Pre-Configured Workflows as Action Packs

As an administrator, you download Packs from the marketplace and install them in the Administration perspective. As soon as an Action pack is installed, it is automatically available in the PACKAGES folder in the Explorer (Process Assembly perspective).

As a designer, you adapt the Workflow(s) that an Action Pack contains to your needs. The Workflows that are stored in the PACKAGES folder are available in the Actions pane in the Objects pane of the Workflow editor. This means that when you are designing a Workflow, you can pull these preconfigured Workflows into your editor and thus reuse the functionality that they provide.

To understand how these preconfigured Workflows can help you and how you can use them, you must first be acquainted with the concepts described on this topic.

Actions

An Action is a preconfigured main Workflow and all the objects that contribute to the configuration of that Workflow. These objects are Jobs, Includes, PromptSets, Variables and, optionally, other Workflows. An Action has a predefined folder structure where the objects are stored.

For technical reasons, Actions reside in Action Packs. This implies the following:

  • To create an Action, you must start by creating the Action Pack to which you add the Action
  • The marketplace contains Actions Packs (and not Actions) that you can download and install.

Actions simplify the creation of Workflows because they provide out-of-the-box reusable and already tested building blocks for frequently needed operations.

Packs

Packs are placeholder structures that serve to contain either Actions or plugins to enhance the functionality of your system. Packs have a predefined folder structure.

A Pack that contains Actions is an Action Pack. An Action Pack can contain one or more Actions. You can create your own Action Packs (custom Action packs) or you can download Packs from our marketplace, provided you have a valid CA/Broadcom account.

Action Packs

Action Packs can also be outbound integrations to third-party products, such as Amazon, Docker, and Tomcat.

For example, the Tomcat Action Pack (which is available at https://marketplace.automic.com/) lets you automate application deployments to a Tomcat application server. The Tomcat Action Pack contains the following actions:

  • Create/Drop Datasource
  • Start/Stop/Resume Server
  • Create Snapshot
  • Start/Stop Application
  • Deploy/Undeploy Application
  • List Applications
  • List JNDI Resources

Plugins

A plugin enhances the functionality of your system and allows integrations with third-party products

Marketplace

We build, test and continuously release new Action Packs that you can access with a valid CA/Broadcom account through our marketplace.

Our marketplace is also a platform for our user and business-partner community to share Action Packs that they have created for specific needs. You can take advantage of their experiences and efforts, as well as contribute with your own Action Pack solutions.

Check our marketplace regularly, also between releases, to see what new Action Packs we or our community have uploaded. See https://marketplace.automic.com/.

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: