Stonebranch SaaS

Overview

Stonebranch SaaS is the Universal Controller hosted by Stonebranch in the AWS Cloud.

Note

Stonebranch SaaS is officially SOC2 Type 2 certified as of July 15, 2021.

Stonebranch SaaS contains the exact same set of functionalities, features, and Web GUI as an on-premise installation.

This hosted solution is fully managed by Stonebranch, including installation and regular upgrades to newer releases.  This relieves SaaS customers of server and platform management and allows them to focus on scheduling automated IT jobs, workloads, and business processes via the Web GUI.

Differences between an on-premise installation and a Stonebranch SaaS deployment are explained in the following table.

Stonebranch SaaS Specifications

SpecificationInformation on Stonebranch SaaS

Responsibility Layer

With Stonebranch SaaS:

  • Stonebranch fully manages all back-end resources.  SaaS customers have no access to the back-end servers, databases, or other resources.
  • All customer access occurs via the Controller GUI or API.  Customers are responsible for their agents, workload, bundle and promotion between environments, and user/group management.  This includes ensuring that secure passwords are used.

By contrast, customers that perform an on-premise Controller installation are responsible for every aspect of their environment.

Controller Time Zone

The default (best practice) time zone for Stonebranch SaaS is UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).  However, customers can decide which time zone that they want Stonebranch SaaS to use.

Note

Triggers can be individually configured to use custom time zones independent of the back-end resources.

Authentication

For Stonebranch SaaS, customers must decide what login method they will use:

A customer requesting Single Sign-On must work with Stonebranch for implementation.:

  • Inform Stonebranch which identity provider they will use.
  • Provide Stonebranch with an IdP file.

Networking

Stonebranch SasS customers can only run workload on agents they connect to the Controller or via API.

Based on the customers networking requirements/restrictions, firewall modifications may need to be implemented to allow communication between the agents and the Stonebranch back end.  

One example of this is modifying an on-site firewall to allow outbound connections to an IP:PORT provided by Stonebranch.

There currently are two connectivity options:

  • Agents connecting to the Stonebranch SaaS Controller via TLS over the internet.
  • Site-to-site VPN between Stonebranch and customer data center.

If site-to-site VPN is requested, customers must work with Stonebranch for implementation by providing the following information:

  • Gateway vendor to be used (for example: Cisco, Palo Alto, SonicWALL, Check Point).
  • IP(s) used for their public-facing gateway.
  • Private subnet to be used (for example, 172.16.0.0/16).

Shared Responsibility Layer

OwnerResponsibilityComponents
CustomerSecurity "in" the Cloud
StonebranchSecurity "of" the Cloud
  • Application
  • Infrastructure
    • Servers
    • Databases
    • Networking


Universal Controller User Documentation

The following tables identify, and link to, the sections of the Universal Controller user documentation that are relevant to Stonebranch SaaS.

General Information

General InformationInformation about understanding and using Universal Controller. 
Logging InMethods of logging in to the Controller; restrictions and notifications; additional login information.
User InterfaceExplanation of the Controller user interface.
Problem Resolution - OperationsResolution for possible problems associated with Controller operations.
Error MessagesError messages related to problem resolutions for Controller operations.

Administration

AdministrationInformation about various administrative procedures for Universal Controller. 
LDAP SettingsProcedures for enabling the LDAP bridge, for both UNIX and Windows operating systems, via the user interface
Single Sign-On Settings

Information about enabling Web Browser Single Sign-On (SSO) through Security Assertion Markup Language 2.0 (SAML 2.0).

Password SettingsInformation on configuring settings for all user passwords.
Universal TemplatesInformation on creating and using Universal Templates on which Universal Tasks are based.

Remote Interfaces

Remote InterfacesInformation about implementing Universal Controller work outside the user interface.
RESTful Web Services APIRESTful-based web services API that allows you to perform multiple operations.

