Preparing Bundles for Promotion

Owned by Former user (Deleted)
Last updated: Jun 23, 2023 by Stonebranch (Deactivated)
16 min read

Your user ID must have the ops_bundle_admin role, or be granted Bundle permissions, to use this feature.

Overview

There are four methods of preparing a Bundle for promotion. Each method involves creating a Bundle and selecting records to be included in the Bundle.

  1. Select individual records to include in a Bundle.
  2. Automatically create a Bundle, including all records of specified record types created or updated on or after a specified date, by Creating a Bundle for Promotion by Date.
  3. Automatically create a Bundle, including all records of specified record types that are members of one or more specified Business Services, by Creating a Bundle for Promotion by Business Services.
  4. Configure the Promote By Business Service Membership section of a Bundle to dynamically include all records belonging to one or more business services at the time of promotion.

For each method, you can manually add additional records to a Bundle after it has been created.

Any records explicitly added to a Bundle can be removed from the Bundle after it has been created. However, if the Promote By Business Service Membership feature is configured for a Bundle, all records that qualify based on Business Service membership at the time of promotion will be included.

Creating a Bundle for Promotion by Selecting Individual Records

You can select individual records to include in a Bundle promotion.

Step 1

From the Bundles & Promotion navigation pane, select Bundles. The Bundles list displays.
 
To the right of the list, Bundle Details for a new Bundle record displays.
 

Step 2

Enter / select Details for a new Bundle, using the field descriptions below as a guide.
 
(The only required field is Name. You do not have to select a Default Promotion Target; you can select (or override) a promotion target when you promote the Bundle.)
 
To display more of the Details fields on the screen, you can either:

  • Use the scroll bar.
  • Temporarily hide the list above the Details.
  • Click the  button above the list to display a pop-up version of the Details.

Step 3

Click a  button. The Bundle record is added to the database, and all buttons and tabs in the Bundle Details are enabled.

Step 4

Open the Bundle and begin adding records to the Bundle.

Step 5

Click the  button.

Note

To open an existing record on the list, either:

  • Click a record in the list to display its record Details below the list. (To clear record Details below the list, click the New button that displays above and below the Details.)
  • Clicking the Details icon next to a record name in the list, or right-click a record in the list and then click Open in the Action menu that displays, to display a pop-up version of the record Details.
  • Right-click a record in the a list, or open a record and right-click in the record Details, and then click Open In Tab in the Action menu that displays, to display the record Details under a new tab on the record list page (see Record Details as Tabs).

Creating a Bundle for Promotion by Date

This feature allows you to create a bundle for promotion based on a created (or updated) date. You select one or more types of records to be included in the bundle and a date. Any records that have been created or updated since the specified date that match the specified record type(s) will be included in the bundle.

The created bundle will have an Exclude on Existence field value based on the configuration of the Bundle Exclude On Existence Picker Default Universal Controller system property. To modify this and any other field, navigate to the Bundle Details of the created bundle.

Step 1

From the Bundles & Promotion navigation pane, select Bundles. The Bundles list displays.
 

Step 2

Click the Create By Date button at the top of the list. The Create By Date pop-up displays.
 

Step 3

The Types To Include drop-down list pre-selects all record types (by highlighting them in blue). Use Ctrl+click to de-select any record type for records that you do not want in the Bundle.
 

Note

Only records for record types that you have permission to Read will be included in the bundle.

Step 4

The Updated On Or After field specifies the current date, by default. You can change the date manually or by clicking the Calendar icon. All records created or updated on or after the date that you specify will be included in the bundle.

Step 5

Enter a Name and, optionally, select one more Business Services that this Bundle will be a member of. Then click the Submit button. If any records qualified for inclusion in the Bundle, the Bundle is created, saved to the database, and the Bundle Details display below the list. However, if no records qualified according to the specified date, the Bundle is not saved.

Step 6

You then can open the Bundle and enter / select additional Details for the Bundle, using the field descriptions below as a guide.

  • Required fields display an asterisk ( * ) after the field name.
  • Default values for fields, if available, display automatically.

To display more of the Details fields on the screen, you can temporarily hide the list.

Step 7

As desired, you also can add any additional records to (or remove any included records from) the Bundle.

Step 8

Click the  button.

