Using the Platform UI

With the Platform UI, you can create templates for deploying instances and apply labels to manage them.

For information about administrative tasks, see Configuring the Platform UI.

For more information about features in the Platform UI, see the following topics:

Deploying an instance from a template

You can deploy any instance type by importing a template from Automation assets. Sharing and reusing templates can help your team achieve consistency across your installation.

  1. Log in to the Platform UI.

  2. In the instances section, click Create an instance.

  3. On the "Create an instance" page, click a tile for any instance type.
    Tip: If the operator for a particular instance type is not already installed, the tile may not be available. The UI will provide instructions for installing.
  4. On the next page, click Select a template from Automation assets.

  5. On the "Select a template" page, click to select a template from the list. You get a preview of the custom resource for the asset you want to use.

  6. Click Create from asset.

  7. All available fields on the instance creation page are pre-populated with values from the template. Edit these values as needed.

  8. (Optional) If you're not ready to deploy your instance, save a draft version of it. Click the overflow menu (three-dot icon), then click Save as draft. The configuration for the instance is stored in the Platform UI. You can continue editing the draft version until you are ready to create the instance from it.

  9. Click Create to deploy the instance.

Creating a template

You can edit an existing template, then import it back to Automation assets so that the updated template is available to other users. Sharing and reusing templates can help your team achieve consistency across your installation.

  1. Log in to the Platform UI.

  2. In the instances section, click Create an instance.

  3. On the Create an instance page, click any of the integration types.

  4. Click the tile for your desired deployment option, then click Next.

  5. Click the overflow menu (three-dot icon), then click Share as template.

  6. In the panel, add values for Name, Tags (optional), and Description, then click Share. This action imports the new template to Automation assets so it can be shared with other users.

Browsing templates

You can also create using templates in Automation assets. Browse for assets, identify a template you want to use, then click Create using template. You are redirected to the Platform UI to create the instance. For information, see the "Browse and use templates to start creating integrations" section in Using Automation assets.

Labeling instances

Applying labels to instances ensures that when you search for your label value in the Platform UI, the list of deployed instances is filtered to show only instances with that label. You can create your own custom labels to categorize your instances. Labels are saved and shared the next time you want apply a label, so you can easily apply the same label to multiple instances.

You can apply labels when you create an instance, or add them to instances that are already deployed. For draft instances, you can add labels only when editing the draft. Labels for draft instances are not visible or editable in the Platform UI.

You can also apply labels to instances so that the instances are available for authoring together in an integration canvas. Make sure that the canvas you create has a reference to this label. For more information, see Using the canvas to create instances and integrations.

Find the labels for each deployed instance in the Labels column of the instances table in the Platform UI. A list of labels might be represented by a number if there are too many to fit in the column. To update, add, or delete a label, click the label or number in the column to open the "Edit labels" pane.

Tip: Some instances have the backup label by default. Remove this label if you are not using OADP for backup and restore. For more information, see Backing up and restoring IBM Cloud Pak for Integration.

Access control

For information on identity and access management, such as authenticating users against an existing LDAP user registry, see Identity and access management.