.

If the Provisioned checkbox is ticked, the item has been provisioned.

Instantiation Template

Select an instantiation template to create a new VM for the item. The list is pre-populated with the templates defined on the current DROPS Server.

Reference

For more information about these templates, refer to Instantiation templates andInstantiating infrastructure items.

If the Instantiated checkbox is ticked, the item has been instantiated.

The Connection and Deployment Information section in the General Information tab are crucial to configuring an infrastructure item. They enable you to define the connection information and directories that serve as destination locations on the target system during the deployment process. The values entered here can be referenced in substitution variables during the deployment process.

Protocol

Select the security protocol to use to connect to the infrastructure item. The options available depend on the combination of *OS Family and the *Remote Agent Type:

IBM i	Agent	HTTP(s)
	Agentless	JT400
	Agentless	Secure JT400 via SSL
	Agentless	SSH
Linux	Agent	HTTP(s)
	Agentless	SSH
Windows	Agent	HTTP(s)
	Agentless	PowerShell ≥4

Host name & Port

Enter the host name and port that point to the infrastructure item.

SSH key

If the Protocol selected is SSH, for any OS, select the SSH key to use to connect to the infrastructure item. The list is prepopulated with all of the SSH keys available on the current DROPS Server.

Reference

For more information about SSH keys, refer to SSH keys

Login & Password

Enter the valid (domain) user's login and password to connect to the target system.

Backup Directory

The directory path on the target system used to stock a copy of the content that is currently in the same location defined in the deployment process.

The copy of the current content stored here serves as a backup. If the deployment of artifacts does not work and you need to roll back the deployment, the previous version of content from the target location will be reinstated. In order to reinstate it, the content is copied during the deployment process and stored at this location.

Root Directory

The directory path where the deployed artifacts are temporary stored before being officially copied to the target.

The Root Directory is used to temporarily store the artifacts to be deployed before DROPS actually deploys them. The deployable content follows the same structure that is defined in each component. Actions can be taken on the content before it is finally deployed, enabling you to automate steps such as unzipping, testing, transforming a configuration file, etc or to set a requirement for validation.

Define this path manually or enter *AUTO to use the default Local Repository Storage Area path created when the DROPS Agent is installed.

Reference

For more information about the Local Repository Storage Area refer to Installing the DROPS Agent.

File Separator

Enter the standard file separator for the target system:
\ for windows or / for any other system.

Deployment Schema

To define the list of deployment schemas allowed for an infrastructure item, click the  Add button. The dialog is prepopulated with the schemas defined for the current server.

Selecting an added schema and clicking the  Edit button or double-clicking it opens the Deployment Schema editor.

To remove an added schema from the infrastructure item, select it and click the  Remove button.

Reference

For more information about managing schemas, refer to Deployment schemas.

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

The read-only  Deployed Releases tab in the  Infrastructure Item editor displays the complete list of releases that have already been deployed on the item.

The  Deployment History tab in the  Infrastructure Item editor displays the complete history of the deployment process instances executed for the current item.

The table displays complete information about the deployment including the final result, the application and release deployed, the date and time the deployment was finished, the package type and the deployment process used to deliver.

To change the Infra. Item Type, either right-click on it in the  Infrastructure Items search view, then select  Change type, or select the item then click the  change type icon.

The drop-down list to select the new type is prepopulated with the infrastructure item types defined by the administrator in the Preferences menu. Click OK then close the item editor and refresh the search list. When the infrastructure item is opened again, the change is visible.

Changing the OS family of an infrastructure item is useful if you are migrating the DROPS Agent from one OS to another. If you change an agent’s OS by remotely installing it, it is important to change the OS in the infrastructure item and fill in the correct Installation Properties.

To change the *OS Family of an infrastructure item, either right-click on it in the  Infrastructure Items search view, then select  Change OS family, or select the item then click the  change OS icon.

The OS family cannot be changed in the infrastructure item editor.

Select an item and click the download icon or right-click on an item and select Download logs to save a .zip file containing the item’s remote agent’s logs.

Perform tests on entity to ensure that the target environment complies to specific requirements. Compliance rules are a complementary tool, available independently of the main DROPS process.

If a provisioning template is associated with an infrastructure item, it will be executed when the item is deployed. You can also provision items outside of the deployment process by executing the process manually.

To execute the provisioning process manually, either select the parent item and click the Provisioning Process icon or right-click on it and select Provision. The log is automatically opened.

The Provisioning Result log allows you to filter the log entries using the filter bar.

View provisioning results

The results for every provisioning instance launched for any infrastructure item can be viewed from the Operational Console Management perspective.

Step 1   Switch to the Operational Console Management perspective.

Step 2   Connect to and expand the DROPS Server.

Step 3   Double-click on the Provisioning Execution Instances node.

Step 4   Either select the instance in the list and click the Show results icon, right-click on it and select Show provisioning results or double-click on it to open the results view.

Result   The Overview tab displays the general information about the process, the Log tab displays the execution log entries and the Attachment tab displays the attachment list.

If an instantiation template is associated with an infrastructure item, it will be executed when the item is deployed. You can also instantiate items outside of the deployment process by executing the process manually.

To execute the instantiation process manually, either select the parent item and click the Instantiation Process icon or right-click on it and select Instantiate. The following log is automatically opened.