Creating a Bundle for Promotion by Business Services

This feature allows you to create a bundle for promotion based on Business Service membership. You select one or more types of records to be included in the bundle and one or more Business Services of which individual records for those record types must be a member.

The created bundle will have an Exclude on Existence field value based on the configuration of the Bundle Exclude On Existence Picker Default Universal Controller system property. To modify this and any other field, navigate to the Bundle Details of the created bundle.

Step 1

From the Bundles & Promotion navigation pane, select Bundles. The Bundles list displays.
 

Step 2

Click the Create Bundle By Business Service button at the top of the list. The Create Bundle By Business Service pop-up displays.
 

Step 3

In the Member of Business Services field, specify Business Service memberships for the Bundle being created. Otherwise, if your Bundle permissions are limited to specific Business Services, you may not be able to create the Bundle.

Step 4

The Types To Include drop-down list pre-selects all record types (by highlighting them in blue) for records that can belong to Business Services. Use Ctrl+click to de-select any record type for records that you do not want in the Bundle.
 

Note

Only records for record types that you have permission to Read will be included in the bundle.

Step 4

In the Business Services To Include field, select one or more Business Services whose records you want to include in the Bundle.

Step 5

Enter a Name and, optionally, select one more Business Services that this Bundle will be a member of. Then click the Submit button. If any records qualified for inclusion in the Bundle, the Bundle is created, saved to the database, and the Bundle Details display below the list. However, if no records qualified according to the specified Business Service(s), the Bundle is not saved.

Step 6

You then can open the Bundle and enter / select additional Details for the Bundle, using the field descriptions below as a guide.

  • Required fields display an asterisk ( * ) after the field name.
  • Default values for fields, if available, display automatically.

To display more of the Details fields on the screen, you can temporarily hide the list.

Step 7

As desired, you also can add any additional records to (or remove any included records from) the Bundle.

Step 8

Click the  button.

Promoting Bundles by Business Service Membership

Note

You can promote a Bundle by Business Service Membership only if the Promote By Business Service Membership Universal Controller system property is set to true (the default). 

In addition to creating a Bundle for promotion by Business Services, you also can promote a Bundle by Business Service membership. When the Bundle is promoted, any record that is a member of one or more of the specified Business Services will be bundled dynamically - based on the current configuration of the system - during the promotion. These dynamically bundled records will be included in the promotion in addition to any records that you added to the Bundle statically.

These records will not be visible from the corresponding Bundle tabs; they will appear only in the Bundle Report, which will identify all records bundled dynamically with a + in the Added By column.

Step 1

From the Bundles & Promotion navigation pane, select Bundles. The Bundles list displays.
 
Below the list, Bundle Details for a new Bundle record displays. (You also can click the  button to display Bundle Details for a new Bundle.)
 

Step 2

Enter / select Details for a new Bundle, using the field descriptions below as a guide.
 
(The only required field is Name. You do not have to select a Default Promotion Target; you can select (or override) a promotion target when you promote the Bundle.)
 

Note

If you view Bundle Details for an existing Bundle by clicking a Bundle in the list, and then want to create a new Bundle record, you must click the  button that displays above and below the Details.

Step 3

Select one or more Business Services from the Promote Members of Business Services drop-down list.

Step 4

In the Visible To field, select a User to which all records being promoted by Business Service membership must be visible. Any qualifying record that is a member of the specified Business Service(s) but is not visible to the specified user will not be promoted.

Step 5

Click the  button. If any records qualified for inclusion in the Bundle, the Bundle is created, saved to the database, and the Bundle Details display below the list. However, if no records qualified according to the specified Business Service(s), the Bundle is not saved. When the Bundle is promoted, all records that are members of the specified Business Services at the time of the promotion will be included in the promotion.

Step 6

As desired, you can open the Bundle and add any additional records to the Bundle.

Step 7

Click the  button.


Bundle Details

The following Bundle Details is for an existing Bundle. See the field descriptions, below, for a description of all fields that display in the Bundle Details.

For information on how to access additional details - such as Metadata and complete database Details - for Bundles (or any type of record), see Records.

Bundle Details Field Descriptions

The following table describes the fields, buttons, and tabs that display in the Bundle Details.
 

Field Name

Description

Details

This section contains detailed information about the Bundle.

Name

Name for this bundle.

Description

Description of this record. Maximum length is 255 characters.

