Managing computers

Learn how to create and edit computers, and install computer certificates.

About this task

IBM RPA automatically adds your computer to the IBM RPA Control Center environment after installing it. However, in some rare occasions, IBM RPA is unable to add the computer, and you must do it manually.

This section describes how to manage computers on the Computers page in the IBM RPA Control Center.

Before you begin

Your user needs permission to manage computers. For more information, see Managing user's roles and Permission set.

Procedure for creating a computer

  1. Log in to IBM RPA Control Center.
  2. In the Define menu, click the Computers > Computers tab.
  3. Click Create computer.
  4. In Name field, enter the computer's hostname. ❕ Important: If the server uses MSMQ as the system queue provider, the computer's hostname must be a maximum of 15 characters long.
  5. Optional: From the Credential list, select a credential to use to unlock the computer, if any.
  6. Optional: In the Physical address field, enter the computer's MAC Address.
  7. From the Computer Type list, select the type of computer you want to create:
    • Select Runtime Server to create a computer for bot operations in general.
    • Select Telephony Server to create a computer for IVR operations.

Creating a runtime server

  1. Optional: In the Vnc Password field, enter the password that is used for a VNC connection, if any.
  2. Optional: In the Queues runtime percentage field, enter the amount of time, in percentage, that the runtime application uses for processing queues.
  3. Optional: In Standing by runtimes, set the number of runtimes to load on stand-by. When this field has a positive integer other than 0, the Bot Agent pre-loads additional runtimes on stand-by mode to avoid loading them later when an script needs to run. Use this strategy if you want to increase performance, recommended for Digital assistants and concurrent operations.
  4. For IBM RPA on premises offerings: In the Capacity field, enter the amount of concurrent runtimes that the computer uses.

Creating a telephony server

  1. In the Host Name field, enter the computer's hostname or IP address. Icon for tip note. Tip: To find the computer's hostname, type hostname on Windows PowerShell.
  2. From the Ami Credential list, select the access credential to the Asterisk Management Interface.
  3. In the Ami Port field, enter the port number to communicate with AMI. The default port is 5038.
  4. From the SSH Credential list, select the access credential to Windows terminal through the SSH protocol.
  5. In the SSH port field, enter the port number to use the SSH protocol. The default port is 22.

Procedure for editing a computer

  1. Log in to IBM RPA Control Center.
  2. In the Define menu, click the Computers > Computers tab.
  3. Choose a computer and click the vertical ellipsis button ⋮ > Edit.
  4. Fill in the fields according to Procedure for creating a computer.

What to do next

The certificate is automatically installed together with the computer after you install IBM RPA client. However, occasions where the tenant ID was not specified during the installation, or the current certificate is invalid or corrupted, and you must do it manually. For instructions on how to install a certificate, see Installing computer certificate.