ARA Architecture

This chapter provides the big picture of the ARA system and dependencies between modules.

CA Automic Release Automation, part of the CA Automic One Automation Platform, is an end-to-end solution for planning, coordinating and automating software release processes, including automated deployments of complex multi-tier applications and configurations across heterogeneous large-scale server environments.

The purpose of ARA is to unify enterprise application and infrastructure automation functionality onto a single platform - without the need of managing multiple tools. Users first architect and control the execution of application process flows and then orchestrate the underlying infrastructure to meet the required service levels.

The user of ARA uses the browser-based Automic Web Interface (AWI) and the Release Automation perspective delivered with the AWI Extension.

One of the clients will be used for administrative purposes. Therefore database management tools will be installed on one of the clients additionally.

ARA Components

The ARA solution consists of the following components:

Component		Description/Content
CA Automic Release Automation (ARA)	CA Automic Release Automation Server (ARA Server)	Web application Web services Command Line Interfaces (import/export, admin-cli) XML Templates
	CA Automic Release Automation Database (ARA Database)	ARA Database
Automic Web Interface (AWI)	Automic Web Interface	Process Assembly Process Monitoring Administration
	CA Automic Release Automation Plug-in for AWI	Graphical ARA user interface for ARA web application
Automation Engine (AE)	Automation Engine Server (AE Server)	Automation Engine Server Automation Engine Command Line Utilities
	Automation Engine Database (AE Database)	AE Database
	Automation Engine Agents (AE Agents, Agents)	Unix/Linux Agents Windows Agents VMWare Agent Webservices Agent
ARA Documentation	HTML Documentation	ARA Guides
Tools	Supporting the CA Automic One Automation Platform	Package Manager LDAP Sync Proxy
Content	Packages	Packages delivered with ARA Bundle. See Automic Compatibility Matrix

All components can be defined, handled or monitored centrally by the AWI Web Application, a web-based graphical interface.

The AWI Server provides the main user interface and holds the Release Automation perspective for ARA specific interactions.

The ARA Server is the core system for release and environment management, especially for planning and monitoring tasks as well as triggering automated procedures. It is responsible for defining application deployments, its components, packages, environments and all other relevant parameters. These information is stored in the ARA Database.

The AE Server is responsible for executing all defined deployment workflows. The execution is done on the underlying systems, where the Automation Engine Agents are installed. The Automation Engine Database contains all required workflow definitions, actions and stores the complete statistical information.

An AE Agent (Agent) is a software module that provides a de-centralized service for the purpose of deployment, either executing processes on a target operating system or providing connectivity to a target system (e.g. for databases or middleware). They are responsible for executing automated procedures directly to target systems.

Interaction of the Components of the ARA System