Serena Release Control: SDA Plugin Quick Reference

Contents

Configuring the Provider Plugins

Release Control communicates with integrating products through provider plugins. In Release Control, you can focus on selecting and sequencing the deployment tasks that you need, and the provider plugin takes care of the integration details.

Documentation References

For information on creating your own plugins, refer to the Serena Release Control SDK Reference.

For information on selecting plugins while using Release Control, refer to the Serena Release Control Getting Started Guide or online Help.

Adding Provider Plugins

After applying the configuration, you can access the Release Control Providers administrator page from SBM Configurator to add and configure plugins. The default plugins are already added for you.

You will need to add a default plugin only if the plugin has somehow been removed from your system or if you are adding a new version of the plugin. If you write your own plugins, you need to add them using this procedure.

Note: Later versions of the default plugins may exist. For the latest versions of the plugins and any additional documentation, visit http://www.serena.com/support.

If you have already added your plugins or want to use the default versions of the plugins installed with Release Control, continue to Adding Plugin Configurations.

Installing the Plugin

Before you can add a new plugin, you must ensure it is installed. If the version of the plugin you want to use is already installed, continue with Adding the Plugin.

If it has not yet been installed, install it as follows:

  1. If installing a new version of a default plugin, download and extract the plugin jar files that you want to install.

    Default plugin version jar file names are as follows:

    rlc-client-sbm-6.0.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar and rlc-provider-sbm-6.0.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar

    rlc-client-sda-6.0.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar

    rlc-client-dim-6.0.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar and rlc-provider-dim-6.0.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar

    rlc-client-zmf-6.0.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar and rlc-provider-zmf-6.0.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar

  2. Copy the plugin jar files to the following location:

    Serena\SBM\Common\jboss405\server\default\deploy\rlc.war\WEB-INF\lib

  3. Restart JBoss.

Adding the Plugin

To add a plugin to Release Control:

  1. In your Web browser, enter the URL for the Release Control Providers administrator page. For example:

    http://serverName/workcenter/tmtrack.dll?shell=swc&StdPage&template=rlm%2fprovideradmin

    Tip: The link for your installation is in SBM Configurator. Just select the Release Control tab and click the link.
  2. At the top of the page, click the Add Plugin link.
  3. Enter the required fields for the plugin. These include:
    • Name
    • Description
    • XML Context File: This references the XML file included in the plugin, and the name in this field must exactly match the referenced file name.

    See the following table for information to enter for each of the default plugins, should you need to add any of these to your system.

    Name Description XML Context File
    SBM Provider Serena Business Manager RLC provider implements execution and request provider types. serena-provider-sbm-1_0.xml
    SDA Component Version Provider Serena Deployment Automation RLC provider implements execution and deployment unit provider types for SDA Component Versions. serena-provider-sdacomponentvers-1_0.xml
    SDA Snapshot Provider Serena Deployment Automation RLC provider implements execution and deployment unit provider types for SDA Snapshots. serena-provider-sdasnapshot-1_0.xml
    Dimensions CM Provider Serena Dimensions CM RLC provider implements execution, deployment unit and request provider types for Dimensions CM integration. serena-provider-dim-1_0.xml
    ChangeMan ZMF Provider Serena ChangeMan ZMF RLC provider implements execution and deployment unit provider types for ChangeMan ZMF integration. serena-provider-zmf-1_0.xml
  4. Click Add Plugin.

Adding Plugin Configurations

Before you can use a plugin, you must add a configuration for it. At minimum, you must configure your specific connection information for the default configuration. Each of the plugin configurations in the default implementation have example values, but you'll need to configure these according to your own implementation.

Important: The following procedure can be performed only by users with Managed Administrator privileges.

To update or add a plugin configuration:

  1. In your Web browser, enter the URL for the Release Control Providers administrator page. For example:

    http://serverName/workcenter/tmtrack.dll?shell=swc&StdPage&template=rlm%2fprovideradmin

    Tip: The link for your installation is in SBM Configurator. Just select the Release Control tab and click the link.
  2. Use one of the following configuration options:
    • If you are updating an existing configuration, beside the configuration, click Update.
    • If you are duplicating an existing configuration, beside the configuration, click Clone.
    • If you are adding a configuration, at the top of the page, click the Add Configuration link.
  3. In the Plugin field, select the name of the plugin. For example: SBM Provider
  4. Fill out the fields presented in the user interface.

SDA Snapshot Plugin Configuration Details

The default SDA Provider snapshot plugin provides functionality for Serena Deployment Automation deployment units and executions, where deployment units are snapshots.