Member of Business Services

User-defined; Allows you to select one or more Business Services that this record belongs to.  (You also can Check All or Uncheck All Business Services for this record.)

You can select up to 62 Business Services for any record type, and enter a maximum of 2048 characters for each Business Service.

If the Business Service Visibility Restricted Universal Controller system property is set to true, depending on your assigned (or inherited) Permissions or Roles, Business Services available for selection may be restricted.

Default Promotion Target

Allows you to browse for and select a Promotion Target, which you defined using the Promotion Targets feature.

If you do not specify a default promotion target, you will be prompted for a target when performing a promotion of the bundle.

Exclude on Existence

Record types in the promotion payload that will not be updated if they exist on the target server. You can:

  • Select one or more record types from the drop-down list.
  • Click Check All above the list to select all record types.
  • Click Uncheck All above the list to de-select all record types.

For new Bundles, the Bundle Exclude On Existence Picker Default Universal Controller system property specifies which record types, if any, will be selected by default.

Follow References


Specification for whether or not to dynamically include items that are referenced by bundled item definitions, including items being promoted as members of Business Services.

For example, if you bundle an Email Task and enable the Follow References field, the Email Connection and/or Email Template referenced by the Email Task will be included in the promotion operation. If you bundle a Trigger and enable the Follow References option, the Task(s) and Calendar referenced by the Trigger will be included in the promotion. Tasks within a bundled Workflow are included in the promotion regardless of the Follow Reference option. Custom Days that are defined within a bundled Calendar are included in the promotion regardless of the Follow Reference option as well.

(The information included is similar to the information included in an XML export with references.)


See Records Promoted When Follow References is Selected or Not Selected.

Promote Bundle Definition

Enable this option to promote the Bundle Details, along with the Bundle itself, when promoting the Bundle.

Promote By Business Service Membership

This section contains detailed information for promoting the Bundle with records that are members of one or more Business Service and are visible to a specified user.

Note

This section displays if either:

If the Promote By Business Service Membership property is set to false and either the Promote Members of Business Services or Visible To field is non-empty, the section will display. If you update the fields so that they both are empty, the section will disappear.

Promote Members of Business Services

Business Service(s) whose members will be included in the promoted Bundle.

Visible To

User to which all records being promoted by Business Service membership must be visible. Any qualifying record that is a member of the specified Business Service(s) but is not visible to the specified user will not be promoted.
 

Notre

Records that are visible to a user are records that the user has permission to Read.

 
Default is the last user to update the Promote Members of Business Services field.
 
You can change the specified user by clicking the Edit button next to the Visible To field. An Edit Visible To pop-up dialog displays:
 

Metadata

This section contains Metadata information about this record.

UUID

Universally Unique Identifier of this record.

Updated By

Name of the user that last updated this record.

Updated

Date and time that this record was last updated.

Created By

Name of the user that created this record.

Created

Date and time that this record was created.

Buttons

This section identifies the buttons displayed above and below the Bundle Details that let you perform various actions.

Save

Saves a new record in the Controller database.

Save & New

Saves a new record in the Controller database and redisplays empty Details so that you can create another new record.

Save & View

Saves a new record in the Controller database and continues to display that record.

New

Displays empty (except for default values) Details for creating a new record.

Update

Saves updates to the record.

Bundle Report


Allows you to generate a report about the current bundle. See Generating a Bundle Report.

Promote Bundle

Allows you to promote this bundle to a target Universal Controller server. See Promoting Bundles and Records to a Target.

Delete

Deletes the current record.

Refresh

Refreshes any dynamic data displayed in the Details.

Close

For pop-up view only; closes the pop-up view of this record.

Tabs

This section identifies the tabs across the top of the Bundle Details that provide access to additional information about the Bundle.

<record type> tabs

Each tab of the following record types lists the records of that type that belong to this Bundle. An Edit button on each record type list allows you to add records to and remove records from the Bundle (see Adding and Removing Records in a Bundle, below).

  • Triggers
  • Tasks
  • Calendars
  • Custom Days
  • Variables
  • Business Services
  • Credentials
  • Agent Clusters
  • Virtual Resources
  • Scripts
  • Email Templates
  • Email Connections
  • Database Connections
  • SNMP Managers
  • SAP Connections
  • PeopleSoft Connections
  • Applications
  • Universal Templates

Adding and Removing Records in a Bundle

If you want to select individual records for a Bundle promotion, you first must create and save a Bundle, which is empty of records until you manually add them.