Resources

ResourcesRecords that both define your Universal Automation Center system and that you set up to help facilitate operations.
Resources OverviewIdentifies all Controller Resources.
Agents OverviewIdentifies agents, running programs on one or more remote machines.:
Agent ClustersGroups of agents from which the Controller uses pre-defined parameters to select the most appropriate agent for a task.
ScriptsInformation on using scripts stored in the Controller database.
Email Templates

Information on how to construct information that can be copied to create Email tasks.

Email ConnectionsProvides email server information required for the Controller to send an email.
SAP Connections

Provides SAP server information required for running SAP tasks.

PeopleSoft Connections

Provides PeopleSoft server information required for running PeopleSoft tasks.

SNMP Managers

Information on how to generate SNMP Notifications.

Security

SecurityInformation about various aspects of Controller security.
Users and GroupsProcedures for creating users and User groups for the Controller.
Roles and Permissions

Assigning roles for user and group access to administrative functions within the Controller, and assigning permissions that control user and groups access to specific functions for specific types of Controller records.

Credentials

Information on the user ID and password under which an agent runs tasks on the machine where the Agent resides.

Business ServicesInformation on how to organize data into groups of related information.
AuditsDetailed records of all user interactions with the Controller.

Tasks and Workflows

Tasks and WorkflowsInformation about the tasks and workflows that run processes. 
Creating TasksInformation on the different tasks that execute processes on local or remote machines.
Creating Task ActionsActions that can defined for specific tasks.
Creating Task Virtual ResourcesDefining virtual resources for specific tasks.
Copying TasksInformation on copying tasks.
Setting Mutually Exclusive TasksSet a task to be mutually exclusive with one or more other tasks.
Creating Notes

Create a note for any Controller task or script.

Manually Running and Controlling TasksIssuing commands against running tasks.
Creating and Maintaining WorkflowsInformation on how to create and maintain workflows.
Monitoring Task and Workflow ActivityMethods of monitoring tasks and workflows progress.
IntegrationsInformation on creating Universal Tasks based on Universal Templates

Variables and Functions

Variables and FunctionsInformation about various variables and functions.
Variables and Functions OverviewIdentifies types of variables and how they are used.
User-Defined VariablesInformation on variables defined by the user.
Built-In VariablesInformation on variables maintained by the Controller.
Creating a Set Variable ActionInformation on setting a variable to a specific value and scope.
FunctionsIdentifies types of functions and how they are used.

Triggers and Calendars

TriggersInformation about the different types of triggers and their calendars.
Triggers OverviewInformation on creating types of triggers.
Enabling and Disabling TriggersInstructions on how to enable and disable triggers.

Assigning and Unassigning Trigger Execution Users

Information on assigning execution users to triggers
Copying TriggersInstructions on how to copy a trigger.
Triggering with VariablesInformation on to launch a trigger with variables.
Triggering by Date and TimeInformation on to launch a trigger by date and time..
Displaying Trigger Forecast InformationInformation on displaying and re-calculating trigger forecasts.
Calendars OverviewInformation on setting up and using calendars.
Creating Custom DaysInstruction on how to create custom days for calendars
Creating CalendarsInstruction on how to create calendars.
Copying CalendarsInstruction on how to copy calendars.

Application Monitoring and Control

Application Monitoring and ControlInformation on application resources, tasks, and triggers.
OverviewInformation on application monitoring and processing.
Application ResourcesInformation on defining application monitoring records.
Application Control TasksInformation on defining application monitoring tasks.
Application Monitor TriggersInformation on defining application monitoring triggers.

Reporting

ReportsInformation on dashboards, reports, and widgets.
Dashboard DetailsInformation on the Controller dashboards that displays system information and activity.
Report DetailsInformation on running various types of built-in and user-defined reports.
WidgetsInformation on the widgets that make up the dashboards
ColorsInformation on assigning colors to task instance statuses.

Bundles and Promotion

Bundles and PromotionInformation on creating, scheduling and promoting bundles of Controller records.