We have made our first steps into Workflow. The Notification Server is installed and Workflow Solution is installed. But we cannot use the workflow yet. We need the Workflow Designer to create our self-provisioning workflows, and of course to distribute our workflows to the users.
In this article I'm going to guide you through the installation of Workflow Designer and we are going to configure the Workflow to get started with what we want: A cool self-provisioning website for our teachers and other users.
Quote from the admin guide:
Altiris Workflow Solution is graphical development software that lets you define, build, customize, test, and deploy either pre-built or custom built integrated workflows leveraging the Altiris platform and functionality.
Workflow Solution gets installed on the Notification Server. As part of the installation, the Workflow Designer executable gets placed on the Notification Server computer. You use the Workflow Designer executable to install Workflow Designer on one or more client computers. This lets multiple users design and make changes to workflows. The workflows created on Workflow Designer can run on one or more Notification Servers.
Out of the box, Workflow Solution contains general components, Altiris specific components, component generators, and facilities to take a workflow from definition to deployment. Workflow Designer let's you arrange components into processes that manage communication and control a workflow consumer's path through the process depending on the input.
After the workflow is complete, Workflow Server is the execution engine (or runtime engine) for processes built or customized using the Workflow Designer. Workflow Server is a component of Workflow Solution and, therefore, is installed on the Notification Server.
To work with the Altiris platform, Workflow Solution contains Plug-ins, Components, Component Generators, and Web Service Regenerators all built to enable Altiris administrators to customize workflow.
When you have downloaded the Workflow Solution you have to double click on it to get started.
NOTE: The workflow designer will be installed on the same server where we have installed the Notification Server and the Workflow Server. This will enable us to distribute the Workflow Designer to other computers. It is not necessary to do the following steps on the server.
If you like to do this on a client you may do so. The steps as explained below are all the same.
If you do not have Dot NET Framework 3.0 installed, the set-up will require you to install it first. Download the Dot NET Framework and install it.
When the Dot NET Framework 3.0 component is installed you can proceed with the installation.
Click I agree to agree with the license agreement.
Our first step is to install the Altiris Workflow designer. Select it and click Next to continue.
Then select the default path to install the Workflow Designer to. I just leave it default, but of course you may select a different one if you like. Click Next to go to the next screen.
The next screen will ask you where to locate the shortcut in the start menu. I install it in a folder Altiris. Click Next to continue.
I also create a desktop shortcut. Click Next to go to the next screen.
Now you get a screen that asks you to run the Altiris Notification Server credentials tool. This is a necessary step to create an account into the Notification Server.
If you uncheck this you can do this later, but then it is some more work.
I leave it selected and click Next to continue.
Now we see the screen with an overview of all our selections.
Click install to install the software.
When the installation is finished you see the screen for The Notification Server credentials.
Click on Add and follow the screen.
Enter the machine name, the domain, the username and a password and click OK. When you have entered the correct information the username will be added. Then you can close the Notification Credentials screen.
Now you see the finish screen of the Workflow Designer installation.
You can click Finish to close the installation.
Now we are going to start the Workflow Designer.
Go to start Programs Altiris Workflow designer and start the Workflow Designer shortcut.
The following steps are necessary to get started with the Workflow Designer, using either Workflow Packs or a custom built scenario. The resource components are already available, but in order to have the Task and Reporting components, their generators need to be run. The number of components created from this process is equal to the tasks and reports available on Notification Server.
The following tasks walk you through adding the project through Workflow Designer and running the generator to create the components; regardless of the generator run, the process is the same. When using Workflow Designer for the first time, the Task, ASDK and Report generators need to be run to load components into the component toolbox from the tasks, ASDK methods, and reports available on Notification Server. Due to the number of potential components added, these generators are not run during installation.
Click on New in the Workflow Designer studio.
Select the tab Integration. Now we give the integration a logical name. Because we are going to add the ASDK Generated Components, that would be a logical name. Type it and click OK.
From the list of Altiris generators, select Altiris ASDK Component Generator and click OK.
In the Component Generator wizard, enter the information needed to connect to the component generator web service. Under the Authentication heading, select Authenticate to display the Username and Password fields. Provide authentication credentials needed to connect to the Notification Server. In the Notification Server Address field, enter the Notification Server address.
Click Add to create the connection URL and click Next to continue.
Now the wizard connects to the Notification Server and retrieves the information; in this case a list of the ASDK methods available to create components.
From the method list, select the methods that you want to become components.
Click Finish to create component code.
From the Virtual Integration Library dialog box, select Compile and Close.
This creates the components and adds them to the component toolbox available to existing or newly created workflows.
After compiling the components, the newly added component location is indicated by an orange star appearing within the Component Toolbox. Also, the library is added to the list of available libraries within projects.
To use the new library in a project, click Import Components at the base of the Component Toolbox.
From the Add Library to Project dialog box, click the Custom Libraries tab, and locate the newly created ASDK library, highlight the library, and click Add.
Click OK to finish the importing.
An orange star, appearing within the Component Toolbox, indicates the newly added component locations.
Repeat this process for the Task and Report Component Generators to add selected Task and report components to the component library. All components in the Component library are available to workflow. Generating components can also be done inside a project by clicking the Create Integration Library button at the bottom of the Component Toolbox window.
The process above is only necessary when you install the Workflow Designer on a client machine. When you install the Workflow Designer on the same server as where the Notification Server is, this will be done automatically.
Now we have installed all our software that is needed for our self-service provisioning.
In the next article we are going to start building our infrastructure for managing the processes that we need.
This article will help you in designing, building and deploying your first workflow.
Read part three: Workflow as a Self Service Point for Your Users, Part 3: Installing Workflow Solution