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Serena Documentation Center

Release Automation Readme

SBM 10.1.3.1 Readme

SBM 10.1.4 Readme

Supported Platform Matrix

New Installations of Serena Release Manager

If this is a new installation, download Serena Business Manager 10.1.3.1 or higher from http://www.serena.com/support and then follow the instructions in the SBM Installation and Configuration Guide to install and configure Serena Business Manager. After you have verified that Serena Business Manager is installed successfully, download Serena Release Manager 5.1 from http://www.serena.com/support and follow the installation instructions in the Serena Release Manager Getting Started Guide.

Installer Components

The installer delivers three components:

• Solution Files – You import the Serena Release Manager 5.1 solution file in Application Repository. The Release Manager solution file contains the following process apps:
  • RLM - Application Release
  • RLM - Approvals
  • RLM - Environment
  • RLM - Release Train
  • RLM - Runbook
  • RLM - Turnover
  • RLM - Manual Deployment Task
  • RLM - Sample Business Request
  • RLM - Sample Development Task
• Framework Files – The framework files augment your underlying SBM installation and enable certain features in the Release Manager process apps. The framework files include new templates, images, and code.
• Release Automation Files – The Release Automation piece performs the deployment activities of Release Manager. You configure Release Automation settings in SBM Configurator after you run the installer. The Release Automation files are delivered by the installer on the server that hosts SBM Common Services.

Supported Configurations

Detailed information about supported platforms and software configuration is available in the Supported Platform Matrix. As part of the pre-installation process, you are required to download certified JDBC drivers for your DBMS. The following JDBC drivers are certified for Release Manager with a native Release Automation instance:

• ojdbc6_g.jar
• sqljdbc4.jar

• Web Browsers

  Internet Explorer 8 is not supported for Serena Work Center. Internet Explorer 8 is supported for all other SBM Web interfaces.

Third-party Tools

For more information regarding third-party software copyrights and license information, refer to the files under "My Downloads" or "Product News" at http://www.serena.com/support.

Enhancements

Enhancements made to Serena Release Manager 5.1 let you do the following:

Deploy Turnovers Through a Pre-Defined Deployment Path

You can now manage the deployment of turnovers through deployment paths, which include the ability to:

• Deploy to and validate turnovers in a pre-defined sequence of environments, such as from development to testing to production
• Schedule turnovers into environments within the context of the deployment path
• Indicate whether environments are locked or unlocked. When the turnover moves into a locked environment, such as a Production environment, component versions and deployment tasks can no longer be added. This ensures that the component versions previously tested are the same as those that are deployed to the locked environment.
• Validate the deployed turnover and handle any functional failures by returning to construction or fixing the configuration and redeploying
• View deployment status in the context of the deployment tasks and deployment path

Create and View Component Versions Directly from Turnovers

You now have more visibility on and access to component versions associated with turnovers, enabling you to:

• View and download component versions being delivered as part of a turnover
• Create component versions and associate them with a turnover
• Associate existing component versions or snapshots with a turnover

Approve Releases Directly from E-mail Notifications

You can now subscribe to e-mail notifications for release, milestone, and exit criteria approvals where you can:

• Approve or reject directly from e-mail.
• Click a link in the e-mail to view the approval item in Serena Work Center, the default end-user interface for Release Manager.

Feature Changes

Following is a summary of feature changes in Serena Release Manager 5.1.

Release Trains

• No Environment Association: You can no longer reserve an environment for a release train, and you cannot view the environment schedule from the release train; there is no Environments tab on a release train page.
• Release Type: Release Type (Item Type) is now hidden by default as it is not specified at the release train level; it is specified for application releases, turnovers, runbooks, and deployment paths only. If you want to show the field to use it for reporting on groups of release trains, you can customize your implementation to do so.

Application Releases

• Release Automation Application Required: You must link applications to Release Automation applications; you cannot create Release Manager-only applications.
• Release Type: You can now select a release type for an application release. Release type values are stored in an auxiliary table, so that you can easily add the values that are appropriate for your implementation.
• Eligible Deployment Paths: When you create an application release, you choose an application and a release type. These limit the deployment paths available to turnovers within that application release.

Environments

• Release Automation Environment Required: You must link environments to Release Automation environments; you cannot create Release Manager-only environments.
• Environment Schedule Application: The Environment process app now includes two applications, Environment and Environment Schedule. See Environment Schedules.

