Configuring script packages by using the extendedattributes.json object

consoleLinks

Use this attribute to define an array that contains the console links for the script package. Console links display on the virtual system instance page in the Virtual machines > Console section. You can use these links to provide an easy way for a user to access a console that is used to administer the virtual machine, such as VNC or the Integrated Solutions Console for WebSphere® Application Server.

Console links are defined as an array of JSON objects. Each object contains the name and url for a console link that displays for the virtual machine that is associated with the script package. You can define the url in several ways:

Static link

If the link is known before deployment, you can specify the link as a static URL:

     {
         "name" : "IBM homepage",
          "url" : "http://www.ibm.com/ibm"
     }

Simple link

If the link depends on the host name or IP address of the virtual machine, you can use the public-hostname or public-ip attributes that are defined in deployment.json, for the url attribute:

     {
        "name" : "VNC",
        "url" : "https://{public-hostname}/vnc"
     },

The value is resolved after the pattern is deployed. In the preceding example, the link is set to https://myvmhostname/vnc, where myvmhostname is the fully qualified host name for the deployed virtual machine that is associated with the script package where the console link is defined.

You can also reference a pattern level attribute. If the pattern contains the following attributes:

"attributes": {
    "MY_PORT_VNC": "9082",
    "MY_VALUE_1": "&parm1=ABC"
},

Then you can reference these attributes in the url attribute for the console link. Surround the attribute name with square brackets ([ ]). Use a vertical bar (|) to specify the default value:

     {
         "name" : "This link references a port",
         "url" : "https://{public-hostname}:[MY_PORT_VNC|9080][MY_VALUE_1|]"
     }

If no value is set for the attribute when the link is resolved, an empty string is used. In the preceding example, if the pattern level attributes are defined, the URL resolves to: https://servername.com:9082&parm1=ABC. If the pattern level attributes are not defined, the URL resolves to https://servername.com:9080.

You can also reference component-level attributes, either by using the component ID or by referencing an attribute in the current component. Use either of these formats: component id/component attribute name or this/component attribute name. Examples:

"http://{public-ip}:[org_apache_tomcat_1_0_0_1/tomcat.port|8080]"

where org_apache_tomcat_1_0_0_1 is the component ID and tomcat.port is the name of the attribute in the component. If that value is defined, it is used by the console link. Otherwise, 8080 is used.

"http://{public-ip}:[this/tomcat.port|8080]"

If the current component contains an attribute that is named tomcat.port, that value is used by the console link. Otherwise, 8080 is used.

Complex link

You can reference parameters that are defined on another virtual machine in the virtual system instance by specifying search criteria followed by : so that the system can retrieve the parameter. The available search criteria are COMPONENTS, SCRIPTS, and IMAGES. Separate multiple criteria values with a comma (,) and end the list with a semicolon (;). Define the condition for the search criteria as it displays in the user interface. For example, if you want to reference another virtual machine in the virtual system instance, that contains a script that displays as "Test Script" in the user interface, and a component that is named SC1, set the url to "url" : "https://{[SCRIPTS:Test Script;COMPONENTS:SC1]:public-ip}/console"

You can use one or more of these criteria for the search. If they are specified, all of the criteria must be met to retrieve the parameter.

Example:

"consoleLinks" : [
{
"name" : "EA: Complex Link",
"url" : "https://{[components:SC2]:public-hostname}/console&[NO_PARM|Cat]"
},
{
"name" : "EA: Another Complex Link",
"url" : "https://{[components:SC2;image:OS Node_1;scripts:My Test Script]:public-hostname}[APP1_PORT|]/console[NO_PARM|&parm1=Cat][PARM_TEST|][NO_PARM2|]" 
}
]

envonly

Specifies whether script package parameter values are set only in the environment, or if they are also written to the script_parms.json file before the script package is run.

If this attribute is present and set to true, script package parameter values are set only in the environment and are not written to the script_parms.json file.

