Creating Components

You can create a new component or import an existing one. See Importing/Exporting Components for information about importing components.

To create a component:

Ensure that any artifacts you want to import into Deployment Automation are ready and are in the location from which you want to import them, such as your file system or a source configuration tool.
Navigate to Management > Components.
Click the Component Actions button and then select Create Component.

Enter the information needed to create the component as follows:

Option	Description
Name	Identifies the component; appears in many UI features. Required.
Description	The optional description can be used to convey additional information about the component. If the component is used by more than one application, for example, entering "Used in applications A and B" can help identify how the component is used.
Template	A component template enables you to reuse component definitions; components based on templates inherit the template's source configuration, properties, and process. Any previously created templates are listed. A component can have a single template associated with it. The default value is None. If you select a template, the Template Version field is displayed, which is used to select a template version. By controlling the version, you can roll out template changes as required. The default value is Latest Version which means the component will automatically use the newest version, by creation date. See Creating Component Templates. Note: If you select a template that already has a source config type, the dialog box will change to reflect values defined for the template. Several fields, including the Source Config Type field, will become populated and locked.
Source Config Type	Defines the location from which to load the component's artifacts into Deployment Automation. All artifacts for a component must have the same source type. Selecting a value displays additional fields associated with the selection. For more information see Source Configuration Type Fields. Note: If you selected a template, this field is locked and its value is inherited from the template.
Import Versions Automatically	If selected, the source location is periodically polled for new versions; any found are automatically imported. Polling Period The time period in seconds between each poll for new versions. The polling interval is controlled by the Automatic Version Import Check Period (seconds) in Administration > System > System Settings. The default value is 15 seconds. Quiet Period The time period in minutes in which no polling is done. The quiet period starts after the last polling period that detected changes. There is no default quiet period; you must set it for each source type. If left deselected, you can manually create versions by using the Versions pane. By default, the check box is deselected. See Importing Versions Automatically for more information.
Copy to CodeStation	This option, selected by default, creates a tamper-proof copy of the artifacts and stores them in the embedded artifact management system, CodeStation. If deselected, only meta data about the artifacts are imported. For optimal use of Deployment Automation, the check box should be selected.
Default Version Type	Required. Defines how versions are imported into CodeStation. Full means the version is comprehensive and contains all artifacts; Incremental means the version contains a subset of the component's artifacts. The default value is Full.
Inherit Cleanup Settings	Determines how many component versions are kept in CodeStation, and how long they are kept. If selected, the component will use the values specified in Administration > System > System Settings. If deselected, additional fields appear.
Days to Keep Versions	If Inherit Cleanup Settings is not selected, this field appears, which enables you to define custom values. This is initially set to -1, keep indefinitely.
Number of Versions to Keep	If Inherit Cleanup Settings is not selected, this field appears, which enables you to define custom values. This is initially set to -1, keep indefinitely.
Run process after creating a new version	If selected, you may specify an application process and environment. The given application process will be run after a new version of the component is created.

To continue creating components and stay in the list, click Save. To start configuring the component you just created, click Build Out.

Saved components are listed in the Components page. If you have selected Import Versions Automatically, the initial versions will appear under the component's Versions after the polling period plus any quiet period have elapsed. If not, you must import the initial versions manually. See Component Versions.

Note: You can also create components from a selected application, with the option to create and then add the component in one dialog.