Blueprint Management › Create Blueprints

Create Blueprints

CA Configuration Automation lets you build and maintain custom blueprints. Although simple blueprints can be easy to build, detailed and complex blueprints require careful planning and testing.

Follow these steps:

1. Click Management in the upper right of the main product page, and then click the Blueprints tab on the upper left.

   The Blueprints pane opens, listing all existing blueprints.

2. Select Create Blueprint from the Table Actions drop-down list in the Blueprints pane.

   The Create Blueprint wizard opens.

3. Complete the fields on the Blueprint page Component Blueprint pane, and then click Next.

   The Discovery Methods page opens. It displays the File Indicators pane and the Add New Search Options pane.

4. Complete the Search Options fields on the Add New Search Options pane.
5. Click Add Directory/File, and then complete the File Indicators fields in the Add New File pane.
6. Click the Registry Indicators link.

   The Registry Indicators pane displays with Registry Indicators expanded and the \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE element selected. The \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE pane displays the Search Options fields.

7. Complete the Search Options fields in the \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE pane, and then click Save.
8. Click Add Registry Value/Key.
9. Complete the Registry Indicators fields in the Add New Registry Value/Key pane.
10. Click the Network Probes link.

    The Network Probes pane displays with the Network Probes element selected. The Add New Network Probe pane displays the Network Probe fields.

    On servers without CA Configuration Automation agents, discovery operations can use network probes to:

    • Scan ports
    • Collect the responses from the scanned ports
    • Determine the type of service that is active on a scanned port by comparing the responses against expected expressions
11. Complete the Network Probe fields, and then click Next.

    The Discovery Verification Rules page displays with the Discovery Verification Rules element selected in the left pane. The Add New Discovery Verification Rule pane displays the Discovery Verification Rule fields.

    The product runs the verification rules during discovery to verify that the discovered components are correctly identified. In some cases, the file and registry indicators cannot determine the existence of installed components. Similarly, the file and registry are sometimes unable to distinguish between two components with similar indicators. If a verification rule fails, the component discovery fails.

12. Complete the Discovery Verification Rule fields, and then click Next.

    The product saves the Discovery Verification Rule values, and then displays the Management page. The $(Root) folder is selected in the File Management pane, and the $(Root) pane displays the File Management Options fields. The Management page links the following pages:

    • File Filters and Attributes
    • Registry Management
    • Registry Filters and Attributes
    • Data Management

    These pages let you define important file attributes, registry entries, and database elements that are associated with this managed component.

    If no files or registry entries are defined, the product manages all files under the component root directory and registry entries under the registry. If a component has a limited number of files or registry entries, allow all files and registry entries under the root to manage them. However, for a complex component with many files, specify only the important directories, files, and registry entries on which to focus. Identifying specific files and registry entries from the Management page lets you refine the managed component view.

13. Complete the File Management Options fields in the Management page $(Root) pane.
14. (Optional) Click Add Directory, complete the Directory fields on the Add New Directory pane, and then click Save.

    The product adds the directory below the $(Root) directory in the File Management pane.

15. (Optional) Click Add File, complete the File fields on the Add New File pane, and then click Save.

    The product adds the file below the $(Root) directory in the File Management pane.

16. (Optional) Select a node in the File Management pane and repeat Steps 14 and 15 as appropriate to create subdirectories and other nested files.

    The product adds the new elements below the selected node in the File Management pane.

17. Click the File Filters and Attributes link.

    The File Filters and Attributes pane displays the directory and file structure that you created in Steps 14 through 16 below the $(Root) folder.

18. Define filters and attributes for the blueprint file.
19. Click the Registry Management link, complete the Registry Management fields, and then click Save.
20. (Optional) Click Add Key, complete the Key fields on the Add New Key pane, and then click Save.

    The product adds the key below the $(RegistryRoot) directory in the Registry Management pane.

21. (Optional) Click Add Value, complete the Value fields on the Add New Value pane, and then click Save.

    The product adds the file below the $(RegistryRoot) directory in the Registry Management pane.

22. (Optional) Select a node in the Registry Management pane and repeat Steps 20 and 21 as appropriate to create other nested keys and values.

    The product adds the new keys or values below the selected node in the Registry Management pane.

23. Define registry filters and attributes for the blueprint.

    The product adds the key below the $(RegistryRoot) directory in the Registry Management pane.

24. Click the Data Management link.

    The left pane displays the Data Management folder, and the right pane displays the Database page.

25. Complete the fields on the Database page, and then click Save.

    The database appears in the Data Management pane.