Limitations

After adding a plugin, you can add configurations for the plugin. Multiple configurations can be added. Here are some examples on why you would use different configurations:

Field Description Example Values
Name Name of the provider configuration. Be as descriptive as possible, as this distinguishes the configuration from other configurations when users are selecting it. SDA 6.0 Snapshot
Description Description of the item, which will appear as a tooltip Sample SDA 6.0 Snapshot Configuration - Requires additional configuration before use.

SDA Server URL

 URL for the Deployment Automation server http://<SDA_SERVERNAME>:8080/serena_ra/

SDA Application Request Process link

 Link to the SDA application process request service app#applicationProcessRequest/

SDA Post deploy URL

 The URL that points to the location in the Release Control installation where the SDA notification service is running http://<RLC_SERVERNAME>:8085//rlc/rest/deploy/autoprocess/notification/

SDA Post deploy message variables

 The variables passed along with the notification to the recipient ${p:request.id}:${p:finalStatus}

User Name

 If single sign-on is not enabled for this server, use this user name to log into this system.

Password

 If single sign-on is not enabled for this server, use this password to log into this system.

Use Single Sign-On (SSO)

 Enable single sign-on to allow the provider service to log in to the Deployment Automation system using the authentication token of the user. true

Execution Properties

Execution - Provider Name

 A descriptive name of the execution provider SDA 6.0 Snapshot

Execution - Provider Description

 Description of the item, which will appear as a tooltip SDA 6.0 Snapshot Execution Provider
Execution - Use Custom URL Whether to allow a custom URL for the snapshot true
Execution - Custom Application Process Request URL The template used to generate the hyperlink to view the content of the SDA custom application process request app#applicationProcessRequest/%REQUEST_ID%

Deployment Unit Properties

Deploy Unit - Provider Name

 A descriptive name of the deployment unit provider SDA 6.0 Snapshot

Deploy Unit - Provider Description

 A descriptive name of the deployment unit provider. SDA 6.0 Snapshot Deployment Unit Provider
Deploy Unit - Use Custom URL Whether to allow a custom URL for the snapshot; if this is not set to true, when users click on the snapshot hyperlink in the Deployment Units list, the snapshot page will not display in SDA. true
Deploy Unit - Custom Snapshot URL If the Use Custom URL field is set to true, this property is used to generate the hyperlink to view the snapshot in SDA. app#snapshot/%SNAPSHOT_ID%
Provider Types
Execution Provides functionality for executing deployment tasks Enabled
Deployment Unit Provides functionality for linking deployment units Enabled
Request Provides functionality for associating requests Not Supported

Associating Snapshots with Deployment Units

After the Deployment Automation Deployment Unit Provider configuration has been added or updated as needed, users, such as Release Managers, can associate Deployment Automation snapshots with deployment units.

You enter search criteria and then click Find Items to find and select the deployment units to associate.

The fields that are displayed when searching for snapshots from the Deployment Unit Widget are described in the following table.

Field Description Example Values
Application The name of the application to which the snapshots you want to deploy belong; after selecting the application, click the Find Items button to display all snapshots for the selected application; select one or more to associate with the deployment unit App with Approvals

Deploying Snapshots

After the SDA Execution Provider configuration has been added or updated as needed, users, such as Release Managers, can deploy Deployment Automation snapshots through deployment tasks.

The deployment is done by running an application process. Although the process may execute any kind of operation, such as configuration only, the typical purpose of the processes is deployment.

The fields that are displayed when configuring the deployment tasks to deploy snapshots from the Task Collection Widget are described in the following table.

Field Description Example Values
Title Title of the deployment task Deploy Qlarius QSocial App
Description Description of the task Task to deploy snapshots for the QSocial Application
Action The action to execute on the item, select from available options

Run Application Process
Application The name of the SDA application for which the application process will be executed QSocial
Application process The name of the process to run Deploy QSocial App
Environment The target SDA environment on which to run the process QA

SDA Component Version Plugin Configuration Details

The default SDA Provider component version plugin provides functionality for Serena Deployment Automation deployment units and executions, where deployment units are component versions.

Limitations

After adding a plugin, you can add configurations for the plugin. Multiple configurations can be added. Here are some examples on why you would use different configurations:

The fields for an example SDA Provider component version plugin configuration are described in the following table.

Field Description Example Values
Name Name of the provider configuration. Be as descriptive as possible, as this distinguishes the configuration from other configurations when users are selecting it. SDA 6.0 Component Version
Description Description of the item, which will appear as a tooltip Sample SDA 6.0 Component Version Configuration - Requires additional configuration before use.

