Guidance on CDA Installation

[Shaik Mahammed Ziaullah]

Hi everyone,

We are planning to explore Automic CDA (Continuous Delivery Automation) for the first time. I am going through the CDA documentation, and based on my initial understanding, it looks like we first need to install the Automic Automation Engine, followed by the CDA installation.

I have a couple of questions because I'm completely new to CDA:

1. Can we use an existing/normal Automic AE installation and then directly proceed with installing CDA?
   OR
2. Is it mandatory to use the Automation Engine that comes bundled with the CDA installer package?
   (Meaning: Should we install AE only from the CDA installer package before setting up CDA?)

I would appreciate any guidance, best practices, or suggestions from the community.
Thanks in advance!

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[Michael Dolinek]

Hi @Shaik Mahammed Ziaullah

you can use your existing AE installation, but you should use a dedicated AE-client which you create using AWI after setting up CDA-server (Windows IIS) and CDA-plugin, so that the proper menu options are shown in AWI when logging in to Client 0.

After that you can adopt Analytics' configuration to collect CDA data, too.

Be aware that users must be created by logging in the desired CDA-client in AWI otherwise the CDA specific views are not shown.

In order to work properly make sure that the required Action Packs are installed in you CDA-client.

Whenever you do an update or upgrade of the AE, please stop the CDA-instance(s) upfront and start them afterwards. During that downtime the CDA-files can be updated too.

Hope this helps

Michael

PS:

In the Offering CDA and Offering AA are the same Automation Engine files.

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Michael K. Dolinek

Engineering Program Manager | Agile Operation Division
Broadcom Software
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[Shaik Mahammed Ziaullah]

Hi Michael K,

Thanks for the update, so now i think i can go directly with the CDA Installation process with below link

Installing CDA.

Could suggest best approaches and what are the primary things need to be taken care while installing the CDA.

With Regards,

Shaik

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[Michael Dolinek]

Hi @Shaik Mahammed Ziaullah

please follow the documentation.

I would do the following:

1. create a dedicated database (Microsoft, Oracle or Postgres) for CDA with a dedicated new DB-user
2. install proper .Net Framework runtime 4.8 on the Windows Server
3. install/configure/setup CDA utilities to create the required tables in the CDA-database
4. install/configure/setup CDA-server on IIS
5. start IIS and observe log-files (CDA, AE)
6. install CDA-plugin in AWI and configure connection to the CDA-server
7. restart AWI and observe log-files (AWI, AE, CDA)
8. login to Client 0
9. switch to Administration --> Client Management
10. create a new Client dedicated for CDA by providing the CDA specific data
11. observer log-files (CDA, AE)
12. login to the CDA-client using the user specified when the client was created
13. install all required Action Packs such as BOND, ITPA_Shared
14. create a new "admin" user and grant full AE & CDA admin permissions/authorizations
15. create "regular" users and set permissions in CDA as needed (AE permissions are set automatically)
16. install default CDA reports for Analytics
17. adopt Analytics' configuration to grab data from CDA
18. restart Analytics and observe logs (Analytics, CDA, AE)
19. login with a "regular" user and check access to Release Manager perspective
20. switch to Analytics perspective and check CDA specific widgets
21. (later) adopt CDA specific system settings in Client 0 in the Vara RM.SYSTEM_SETTINGS
22. (later) adopt CDA specific Client setting in the CDA-client in the Vara RM.CLIENT_SETTINGS

Unfortunately, the ist is longer than expected!

Michael

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Michael K. Dolinek

Engineering Program Manager | Agile Operation Division
Broadcom Software
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[Shaik Mahammed Ziaullah]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the update. Sure we will follow the mentioned steps,  is Analytics component is mandatory for this or optional. 

"Unfortunately, the ist is longer than expected!" --Does it's mean the configuration and installation process is complicated and time consuming ?

I hope this installation is supported by Broadcom while installing if we are encounter with an issues. 

Best Regards,

Shaik 

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[Michael Dolinek]

Hi @Shaik Mahammed Ziaullah

Analytics is optional, but since it's already in use for AE, it makes sense to leverage it for CDA as well.

 

While the list of steps may appear extensive, the process is straightforward once you have the necessary access, passwords etc. ready. Most tasks can be completed in minutes; however, the duration of the Client creation and Action Pack installation will vary based on your system's performance.

Michael

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Michael K. Dolinek

Engineering Program Manager | Agile Operation Division
Broadcom Software
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