If this parameter is not defined in the extendedattributes.json file or is present and set to false, script package parameter values are set in the environment and are also written to the script_parms.json file.

Attention: Before version 2.2.2.0, these values were stored in the virtualimage.properties file. Starting in version 2.2.2.0, these values are written to the script_parms.json file. This file is not stored on the local VM; it is stored in Storehouse. 

For more information, see the subsequent section, Writing script package parameters to script_parms.json.

iwd_stop_services_before_efix

Specifies whether services are stopped when an emergency fix is applied. Set this attribute to false and include the extendedattributes.json file in your emergency fix archive to prevent a service from being stopped when the fix is applied.

manual_keys

Use this attribute to define an array that controls the credentials prompt when a script package is run manually:

• If the manual_keys array is not present, the user is prompted with the default Product administrator user name and password dialog box.
• If the manual_keys array is present, but is empty, the user is not prompted with the default Product administrator user name and password dialog box. Example:

  [
  {
  	"savevars":"1",
  	"envonly":"TRUE",
  	"manual_keys":[]
  }
  ]

• You can customize the credentials that are displayed in the dialog box by specifying these attributes:

  scriptdefaultvalue

  An initial default value for the environment variable that you can modify later if needed. This attribute is required, but the value can be blank.

  When the script package is downloaded, this attribute is written to the cbscript.json file.

  scriptkey

  Label for the parameter that displays in the prompt to the user.

  scriptvalue

  This attribute is currently not used by the system, but is required to be included for each scriptkey. Set it to an empty string value.

  Example:

  "scriptvalue": "",

  When the script package is downloaded, this attribute is written to the cbscript.json file.

  type

  Add this parameter and set it to password for the field where the user enters the password.

  For example, if extendedattributes.json contains the following entry for the manual_keys array:

  [
     {
        "envonly": "TRUE",
        "manual_keys": [
           {
              "scriptdefaultvalue": "password",
              "scriptkey": "My Custom Username",
              "scriptvalue": ""
              
           },
           {
              "scriptdefaultvalue": "password",
              "scriptkey": "My Custom Password",
              "scriptvalue": "",
              "type": "password"
           }
        ],
        "readonly": "false",
        "savevars": "1"}
  ]

  when the script package is run, the user is prompted for a user name with the label My Custom Username and a password box with the label My Custom Password.

keys

Use this attribute to define an array that contains metadata for environment variables defined in cbscript.json. Each item in the array can have the following attributes:

scriptkey

The name of the environment variable. This attribute is required and should also exist in cbscript.json.

placement

If this attribute is present and set to true, it indicates that the attribute can be displayed only during the placement phase for pattern deployment.

Example:

In cbscript.json, the scriptkey attribute has an environment variable named "VOLUME_ID".

[
 { 
  "keys": [
    {
     "scriptkey":"VOLUME_ID",
     "scriptvalue":"",
     "scriptdefaultvalue":"",
    "required":false
    }
 ]
}
]

In extendeattribute.json, the placement attribute "VOLUME_ID" is set to true. It means that this script key will not appear at pattern design time, but will appear only in the placement phase of pattern deployment.

[
{
	"keys":[
	 {
	"scriptkey":"VOLUME_ID",
	  "placement":"true"
	}
]
}
]

product_license

Specifies license information for the script package. The following attributes are available:

productid

The product ID associated with the license, as represented in the license catalog. Example:

"productid": "5725L53"

licensetype

Defines the type of license. The following values are valid:

PerCore

This type of license charges users according to the number of processor cores that are used.

PVU

This type of license charges users according to the processor value units used.

SERVER

This type of license charges users according to the number of virtual servers used.

COMPUTE_NODE

This type of license charges users according to the number of compute nodes that are used.