The Instantiation Result log allows you to filter the log entries using the filter bar.

View instantiation results

The results for every instantiation instance launched for any infrastructure item can be viewed using the Operational Console Management perspective.

Step 1   Switch to the Operational Console Management perspective.

Step 2   Connect to and expand the DROPS Server.

Step 3   Double-click on the Instantiation Execution Instances node.

Step 4   Either select the instance in the list and click the Show results icon, right-click on it and select Show instantiation results or double-click on it to open the results view.

Result   The Overview tab displays the general information about the process, the Log tab displays the execution log entries and the Attachment tab displays the attachment list.

An infrastructure item’s Installation Properties are specific to the OS on which the corresponding DROPS Agent is installed.

To access the item’s installation properties click the Edit remote installation properties... link in the item's editor. The  Linux,  Windows or  IBM i Installation editor is displayed depending on the OS selected for the item.

The user required to install the agent is not necessarily the same as the user that runs the agent after it is installed. To access the agent after it is installed to update it, the user who runs it and the corresponding connection information are also required.

 Windows - Define the Agent User and Password required to access the profile that will run the agent's service.

 Linux - Define the Agent User required to access the profile that will run the agent's daemon.

 IBM i - Define the Target iASP and its child Installation Library required to hold the agent’s objects. Define the Agent User required to access the profile that will run the agent's job.

Generating an infrastructure item’s remote installation properties

If the Installation Properties link is not displayed for an item created in the DROPS Studio v2.0 or earlier, the properties must first be generated.

Note

If an infrastructure item was created in the DROPS Studio v2.2 or later, you do not need to generate installation properties. They are already available by default.

To generate the installation properties for an "older" item, either right-click on it in the  Infrastructure Items search view, then select  Generate installation properties, or select the item then click the  generate installation properties icon.

After they are generated, the link to the Remote Installation Properties is displayed in the item’s editor.

Creating remote installation information in the DROPS database

Note

If an agent was initially installed manually the installation details do not exist in the DROPS database. To update an agent remotely, the installation information is required in the database so that DROPS knows the agent has already been installed. If the install information isn’t the in database, when DROPS tried to update the agent remotely, it will launch a fresh installation instead of an update.

If the agent was initially installed remotely, it is not required to create the installation information in the database because it was created and stored automatically during the remote installation process.

To create (remote) installation information in the DROPS database, either right-click on the item in the  Infrastructure Items search view, then select  Reference installation, or select the item then click the  reference installation icon. The Module Release dialog is displayed and enables you to select the DROPS Agent and set up an arbitrary remote install.

It is recommended to test the connection information defined in an infrastructure item to ensure that DROPS can successfully connect to it before executing the deployment process.

If required, restart the agent before testing it by selecting the item then clicking the restart remote agent button, or right-clicking on it and selecting Restart agent.

There are two ways to test the connection DROPS maintains with the agent installed on infrastructure items:

1. Manually test the connection one time from the  Infrastructure Items search view.
2. Add the item to a list that is regularly checked by the DROPS Server to monitor that the connections continue to be reachable.

Test the connection to an infrastructure item (agent) manually

To test the connection to an agent manually, either right-click on it in the  Infrastructure Items search view, then select  Test connection, or select the item then click the  test connection icon.

If the connection is broken the Problem Occurred dialog is displayed confirming that the connection to the agent could not be successfully established. Click the Details button for more information about why the connection failed.

If the connection is stable, the dialog confirms that the connection to the agent was successfully established.

Monitor the connection to an infrastructure item (agent) automatically

To test the connection to one or more agent(s) automatically and periodically, add infrastructure items to the monitoring list. A task is scheduled on the DROPS Server to check if the items that belong to the monitoring list are reachable. If the agent is not reachable, the status of the entry is set to FAILED and a notification can be sent to the user(s) in the Administrator or Contributor role.

The schedule that the monitor list follows to verify the connection(s) to the DROPS Agent(s) is defined in the configuration view by an administrator.

Reference

For more information about defining the monitoring schedule, refer to Infrastructure item monitor settings.

If an infrastructure item is added to the monitoring list, the monitor icon is displayed for that item in the  Infrastructure Items search view.

To add one or multiple items to the monitoring list, select it from the  Infrastructure Items search view then either right-click and select  Add to the monitoring list or click the  monitor icon in the local toolbar.

To remove one or multiple items from the monitoring list, select it from the  Infrastructure Items search view then either right-click and select  Remove from the monitoring list or click the  monitor icon in the local toolbar.

Selecting multiple items that may or may not be in the list already is possible. All the selected items that are monitored will be removed from the list and all the selected items that are not monitored will be added to the list.

Accessing the Remote Agent Monitoring List

To access the  Remote Agent Monitoring List view, click the  monitoring list icon in the  Infrastructure Items search view toolbar.

The  Remote Agent Monitoring List displays a list of all the infrastructure items in the list. Nested under each item is the date of the last check and the status of the entry at the last check. Selecting an entry displays the message related to the connection attempt in the lower part of the view.

To refresh the content of this view, click the  Refresh icon.

To remove an item from the list select it and either right-click and select  Remove Entry or click the  remove icon.

To delete an infrastructure item search for it in the  Infrastructure Items search view. Either right-click on it and select  Delete, or select it and click the  delete icon. Click OK to confirm or click Cancel to keep the infrastructure item.