If you selected a date for a Bundle promotion, the Bundle automatically contains records that were added or updated since the specified date, but you can manually add more records to the Bundle or remove any of the automatically added records from the Bundle.

If you selected Business Services Memberships for a Bundle Promotion, records that are members of the selected Business Services are not included in the Bundle until it is promoted. However, you can manually add additional records to the Bundle.

You can add a record to a Bundle from:

You can remove a record from a Bundle only from:

Adding and Removing Records from the Bundle Details

Step 1

Display the Bundle Details of the Bundle to which you want to add records.

Step 2

Click a <record type> tab for records that you want to add to the Bundle. A list of all records currently in the Bundle for that type are listed. (If you are adding records to a new Bundle, the list for every record type will be empty.)
 
For example:
 

Step 3

Click the  button above the list. An Edit Members pop-up displays that allows you to add records to the Bundle. For example:
 

 

  • The Collection window displays all records of this type that have not been added to the Bundle.
  • The Tasks List window displays all records of this type that have been added to the Bundle.

Step 4

To filter the records listed in the Collection window, enter characters in the text field above the Name column. Only records containing that sequence of characters will display in the list.

Step 5

To add a record to the Bundle, move the records from the Collection window to the List window:

  1. To move a single record, double-click it or click it once and then click the > arrow.
  2. To move multiple records, Ctrl-click them and then click the > arrow.
  3. To move all records, click the >| arrow.

To remove a record from the Bundle, move the record from the List window to the Collection window:

  1. To move a single record, double-click it or click it once and then click the < arrow.
  2. To move multiple records, Ctrl-click them and then click the < arrow.
  3. To move all records, click the |< arrow.

Step 6

Click .

Step 7

Repeat the above steps in the appropriate tabs for all records you want to add.

Adding a Record to a Bundle from the Record Details

Step 1

Display the list of records containing the record that you want to add to a Bundle.

Step 2

Either right-click the record you want to add or display the Details for that record.

Step 3

Display the Action menu and select Add To Bundle. The Add To Bundle pop-up displays.
 

Step 4

Select a Name from the drop-down list and click Submit. The record is added to the Bundle (see Displaying the Bundles List for a Record).

Adding Multiple Records to a Bundle from a Records List

Step 1

Display the list of records containing the records that you want to add to a Bundle.

Step 2

Either:
 
Ctrl-click the records that you want to add to the Bundle, display the Action menu, and select Add To Bundle. The Add To Bundle pop-up displays.
 

 
OR
 
On any tasks list, right-click any column header for the list, display the Action menu, and select Run Command On Filtered > Add To Bundle.... The Add To Bundle pop-up displays.
 

Step 4

Select a Name from the drop-down list and click Submit. The records are added to the Bundle (see Displaying the Bundles List for a Record).

Displaying the Bundles List for a Record

To display a list of Bundles that a record belongs to:

Step 1

Access the Action menu for the record and select View Bundles. A View Bundles pop-up displays the list of Bundles that the record belongs to.
 

Step 2

To view Details for a Bundle on the list, click its Name.

Reports

Universal Controller does not support the bundling and promotion of reports. Any report required by a promoted task must already be available on the target system.
 

Best Practice

We recommend that if you are sharing reports between systems:

  1. Create the reports on the source system.
  2. List Export the reports.
  3. List Import the reports into the target system.


If an Email Task or an Email Notification action for any task type contains a reference to a specific report by id, the promotion payload will include report meta data to allow for proper validation and potential remapping of the report reference on the target system.

The meta data includes:

  • Report id
  • Report title
  • Report user name / user id
  • Report group name / group id

If a report by the same id exists on the target system, no UUID mapping is required and the promotion can proceed without issue.

If a report by the same id does not exist on the target system, UUID mapping is required before the promotion can proceed.

Using the report metadata, the Controller will attempt to find a report on the target system with the same title and same visibility.

  • If a report is found, the incoming report id will be remapped to the appropriate target system report id.
  • If a report is not found, the promotion will fail with the following message: Unable to find mapping on target system for report reference id report-id. {meta-data}.
     

Note

You can disable all Report-related promotion validation on the target system via the Validate Report References On Promotion Universal Controller system property.