Understanding the Object Types in Automic Automation

Processes in Automic Automation are combinations of individual steps that are linked to each other. An object represents one of these steps. Objects are entities that work together to form coherent automated sequences. As a developer and object designer, you create, edit and work with them in the Process Assembly perspective. Objects that are executing or have been executed are called tasks and they are visible in the Process Monitoring perspective, where you can access their history and monitors.

Important! Check Broadcom Software Academy. There is a course available for this topic. For more information, see the Education section at the end of this page.

Functional Classification of Automic Automation Objects

There are many types of objects. From a functional perspective, objects can be classified in the following groups:

• Orchestrate Object Execution

  The following objects orchestrate the execution of other objects:

  • Workflows (JOBP)compile single tasks for combined execution.

  • Sync (SYNC) objects synchronize the execution of other objects based on conditions and actions.

  • Queue (QUEUE)objects define the maximum number of tasks that can be executed simultaneously and determine the task priorities.

  • Agent Groups (HOSTG) combine Agents of the same platform to enable the execution of other objects.

  • Job Group (JOBG) are containers for Jobs. Job Groups manage the execution of the Jobs that they contain. See Job Group (JOBG).

• Automate Object Execution

  The following objects automate the execution of other objects based on time or event conditions.

  • Schedules (JSCH) automate the regular execution of the objects that they contain.

  • Events (EVNT) monitor conditions and trigger actions depending on whether those conditions are satisfied or not.

  • Period (PERIOD) contain the parameters necessary for executing objects using the Execute Recurring option.

• Job Operations

  The following objects perform various job and job-related operations.

  • Jobs (JOBS) are units of work that are Agent-specific. A Job executes commands on computers or in enterprise business solutions.

  • File Transfers (JOBF) objects exchange files between systems and system platforms.

  • Includes (JOBI) objects contain processing instructions for shared use across objects.

  • Scripts (SCRI) objects contain internal processing instructions that are executed in the Automation Engine and not in external systems.

  • Filter (FILTER) objects let you search for strings in text files.

• Process Configuration

  The following objects add configuration options and parameters to other objects.

  • User-Defined VARA Objects are placeholders for values that you use in executable objects. VARA objects retrieve the values dynamically from specific sources.

  • PromptSets (PRPT) objects are interactive forms that read values during object activation.

• Connection to External Systems

  The following objects provide the para meters and functionality that are necessary for connecting to external systems and to execute commands on those systems.

  • Login (LOGIN) objects store the login information that Agents need to execute the objects on target systems.

  • Agents (HOST) objects are programs that run on the target systems: they start the execution of tasks on those systems, monitor those executions and make reporting possible.

  • Connection (CONN) objects store the parameters that allow the communication between Automic Automation Engine and external systems.

• Monitor

  The following objects monitor the execution and outcome of other objects and provide additional functionality for those objects.

  • Service Level Objective (SLO) objects are tools that support Service Level Agreements (SLAs) by monitoring services according to the criteria defined in the SLA. They trigger actions depending on whether those criteria are fulfilled/not fulfilled.

  • Remote Task Manager (JOBQ) objects monitor external operations and let you interact with them.

• Date/Time Designation

  The following objects designate dates for object execution and define the time zone in which the operations take place.

  • Calendars (CALE) objects are containers of Calendar Events. Calendar Events are sets of rules that designate dates on which executable objects should be executed/not executed.

  • Time Zone (TZ) objects record values for the calculation of local times.

• Administration and Organization

  The following objects serve to manage, organize and administer objects, processes, privileges, and so forth.

  • Clients objects are self-contained environments for the execution of tasks in a system. S

  • Folders (FOLD) objects let you organize objects. Folders are objects as well, rights can be assigned to them.

  • HSTA objects assign Agent rights to individual or to all Clients. See Assigning Clients to Agents.

  • Dashboard Objects (DASH) objects provide freely definable views of objects, tasks, execution data, and so on.

  • Defining Users objects contain the users' login settings, assignment to User Groups, access rights, and so on.

  • User Groups (USRG) objects contain User objects to let you assign them identical authorizations.

  • Server objects are the graphical representations of server processes. See Processes and Utilization.

  • Storage (STORE) objects provide central file storage for binary data.

  • Style Sheet (XSL) objects provide the code that is necessary to modify the layout of long and complex reports.

• Communication

  The following objects communicate with the users, contain relevant information or allow the proper conversion of characters for communication with the Automation Engine.

  • Notification (CALL) objects send customized messages and requests to Users, User Groups. 

  • Documentation (DOCU) objects let you provide detailed cross-object information that pertains to the Client you are logged into.

  • Code Tables (CODE) objects define complete sets of characters that allow character conversion for communication with the Automation Engine.

Technical Classification of Automic Automation Objects

From a technical perspective, objects can be classified in four groups:

• Executable

  Executable objects are objects that you can process manually or that are processed through control mechanisms of parent objects. When executed they go through various execution stages. For more information, see Executing Objects.

  These are Automic Automation's executable objects: Events (EVNT), File Transfers (JOBF), Jobs (JOBS), Job Groups (JOBG), Notifications (CALL), Period (PERIOD), Remote Task Manager (JOBQ), Schedules (JSCH), Scripts (SCRI), Workflows (JOBP).

• Active

  Active objects can be modified automatically when they are being processed by an executable object but they are not executable objects themselves.

  These are Automic Automation's active objects: Calendars (CALE), Queues (QUEUE), Sync (SYNC) and VARA (VARA).

• Passive

  Passive objects are static. You can define their properties, however, they cannot be modified by executable objects.

  These are Automic Automation's passive objects: Code Tables (CODE), Dashboards (DASH), Documentation (DOCU), Filter (FILTER), Folder (FOLD), Includes (JOBI), Login (LOGIN), Period (PERIOD), PromptSets (PRPT), Service Level Objective (SLO), Storage (STORE), Style Sheet (XSL).

• System

  System objects serve to administrate your system.

  These are Automic Automation's system objects: Agents (HOST), Agent Groups (HOSTG), Agent Client Assignments (HSTA), Clients (CLNT), Connections (CONN), Time Zones (TZ), Users (USER), User Groups (USRG).

Other Ways of Classifying Automic Automation Objects

The following extra objects are available for the following object types:

• Call API (API)
• Container for an Agent Group (C_HOSTG)
• Child task of SAP, PeopleSoft or RemoteTaskManager (JOBD)
• Report (REPORT)
• Access to external reports (EXTREPORT)

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 Automic Automation Education and Training.

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

• Automic Automation - Introduction to Objects

• Automic Automation Design I

• Automic Automation Design II

• Automic Automation Calendars and Calendar Events

See also:

• Automic Automation Object Types: Watch the Video
• Designing
• Adding Objects
• Defining Automic Automation Objects
• Defining the Common Object Properties
• Defining the Object-Specific Properties
• Executing Objects
• Monitoring Tasks