Prepare 44 release pkgs with ASC
Supporting a customer through a fairly significant release of ChangeMan ZMF via ASC was a breeze. The actual release consisted of 44 ChangeMan ZMF packages (and the ERO-option was not available). Compared to their predecessors which took literally days for a similar "release" and still managed to make a slew of mistakes along the way, executing the solution took a mere 12 minutes. It was handled by the deployment team, who didn't even fully grasp the intricacies of what was happening behind the scenes (i.e. the numerous XML requests triggered via ASC to orchestrate, in the correct order, ChangeMan ZMF lifecycle functions such as audit, freeze, approve, etc.).
Deployment Team's ChangeMan ZMF Package Preparation Workflow
That afternoon, the deployment team completed all necessary preparation steps for 44 ChangeMan ZMF packages to be approved and installed the following day during the standard release window. The list of ChangeMan ZMF packages, presented in CSV format, was generated using an SBM report. The workflow for each of these packages included:
Checking the status of each pkg, which could be either DEV or FRZ (pkgs with any other status were ignored).
Ensuring that none of the DEV-pkgs still contained comps in statuses other than ACTIVE (if so: skip those pkgs).
For DEV pkgs, perform an update install date to 20230916 for each selected (between 1 and 3) remote site (like the U7-cmd).
For FRZ pkgs, perform an update install date to 20230916 for each selected (between 1 and 3) remote site (like the U7-cmd). However, according to CMN/ZMF rules, each of these pkgs required prior unfreezing (like the F3-cmd) and subsequent refreezing (like the F3-cmd).
Launch an audit for each of the selected DEV-pkgs (like the AP-cmd).
Verify the audit RC, and for those pkgs with audit RC=12, reset the audit RC to 03 (yes, we know it would be much better to really solve the audit RC=12, but the CMN/ZMF users were not prepared for that specific enforcement rule, hence our RC=03 compromise). For pkgs with RC above 12, skip them from further processing (no such pkgs in this case).
For all audited pkgs (which at this point have an audit RC of max 08, which is considered acceptable), perform a FRZ of these pkgs (to get the Xnodes created).
Below is a partial screenshot displaying the 44 processed packages.
Unveiling the Magic: Achieving Efficiency in 12 Minutes
What's not evident above is the magic behind accomplishing the task within a mere 12 minutes. Here is a partial view of the relevant "AbitMORE SCM Auditor" report (not to be confused with ChangeMan ZMF’s audit of a pkg), showcasing all the tasks (XML requests) executed during that brief timeframe (between 150244 and 151429):
For further insight into the aforementioned tasks, delve into the executed jobs below:
Each of these jobs take advantage of the so-called batch interface to AbitMORE SCM Commander, whereas the real magic to get the job done came from ASC’s capabilities, which include lots of improvements to ChangeMan ZMF’s powerful XML services. At its core, these improvements are all about ASC’s unique basket processing capabilities, which makes it possible for the output of a FIRST XML service, to be used as input for another (2ND, 3RD, …) XML service.
Importantly, this functionality remains largely independent of the ChangeMan ZMF release or patch level (because it’s all based on some popular XML services, which are compatible with any release of ChangeMan ZMF).
Later that same afternoon, we received a chat message from the user who completed all the aforementioned steps within those 12 minutes, unaware that ASC was the tool being used. They simply stated: “Your tool worked perfectly.”
Ready to experience efficiency like never before?
Are you curious about how ASC managed to accomplish all this? Or do you have any inquiries about the inner workings of the jobs that invoke the batch interface to ASC? Implementing (not just installing) a fully functional ASC trial license in your environment, only takes a few hours, let's say half a day. Should you decide to continue using it, converting to a permanent license would be a matter of minutes.
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