Transitioning to Automic SaaS - Configuration Data

As an administrator of Automic Automation on-premises environments, you know the various options that your system provides to transfer object and configuration data from one Client to another or from one AE system to another. You have probably already used the Transport Case functionality in combination with the AE DB Utilities for this purpose. However, in an Automic SaaS environment you do not have access to the AE database. This topic explains how you can transfer your data from your on-premises environments to Automic SaaS.

This page includes the following:

Options to Transfer Objects

There are various options to transport object definitions. The option(s) that you can use depend on the type of environments from which and to which you want to move the objects.

Transferring Objects by Combining the Transport Case, the AE DB Unload Utility and the Import Function

This method combines the Transport Case and the AE DB Unload and (optionally) AE DB Change utilities to extract the data from the original system, and the Import function in the target system. This method requires access to the database of the originating system. However, no access to the database of the target system is required. Therefore, you can use this method to transfer data from an on-premises system to Automic SaaS. You can use this method both from AWI and through the REST API. For more information, see REST API Reference.

To Transfer Objects Using AWI

  1. Add the objects to the Transport Case.

    1. In the Process Assembly perspective on the Explorer list select one or more objects.
    2. Right-click and select Transfer > Transport. This option is also available from the Global Search drop down list, see Using the Global Search for Objects and Tasks.

    The objects are not actually moved to the Transport Case. Rather, a reference to them is copied and displayed there. They are now registered for transport but you can still work with them in the Transport Case page.

  2. Unload the Transport Case. For this purpose, use the AE DB Unload utility, see AE DB Unload. This creates a text file in a Transport Case-specific format is stored in the output folder that you have define in the OUTPUT= INI file entry. For more information, see Utility DB Unload.

    After unloading, the objects are not removed from the Transport Case. If you want to remove objects or empty the case, do one of the following:

    • To remove individual objects select one or more, right-click and select Remove from Transport Case.
    • To empty the case, right-click anywhere on the list and select Clear Transport Case.

    The Transport Case of system client 0 displays all objects that should be transported.

  3. Optionally, modify the exported data using the AE DB Change utility. For more information, see AE DB Change.

  4. In the target system, right-click anywhere in the Process Assembly > Explorer and select Import. The Transport Case file contains the object definitions and their target folder locations. This means that the imported objects will be available in the same location in the target system. For more information, see Importing Objects.

    Important! When importing object definitions, the system runs validates those definitions. If the text file contains one or more broken objects, the Import will fail

  5. The Automation Engine analyzes the definitions of all the imported objects and creates then in the target folders as defined in the file. If errors, occur, an error message indicates it.

For information about the file size limitations of the imported file, see MAX_TC_SIZE.

Important! You can also use the REST API to add object definitions to the Transport Case.

Transferring Objects Using the Transport Case and the Export and Import Functions

This method combines the Transport Case with the Export and Import functions available in AWI. No database access is required, which means that you can use this method to transfer data in all scenarios.

To Transfer Objects Using the Transport Case and Exporting/Importing

  1. Add the objects to the Transport Case.

    1. In the Process Assembly perspective on the Explorer list select one or more objects.
    2. Right-click and select Transfer > Transport. This option is also available from the Global Search drop down list, see Using the Global Search for Objects and Tasks.

    The objects are not actually moved to the Transport Case. Rather, a reference to them is copied and displayed there. They are now registered for transport but you can still work with them in the Transport Case page.

  2. Either in the Transport Case list or in the Transport Case node in the Explorer pane, right-click and select Export Transport Case.

    An export.xml file with the object definitions is saved to your Downloads folder.

  3. In the target Client, right-click anywhere in Process Assembly > Explorer and select Import. For more information, see Importing Objects.

For information about the file size limitations, see MAX_IMPORT_SIZE.

Permission Checks

Automic Automation performs ACL checks to ensure that only Users with the necessary permissions can transfer/import data both through AWI and through the REST API. To be able to successfully transfer/import the data, the following must be true:

  • The administrator User that transfers the data must have the Access to Transport Case privilege in their User definition.

  • The administrator User that imports the Transport Case must have more permissions than the Users and User Groups that they are importing.

Transferring Objects by Exporting/Importing Them

You can always use this method to move objects between Clients in an AE system or between different AE systems, whether you have access to the AE database or not. Use this method if you do not want to move large amounts of object definitions.

For a detailed description of how to export and import object definitions, see Exporting/Importing Objects. For information about the limitations to the number of objects that can be exported at the same time, see MAX_EXPORT_COUNT. For information about the limitations to the size of the file that can be imported, see MAX_IMPORT_SIZE.

Transferring Objects Using the REST API

You can always use this method to import/export object definitions and move them from one Client to another or from one AE system to another, whether you have access to the AE database or not. The AE REST API provides an endpoint for this purpose.

Education

The Broadcom Software Academy provides a wide range of free online trainings. For information about how to navigate through the Academy and on how to register for courses, see Free Online Courses.

The following course(s) are associated with this topic:

This course contains several videos. The following video within the course demonstrates how to move object definitions and configuration data from your on-premises environment to your SaaS instance: Watch the video: Transitioning from Automic Automation On-Premises to Automic SaaS - Configuration Data.

See also: