Artifacts allow developers to accelerate execution of network automation use cases within IAP (Itential Automation Platform). More specifically, artifacts combine the abilities of multiple components that live within IAP. As such, an artifact can be comprised of the following component types:
- Automation Catalog
- Form
- JSON Forms
- Command Template (MOP)
- Analytic Template (MOP)
- Service Catalog
- Template
- Transformation
- Workflow
Each of these components serves a specific role and can be read about further in their respective documentation guides, but altogether, they help automate various network use cases.
Terminology
The following terms apply to the use of artifacts in Admin Essentials.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Artifact | An artifact is a pre-built automation that uses other IAP components to execute a certain network use case. |
| Component | A component is a building block of an artifact. Each component helps serve as a tool in a network automation use case. |
| IAP Dependency | An IAP dependency is an application or adapter that is required by the artifact to be in the current IAP environment for the artifact to function properly. |
User Interface
The primary user interfaces for Admin Essentials - Artifacts are shown below. Each interface allows you to install, uninstall, view and browse artifact details.
Artifact Details View
Interactions available through the Artifact Details View are shown below.
| Label | UI Element | Edit View Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Installed artifacts | A list of all installed artifacts on the current IAP environment. |
| 2 | Name | The name of the artifact. |
| 3 | Metadata | Artifact metadata regarding the publisher, publish date, version, the repository type, and license type. |
| 4 | Artifact content | A list of artifact components. |
| 5 | ReadMe | The readme file for the artifact. |
| 6 | Beta release | An artifact will show the Beta flag if the version is less than 1.0.0. |
| 7 | Uninstall | Uninstalls the artifact. |
| 8 | Download | Downloads the artifact data from the database of the current IAP environment. |
| 9 | Browse | Browse all available artifacts from the Itential Open Source Repository. |
| 10 | Import | Import an artifact into the current IAP environment. |
| 11 | Search | Searches the list of installed artifacts. |
Browse View
Interactions available through the Browse View are shown below.
| Label | UI Element | List View Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name | The name of the artifact. |
| 2 | Version | The latest version of the artifact that is compatible with the current running IAP version. |
| 3 | Description | The description of the artifact. |
| 4 | Metadata | Artifact metadata regarding the publisher, publish date, version, the repository type, and license type. |
| 5 | ReadMe | The readme file for the artifact. |
| 6 | Beta release | An artifact will show the Beta flag if the version is less than 1.0.0. |
| 7 | Non-compatible | Indicates the artifact is not compatible with the current environment. |
| 8 | Install | Installs the artifact. |
| 9 | Download | Downloads artifact data from the repository. |
| 10 | Search | Searches the artifact repository. |
Installing an Artifact
To install an artifact:
- Open Admin Essentials from the Home page or the Applications menu.
- Select the Artifacts dropdown in the sidebar (left-side of the screen).
- Click Browse.
- A list of available artifacts will populate on the left-side of the screen.
- Select any artifact and click Install.
If you are installing your first artifact:
- After installing the artifact, go to Settings -> Authorization -> Groups.
- Click View List.
- Select Show Inactive.
- The Itential Artifacts group should appear. Click Edit Group under Actions.
- Uncheck Inactive and click Save.
- In the sidebar, select Users
- Click the user you wish to apply the Itential Artifact group to.
- Click Groups (on the Main view of the page).
- Select Itential Artifacts and click Save.
Uninstalling an Artifact
To uninstall an artifact:
- Open Admin Essentials from the Home page or the Applications menu.
- Select the Artifacts dropdown in the sidebar (left-side of the screen).
- Click the @itentialopensource dropdown in the sidebar (left-side of the screen).
- A list of installed artifacts will display.
- Select the artifact you wish to uninstall.
- On the Artifact Details View for the artifact you have selected, click Uninstall.
Downloading an Artifact
There are two options for downloading an artifact data file that can then be imported into an IAP environment. The first option downloads the content directly from the Itential Artifact repository whereas the second option provides the download from your locally installed system.
Download from Browse View
Downloading an artifact from the Browse View will pull the data of the selected artifact from its respective Gitlab repository.
- Open Admin Essentials from the Home page or the Applications menu.
- Select the Artifacts dropdown in the sidebar (left-side of the screen).
- Click Browse.
- A list of available artifacts will populate on the left-side of the screen.
- Each artifact has the option to Download (bottom-right corner of the artifact card).
- Click Download.
Download from Artifact Details View
Downloading an artifact from the Artifact Details View will pull the data of the selected artifact from the IAP environment's database (e.g. the installed copy of the artifact).
- Open Admin Essentials from the Home page or the Applications menu.
- Select the Artifacts dropdown in the sidebar (left-side of the screen).
- Click the @itentialopensource dropdown in the sidebar (left-side of the screen).
- A list of installed artifacts will display.
- Select the artifact you wish to download.
- On the Artifact Details View for the artifact you have selected, click Download.
Importing an Artifact
To import an artifact:
- Open Admin Essentials from the Home page or the Applications menu.
- Select the Artifacts dropdown in the sidebar (left-side of the screen).
- Click Import.
- A modal window with appear with the option to browse available files.
- Select the artifact data file you wish to import.
- Click Install.
⚠ Note: There is a limitation when importing multiple artifacts that share a common element such as a duplicate workflow, template, or transformation. This will cause an error due to the artifact already being in existence. The original workflow, template, or transformation will need to be deleted before the new version can be imported.
Updating an Artifact
To update an artifact:
- Open Admin Essentials from the Home page or the Applications menu.
- Select the Artifacts dropdown in the sidebar (left-side of the screen).
- Click the @itentialopensource dropdown in the sidebar (left-side of the screen).
- A list of installed artifacts will display.
- If an artifact is available for an update, an orange dot will appear next to the artifact name.
- Click the artifact that is available for an update.
- Click Update.