Creating Custom Processes

You create custom processes where you combine operations, provisioning blueprints, and custom processes available for execution as per your needs. You can then execute the custom process on all entities that fulfill the constraints defined for the custom process.

Prerequisites

You have assigned the roles and groups required to perform the operation.

For more information, see Standard Roles and Groups.
You have permission CustomProcess(Manage).

For more information, see Standard Permissions.
You know the constraints that you want to use for the custom process.

For more information, see Constraints.
You know the operators for refining constraints.

For more information, see Constraint Operators.
Optional: You have configured custom operations.

For more information, see Creating Custom Operations.
Optional: You have assigned entities to relations.

For more information, see Assigning Entities to Custom Relations.
Optional: You have specified the security setting Skip Authorization Checks for Operations within Custom Processes.

For more information, see Configuring Security Settings.

Procedure

Choose Automation Studio Custom Process.
Choose Create.
Enter a name for the custom process.
Optional: Enter a description to provide more information about the steps contained in the custom process.
Select the entity type for which you define the custom process. You have the following options:
- System
- Instance
- Host
- Virtual Element
Define the group for the custom process. You have the following options:
- Choose an existing group.
- Enter a name, to create a new group.

Select the permission required to execute the custom process. You have the following options:

Required Permission	Description
None	To execute the custom process, the user must have permission: SafeCustomProcess(Execute).
Normal	To execute the custom process, the user must have permission: CustomProcess(Execute).
Forced	To execute the custom process, the user must have permission: ForcedCustomProcess(Execute).
Critical	To execute the custom process, the user must have permission: CriticalCustomProcess(Execute).

Optional: To ignore the security setting Skip Authorization Checks for Operations within Custom Processes for this custom process, select the Ignore Global Security Setting: Skip Authorization Checks for Operations within Custom Processes checkbox and choose one of the following options:
- To perform an authorization check for operations within the custom process, select the Check Authorizations Required for Operations within the Custom Processs radio button.
- To skip the authorization checks for operations within the custom process, select the Ignore Authorizations Required for Operations within the Custom Process radio button.
Optional: Specify whether you want to release this custom process:
- To make this custom process available on the operation screens and release it for execution, select the Released checkbox.
- To make this custom process available only for users authorized to manage custom processes, keep the Released checkbox deselected. The custom process will not be available on the operations screens for users that are not authorized to manage custom processes.
Optional: To perform the custom process on more than one entity, select the Also Valid for Mass Operations checkbox.
Optional: To prevent a standalone execution of this custom process, select the Not applicable for Standalone Execution checkbox.

In order to execute custom processes that are not applicable for standalone execution, you have to add these custom processes as custom process step to another custom process.
To add constraints for the custom process, choose the Constraints tab.
Optional: Choose  Add a constraint.
1. Select the constraint.
2. Specify the operator.
3. Specify the value.
4. Choose Add Constraint.
To define the custom process, choose the Steps tab.
Select the New Step icon displayed.
In the Current Operation area, specify the operation, custom process, or provisioning blueprint.

Note
SAP Process Steps are only available when creating or editing a custom process.

When adding another custom process as custom process step, you have to ensure that all operation parameters of this custom process are bound to global parameters.
Recommendation
Do not add a custom process that also has a custom process as custom process step.

Optional: By default, all steps within a custom process are mandatory. If necessary, choose one of the following options:

Option	Description
Optional	Executing a custom process with mandatory steps on entities that do not fulfill the constraints defined for the custom process, results in an error. If you execute a custom process with optional steps on entities that do not fulfill the constraints defined for the custom process, SAP Landscape Management skips the optional steps. SAP Landscape Management displays optional steps as follows:
Executable on all Resolved Entities	Makes sure the operation will be executable on all resolved entities. If the operation is not executable on all resolved entities the process cannot be executed. SAP Landscape Management resolves the relation chain from top to bottom and validates all operation constraints against the relation chain. Resolved entities are all entities for which this validation was successful. Example You want to stop a whole system including database, application server, and so on. The stop operation is a mandatory step (not optional) in the custom process. The database has a validation issue, and all other instances are fine. As long as the step is mandatory, the operation will be executed and that could cause an issue if your database is still running. If you still have executable entities (application server) and select the option executable on all resolved entities, the process will not be executed because once the databased has been started cannot be stopped. This prevents the possible harm of having the database running. SAP Landscape Management displays steps that are executable on all resolved entities as follows:
Executable on all Resolved Entities and Optional	If there are no resolved entities, the step will be skipped. If there is at least one resolved entity, the step cannot be skipped. SAP Landscape Management displays optional steps that are optional and executable on all resolved entities as follows:

Option

Description

Optional

Executing a custom process with mandatory steps on entities that do not fulfill the constraints defined for the custom process, results in an error. If you execute a custom process with optional steps on entities that do not fulfill the constraints defined for the custom process, SAP Landscape Management skips the optional steps.