26. Click Next.

    The Component Parameters and Variables page opens.

27. Complete the fields on the Component Parameters and Variables page, and then click Save.
28. Click Next.

    The Configuration - File Parsing page opens.

29. Complete the fields on the Configuration - File Parsing page, and then click the Configuration Executables link.
30. Complete the fields on the Configuration Executables page, and then click Save.
31. Click the Configuration Data link, and then complete the Database field, which defines the database that the blueprint uses. The drop-down list displays the databases that you created in Step 23.
32. Click Save. The Configuration Data tree in the left pane displays the database.
33. Complete the fields on the Add Query pane, and then click Save. The Configuration Data tree in the left pane shows the query.
34. Click the File Structure Data link, complete the fields on the File Structure Class tab, and then click Save. The File Structure Class tree in the left pane shows the structure class.
35. Click the Precedence tab, click Add Group or Add Parameter, and then complete the displayed fields.
36. Click Next, complete the fields on the Macros page, and then click Next.

    The Component Grouping Options page opens. The page contains options that let you nest components in a service for display to emphasize the relationships between them. For example, when a component depends on subordinate components in the primary component file system root, you can use nesting to enforce the parent-child relationship.

    Oracle databases, for example, typically install a Java Runtime Engine and an Apache Web server in the installation directory. The product expresses the relationship between the utility components and the Oracle database by nesting the JRE and Apache in the Oracle component.

37. Complete the fields on the Component Grouping Options page, and then click Finish.

    The product creates the blueprint, which then appears in the Blueprint table.

Define Blueprint File Filters and Attributes

Follow these steps:

1. Select the $(Root) folder.

   The Precedence table lists the directories in $(Root).

2. (Optional) Select a column, and then select Move Up or Move Down from the Select Actions drop-down list to change the directory precedence.

   Consider order when you apply meta-links to File Structure Classes (descriptions, rules, filters, and categories) on the parsed data (parameters and groups) and overlays. The Change Detection, the Compare, and the Rule Compliance operations consider the order to process the content to match correct values.

   For example, consider the following parameter definitions in a Blueprint File Structure Class, each with its own rules, category filters, and weights:

   ab.*
   

   a.*
   

   .*
   

   • All parameters that start with a get their respective filters.
   • All parameters that start with ab get their respective filters. In this case, the product overrides the preceding a.*.
   • All parameters that do not start with a or ab get the respective filters that .* specifies.

   Therefore, define more specific parameters first, and then define more generic parameters.

3. (Optional) Repeat Step 2 for the files that the Files table lists.
4. Assign a category or create a filter for the selected directory or file.
5. Click a file or directory, and then double-click one or more options in the Available Categories column.

   The product adds your selections to the Selected Categories column.

6. Double-click one or more options in the Available Filters column.

   The product adds your selections to the Selected Filters column.

7. Select the file or directory Weight, and then click Save.
8. Click the Rules tab.

   The Rules tab defines rules that constrain file and directory values in the Managed - File System overlay. The rules include both explicit constraint rules that you create and predefined, implicit constraint rules. For example, if you specify a value or data type for an element, CA Configuration Automation automatically creates an implicit Check Default or Verify Data Type rule.

9. Complete the fields on the Rules tab.

Define Blueprint Registry Filters and Attributes

Follow these steps:

1. Click the Registry Filters and Attributes link.

   The Registry Filters and Attributes pane displays the $(RegistryRoot) folder and the $(RegistryRoot) pane displays the Precedence tab. The tab shows existing keys and values in the corresponding tables.

2. (Optional) Select a row by which to set the directory precedence, and then select Move Up or Move down from the Select Actions drop-down list.

   The product reorders the directories. The importance of sequencing keys and values is similar to the sequencing described in Step 18.

3. Click Add Key, and then complete the Key pane Name (regex) and Description fields.
4. Double-click one or more options in the Available Categories column. The product adds them to the Selected Categories column.
5. Double-click one or more options in the Available Filters column. The product adds them to the Selected Filters column.
6. Complete the remaining fields in the Key pane, and then click Save.
7. In the Registry Filters and Attributes pane, select the key to which to assign a value.
8. In the right pane, click Add Value, and then complete the Value pane Name (regex) and Description fields.
9. Double-click one or more options in the Available Categories column to add them to the Selected Categories column.
10. Double-click one or more options in the Available Filters column to add them to the Selected Filters column.
11. Complete the remaining fields in the Value pane, and then click Save.

    The product adds the key below the $(RegistryRoot) directory in the Registry Management pane.