Environment Schedules

• Full Process Control: Environment schedule is now an application under the Environment process app, so schedule items are stored in a primary table rather than an auxiliary table. The old Environment Scheduled Event auxiliary table is no longer used and will not be included; if you upgrade, it may still be there, but the process apps will not point to it.
• Environment Schedule Notifications: Notifications of when maintenance and other events are starting.
• Implementation of the Deployment Path Elements: Items in Path Elements are submitted by the system when creating a deployment path. Path elements should not be edited directly.
• Approved Requests List: In the environment Approved Requests tab, a list of approved schedule requests shows anything in the started or not started state.
• Easier to Take Action on Pending Requests: Pending request items are now SBM items, so you can take action on them directly from the list in the Pending Requests tab.

Turnovers

• Extended Turnover Object: Turnovers have now been extended to be a set of changes deployed all the way from development to production.
• Multiple Environment Scheduling: You can now schedule turnovers into multiple environment paths rather than being tied to one environment per turnover.
• Turnover Scheduling: Environment schedules for a turnover are set at the deployment path level now. See Deployment Paths.
• Redeploy: If redeploy is allowed for the turnover, you can fix any problems and then redeploy, using different component versions as needed. This would be if it is not a locked environment, for example if QA is testing software and opening issues for Development to fix in the pre-release testing cycle. This could continue up to the point you want to proceed to the final deployment environment, such as production.
• Eligible Deployment Paths: When you submit a turnover, you select an application release and release type. This limits the deployment path selection to those that are eligible for the parent application release, based on the release type.
• Release Type: You can now select a release type for a turnover. Release type values are stored in an auxiliary table, so that you can easily add the values that are appropriate for your implementation.
• Deployment History: Deployment history is now shown in the turnover instead of having to look in the original deployment system, such as Dimensions CM or ChangeMan ZMF, to see the history of deployments in environments. Relevant deployment result information is shown in turnovers' Deployment, Deployment Path, and Deployment Tasks tabs.
• Visibility into Component Versions: You can create and download component versions directly from turnovers. Component version and snapshot association at the turnover level limits the component versions and snapshots available for selection in the deployment tasks for the turnover.

Deployment Tasks

• Associate Environments: Now when you create a deployment task, you select the environments to which you want it to apply. The environments are limited by the turnover to which the deployment task belongs, based on the deployment path associated with the turnover.
• Create Multiple Tasks at Once: When you click Save, deployment tasks are created for each of the environments you selected.
• Associate Component Versions and Snapshots: You can associate Release Automation component versions and snapshots with the deployment task. For automation deployment tasks, this controls which component versions are deployed. The component versions and snapshots are limited by the turnover to which the deployment task belongs.
• Create and Download Component Versions: You can create and download component versions directly from deployment tasks.
• Select Associations When Copying from Runbooks: When you create deployment tasks by copying runbook tasks, you'll be able to choose the target environments for which deployment tasks are to be created. After the deployment tasks are created, you can add the component version and snapshot associations to the deployment tasks.
• New Copy Scenarios Between Runbooks and Turnovers: The runbook is still associated with just one environment, but deployment tasks can be created for multiple environments, so now there are different copy options available depending on the situation in which you are copying deployment tasks to and from turnovers and runbooks. See Runbooks.

Runbooks

• Select Associations After Copying to Tasks: When you create a runbook from deployment tasks, you can select one environment for the deployment tasks, but component versions and snapshots are not copied. These must be added to the deployment tasks after the runbook tasks have been copied to the turnover.
• Create Multiple Deployment Tasks at Once: You can select a runbook and apply its deployment tasks to one or many environments in a turnover. When you save, deployment tasks are created for each of the environments you selected.
• Save to a Runbook from One Environment: You can take deployment tasks from a single environment on a turnover and save them as a runbook. See Turnovers and Deployment Tasks.

Deployment Paths

• Multiple Environment Sequence: You can now deploy to a controlled sequence of environments using a deployment path as described in Enhancements. Refer to the Serena Release Manager documentation for details.

Defect Fixes

Visit the Knowledge Base to see the defects fixed in this release.

More Information

To learn more about Serena Release Manager, visit these areas:

• Serena Documentation Center
• Product Overview
• Release Automation Readme
• Community