SAP Landscape Management displays optional steps as follows:

Executable on all Resolved Entities

Makes sure the operation will be executable on all resolved entities. If the operation is not executable on all resolved entities the process cannot be executed.

SAP Landscape Management resolves the relation chain from top to bottom and validates all operation constraints against the relation chain. Resolved entities are all entities for which this validation was successful.

Example

You want to stop a whole system including database, application server, and so on. The stop operation is a mandatory step (not optional) in the custom process. The database has a validation issue, and all other instances are fine. As long as the step is mandatory, the operation will be executed and that could cause an issue if your database is still running.

If you still have executable entities (application server) and select the option executable on all resolved entities, the process will not be executed because once the databased has been started cannot be stopped. This prevents the possible harm of having the database running.

SAP Landscape Management displays steps that are executable on all resolved entities as follows:

Executable on all Resolved Entities and Optional

If there are no resolved entities, the step will be skipped.

If there is at least one resolved entity, the step cannot be skipped.

SAP Landscape Management displays optional steps that are optional and executable on all resolved entities as follows:

Optional: Add a Relation Chain to the operation.

By default, you execute the operations of a custom process on one source entity. To execute operations from this process on other entities that have relations to the source entity, add the chain of relations that resolves to these entities.

The relation chain is resolved from top to bottom.
Each relation has either a source role or a target role with applicable entity types assigned. The roles represent the logical relation between the entities. Depending on the sequence of the relations in the relation chain table, SAP Landscape Management resolves the relation chain from source to target or from target to source.

Note
The roles do not represent the resolving direction of the relation.
The result entities in source or target role of this relation are resolved based on the input entities (in source or target role).
When adding a new relation to a relation chain table, the entity type of the new relation utilizes the entity type of the previous relation role that is shown in role column of relation chain table.
During execution the relation chain is resolved relation by relation. The resolved entities of the current relation are used as input when resolving the next relation.
Deleting one relation from the relation chain also deletes the relations below this relation in the relation chain table.

Example

By default, executing an instance operation on a system resolves the relation between the system and its instances. Executing a host operation on an instance resolves the relation between the instance and the host it runs on.

If you want to execute a restart SAP Host Agent operation on the preferred hosts of the system that has been copied from the source system of the custom process, you add a relation chain. By adding and resolving the following relation chain on the source system, SAP Landscape Management finds the copied systems, instances, and finally the preferred hosts on which the Restart HostAgent operation will be executed:

Relation Chain
Name	Role	Description
System Copy	Target (System)	1. Finds all copies of the system.
System Aggregation Target (Instance)	Target (Instance)	2. Finds all instances assigned to the copies of the system.
Preferred Host Source (Host)	Source (Host)	3. Finds the preferred hosts of the instances that are assigned to the copies of the system.

Optional: Add Operation Constraints that have to be met by the source entity or the entities as defined in the relation chain in order to execute the custom process step.

Optional: Specify the Operation Parameters. For operation parameters, you have the following options:

Option	Description
Add as Global	To set a parameter as global, choose this option, enter a name for the global parameter, and if required specify a custom default value or set a hard-coded parameter. Global parameters are used on custom process level. If you set a hard-coded parameter, you either have to specify a default value or you have to ensure that the source parameter has a default value assigned. When executing this custom process, you cannot specify or change the value of the hard-coded parameter.
Quick Binding	To bind an operation parameter to a global parameter, choose the defined global parameter. This operation parameter will get the value of the global parameter. Example You create a custom process with multiple steps requiring identical operation parameters and values. When binding these operation parameters to a global parameter, you have to enter the parameter value only once during execution. If you do not bind these operation parameters to a global parameter, you have to enter each individual operation parameter value.
Clear Bindings	To clear defined parameter bindings, choose this option.

Option

Description

Add as Global

To set a parameter as global, choose this option, enter a name for the global parameter, and if required specify a custom default value or set a hard-coded parameter. Global parameters are used on custom process level.

If you set a hard-coded parameter, you either have to specify a default value or you have to ensure that the source parameter has a default value assigned. When executing this custom process, you cannot specify or change the value of the hard-coded parameter.

Quick Binding

To bind an operation parameter to a global parameter, choose the defined global parameter.

This operation parameter will get the value of the global parameter.

Clear Bindings

To clear defined parameter bindings, choose this option.

Optional: Add further steps to the custom process.
Optional: Refine the dependencies between the steps.
Save the custom process.

Results

You can now execute the custom process on all entities that fulfill the constraints defined for this custom process.

SAP Landscape Management 3.0, Enterprise Edition