SDA Server URL

 URL for the SDA server http://<SDA_SERVERNAME>:8080/serena_ra/

SDA Application Request Process link

 Link to the SDA application process request service app#applicationProcessRequest/

SDA Post deploy URL

 The URL that points to the location in the Release Control installation where the SDA notification service is running http://<RLC_SERVERNAME>:8085/rlc/rest/deploy/autoprocess/notification/SDA/

SDA Post deploy message variables

 The variables passed along with the notification to the recipient ${p:request.id}:${p:finalStatus}

User Name

 If single sign-on is not enabled for this server, use this user name to log into this system. admin

Password

 If single sign-on is not enabled for this server, use this password to log into this system. password123

Use Single Sign-On (SSO)

 Enable single sign-on to allow the provider service to log in to the SDA system using the authentication token of the user false

Execution Properties

Execution - Provider Name

 A descriptive name of the execution provider. SDA 6.0 Component Version

Execution - Provider Description

 Description of the item, which will appear as a tooltip SDA 6.0 Component Versions Execution Provider

Execution - Wait for Callback for Component Process

 Whether to wait for the component process to respond with results.
Note: Notification from completed component processes cannot be automatically detected. You must specially configure the process in Deployment Automation. For more information, see solution S141306 on the Serena Support Knowledgebase.
false

Execution - Show Component Process action

 Whether to show the component process action false

Execution - Use Custom URL

 Whether to allow a custom URL for the application process request and component process request true

Execution - Custom Application Process Request URL

 The template used to generate the hyperlink to view the content of the SDA application request app#applicationProcessRequest/%REQUEST_ID%

Execution - Custom Component Process Request URL

 The template used to generate the hyperlink to view the content of the SDA component process request app#componentProcessRequest/%REQUEST_ID%

Deployment Unit Properties

Deploy Unit - Provider Name

 A descriptive name of the deployment unit provider SDA 6.0 Component Version

Deploy Unit - Provider Description

 Description of the item, which will appear as a tooltip SDA 6.0 Component Versions Deployment Unit Provider

Deploy Unit - Use Custom URL

 Whether to allow a custom URL for the component version; if this is not set to true, when users click on the component version hyperlink in the Deployment Units list, the version page will not display in SDA. true

Deploy Unit - Custom Component Version URL

 If the Use Custom URL field is set to true, this property is used to generate the hyperlink to view the component version artifacts in SDA. app#version/%COMPONENT_ID%
Provider Types
Execution Provides functionality for executing deployment tasks Enabled
Deployment Unit Provides functionality for linking deployment units Enabled
Request Provides functionality for associating requests Not Supported

Associating Component Versions with Deployment Units

After the SDA Deployment Unit Provider configuration has been added or updated as needed, users, such as Release Managers, can associate Deployment Automation component versions with deployment units.

You enter search criteria and then click Find Items to find and select the component versions to associate.

The fields that are displayed when searching for component versions from the Deployment Unit Widget are described in the following table.

Field Description Example Values
Application The name of the application to which the component versions you want to deploy belong App with Approvals
Component The name of the component; after selecting the component, click the Find Items button to display all component versions for the selected component; select one or more to associate with the deployment unit Component with manual task approval

Deploying Component Versions

After the SDA Execution Provider configuration has been added or updated as needed, users, such as Release Managers, can deploy Deployment Automation component versions through deployment tasks.

The deployment is done by running either an application process or a component process. Although the process may execute any kind of operation, such as configuration only, the typical purpose of the processes is deployment.

The fields that are displayed when configuring the deployment tasks to deploy component versions from the Task Collection Widget are described in the following tables:

Deploying by Running an Application Process

Field Description Example Values
Title Title of the deployment task Deploy Qlarius QSocial App
Description Description of the task Task to deploy component versions for the QSocial Application
Action The action to execute on the item; select from available options

Run Application Process
Application The name of the SDA application to be used QSocial
Application Process The name of the SDA application process to run Deploy QSocial App
Environment The target SDA environment on which to run the process QA

Deploying by Running a Component Process

Field Description Example Values
Title Title of the deployment task Deploy Qlarius QSocial Components
Description Description of the task Task to deploy component versions for the QSocial Application
Action The action to execute on the item; select from available options

Run Component Process
Application The name of the application to be used QSocial
Component Process The name of the SDA component process to run Deploy QSocial Web
Environment The target SDA environment on which to run the process QA
Resource The target SDA resource on which to run the process local

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