Example:

"licensetype": "PVU"

licensecpu

When the type of license is SERVER, this required attribute specifies the processor count limit for this server license. Example:

"licensecpu": "4"

licensememory

When the type of license is SERVER, this required attribute specifies the memory limit in GB for this server license. Example:

"licensememory": "4"

readonly

If this attribute is present and set to true, the script package is set as read-only when it is imported to the system. The script package is locked to prevent further editing.

rebootAfterExecution

If this attribute is present and set to true, the virtual machine restarts after the script package runs.

Note: This attribute is supported only for virtual system instances that were deployed from virtual system patterns. This attribute is not supported for use with classic virtual system instances that were deployed from classic virtual system patterns.

rolling

For virtual system instances with more than one virtual machine, specifies whether the script package is run in parallel rather than in sequence. If this attribute is present and set to false, the script package is run in parallel, and starts on all virtual machines in the virtual system instance at the same time. If this attribute is not present, or is set to true, the behavior defaults to rolling, which means that the script package starts on one virtual machine in the virtual system instance. The script package is not started on the next virtual machine in the virtual system instance until it is finished running on the first virtual machine. The script package starts on the next virtual machine in the virtual system instance regardless of whether the previous script completed successfully or failed.

Note: This attribute is supported only for virtual system instances that were deployed from virtual system patterns. This attribute is not supported for use with classic virtual system instances that were deployed from classic virtual system patterns.

savevars

Specifies whether changes made to script package parameter values are persisted after deployment, and reapplied to subsequent runs of the script package. For more information, see the subsequent section, Saving configuration changes to run script packages after deployment.

true

Script package parameter values are set only in the environment and are not written to the script_parms.json file. This setting is the preferred setting.

false

Script package parameter values are set in the environment and are written to the script_parms.json file. This value is the default value. If this file is not included in your script package, the default value of false is assumed.

{
     "envonly": "true"
}

1

An integer value equivalent to Yes (as configured in the Catalog > Script Packages page), indicating that changes made to script package parameter values after deployment are persisted. On subsequent runs of the script package, the most recent updates to script package parameter values are used instead of the configuration that was in effect at the time of deployment. This setting affects all instances of the script. Each usage of the script in a deployment pattern has its own copy of the script parameter values.

0

An integer value equivalent to No (as configured in the Catalog > Script Packages page), indicating that changes made to script package parameter values after deployment are not persisted. On subsequent runs of the script package, the parameter values that were applied at the time of deployment are presented, and you must manually change these values as needed each time that you run the script package.

{
     "savevars": "1"
}

"<parameter_name>": "<parameter_value>"

[
  {
    "envonly": "true",
    "savevars": "1",
    "rolling":true,
    "rolling_timeout":500,  
    "readonly": "true",
    "product_license": {
       "productid": "5725A26",
       "licensetype": "SERVER",
       "licensecpu": "16",
       "licensememory": "4"
    }
  }
]

• Each virtual machine instance that is created runs the script by using a unique copy of PCa.
  • Instance VMa1 has configuration PCa1.
  • Instance VMa2 has configuration PCa2.
• When the script package is run on either of these virtual machine instances, the equivalent configuration at the time of deployment is applied, since PCa is identical to PCa1 and PCa2.
• Now, suppose you run the script package on instance VMa1 and change the configuration settings, effectively creating a new set of parameters, PCa3.
• With the savevars attribute set to 1 (Yes), the configuration PCa3 is saved, replacing both PCa1 for VMa1 and PCa for the virtual machine:
  • Virtual machine VMa now has the latest configuration settings, PCa3.
  • Instance VMa1 also has the latest configuration settings, PCa3.
  • Instance VMa2 still has its copy of the original configuration, PCa2.
• When the script is run subsequent times on VMa1, PCa3 is applied.
• The next time that the script is run on VMa2, however, PCa2 is applied, but after execution completes, PCa2 is replaced by the latest configuration, PCa3. On subsequent runs of the script on VMa2, PCa3 is applied:
  • Virtual machine VMa has the latest configuration settings, PCa3.
  • Instance VMa1 has the latest configuration settings, PCa3.
  • Instance VMa2 now has the latest configuration settings, PCa3.