Creating a Universal Task
Before You Begin
Universal Task allows you to run a platform-specific application on a Linux/Unix or Windows machine. To run a Universal task, you must first complete the following tasks:
Install Universal Agent for Linux/Unix on a Linux/Unix machine and/or install Universal Agent for Windows on a Windows machine.
Launch the Agent(s). When an Agent connects with the Controller, it automatically creates an Agent resource definition in the database.
Optionally, customize the Agent heartbeat and log levels, as described in:
Built-In Variables
In addition to the system-assigned variables in the Universal Template script that a Universal task executes, the following built-in variables can be used in a Universal task to pass data where appropriate:
Creating a Universal Task
Step 1 | From the Universal Tasks section of the Automation Center navigation pane, select a Universal Task type. The Universal Tasks list for that Universal Task type displays. |
|---|---|
Step 2 | Enter / select Details for a new Universal Task, using the field descriptions below as a guide.
To display more of the Details fields on the screen, you can either:
|
Step 3 | Click a Save button. The task is added to the database, and all buttons and tabs in the Universal Task Details are enabled. |
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).
Universal Task Details
The following Universal Task Details is for an existing Universal task.
Depending on the values that you enter / select for these fields, and whether or not the Universal Task has ever been launched, more (or less) fields may display. See the field descriptions, below, for a description of all fields that may display in the Universal Task Details.
Universal Task Details Field Descriptions
The following table describes the fields, buttons, and tabs that display in the Universal Task Details.
Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
General | This section contains general information about the task. |
Name | User-defined name of this task (Maximum = 255 alphanumeric characters); variables supported. It is the responsibility of the user to develop a workable naming scheme for tasks. |
Version | System-supplied; version number of the current record, which is incremented by the Controller every time a user updates a record. Click the Versions tab to view previous versions. For details, see Record Versioning. |
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. |
Resolve Name Immediately | If enabled, the Instance Name of the task instance will be resolved immediately at trigger/launch time. |
Time Zone Preference | User-defined; Allows you to specify the time zone that will be applied to the task. Options:
|
Hold on Start |
If enabled, when the task is launched it appears in the Activity Monitor with a status of Held. The task runs when the user releases it. |
Hold Reason |
Information about why the task will be put on hold when it starts. |
Virtual Resource Priority | |
Agent Details | This section contains assorted detailed information about the Agent. |
Agent Variable | |
Agent Cluster Variable | |
Credentials Variable | |
Cluster Broadcast | |
Cluster Broadcast Variable | |
For Windows Agents; Execute the task using an elevated privileges token, rather than one subject to User Account Control (UAC) restrictions. An elevated token allows a process to execute with all the privileges available to its specified credentials. For example, a task executed with an administrative account will behave as though it received permission via a UAC dialog to perform a privileged operation. Note This option only will affect tasks executed on Windows systems that support User Account Control (UAC). It will have no affect on tasks run on Windows releases prior to Vista (for example, Windows XP, Server 2003). | |
Universal Task Details | This section contains assorted detailed information about the Agent. Note The fields in this section may have Read Only or Hidden restrictions applied to them, as specified in the Universal Template on which the Universal Task is based. |
Environment Variables | |
Result Processing Details | This section contains assorted detailed information about result processing for this task. |
If Output Type is Extension; Output type that the Result Processing mechanism should assume when evaluating the output. If the expected output is XML or JSON, it is valid to specify Text. However, when specifying XML or JSON, the output must be XML or JSON respectively; otherwise, the parsing will fail and the path expression evaluation will return no matches. | |
XPath Expression if Content Type is XML, or the JsonPath Expression if Content Type is JSON, to be used when evaluating the Extension output. | |
If Output Type is Extension; Condition Operator to evaluate in combination with the specified condition Value. | |
If Output Type is Extension; Condition Value to evaluate in combination with the specified condition Operator. | |
If Content Type is XML or JSON; Strategy to take when applying the condition Operator and Value against the Path Expression matches when Content Type is XML or JSON. | |
Enables the auto cleanup of Extension output upon task instance completion or, if the task instance is within a workflow, when the top level workflow instance completes. | |
Output File (for Exit Code Processing) | |
Start Line | |
Number of Lines | |
Scan Text | |
Output File (for Automatic Output Retrieval) | |
Retry Options | This section contains specifications for retrying the task. |
Retry Indefinitely | |
Retry Interval (Seconds) | |
Suppress Intermediate Failures | |
Wait / Delay Options | This section contains specifications for waiting to start and/or delaying on start the task. |
Time Options | This section contains time-related specifications for the task. |
Critical Path Options | This section contains Critical Path-related specifications for the task. |
Workflow Execution Options | This section contains Execution Restriction specifications for the task if it is within a Workflow. |
Statistics | This section contains time-related statistics for task instances of the task. |
First Execution | |
Last Execution | |
Last Instance Duration | |
Lowest Instance Time | |
Average Instance Time | |
Highest Instance Time | |
Number of Instances | |
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 Task Details that let you perform various actions. |