Understanding the Automation Config User Interface
Automation Config
User InterfaceAutomation Config
uses a web application
user interface that provides the front end to RaaS, the backend API server for Automation Config
. The interface is the central
workspace to manage minions, users, roles, jobs, and more. Management tasks are available
through different workspaces.
Automation Config Terminology
Automation Config
TerminologyGoing forward,
Automation Config
is no longer included in
the Aria Automation suite of products. The new name of this product is VMware
Tanzu Salt and this product is available as part of the VMware Tanzu Platform
suite of products. See Using and
Managing Tanzu Salt for more information.Automation Config
contains various terminology
and workspaces that you might not be familiar with.
Terminology | Description |
|---|---|
Dashboard | The Dashboard can visualize various kinds of system metrics
and network data, and display reports. The Dashboard creates
visual reports using system metrics collected by the RaaS
server. The reports can only display system data from the last
24 hours or less. To get a more detailed view of your system
metrics over a longer period of time, you can use the
/metrics endpoint command to export system
metrics to third-party tools such as Prometheus or other monitoring and alerting tools.
For more information, see Dashboard
Reports. |
Reports | The Reports workspace provides an overview of important
metrics in your Automation Config environment, such as number of licenses
available and used, or the Salt version installed on different
nodes. You can
view reports under the Home screen.
Reports update automatically to reflect the current state of
your system. Report data is provided for all minions.
However, some reports can be filtered by target group.
In the
Reports workspace, you can view important metrics in your
Automation Config environment. The workspace provides
downloads and a graph for each report type. You can also
adjust the columns displayed for each report, as well as
filter column data. Reports are available in either JSON or
CSV format.Automation Config
includes these report types:
|
Minions | Minions are nodes
running the minion service, which can listen to commands
from a Salt master and perform the requested tasks. Salt
masters can run the minion service, which makes it possible
to configure and manage the node running the Salt controller
service as needed. The Targets
workspace includes a list of all Salt minions that are
running the minion service and that are currently managed by
Automation Config .The
Targets workspace is also used to
view minion details, search for or sort minions by ID or
other properies, run ad-hoc jobs or commands, and create new
targets. A target is the group of minions, across one or
many Salt masters, that a job’s Salt command applies to.You can also use
this workspace to adjust target settings, such as attached
pillars, run jobs, and assign a role or pillar to a
target. |
Targets | A target is a
group of minions, across one or many Salt masters, that a
job's Salt command applies to. Targets can contain minions
that are connected to any Salt master in your environment. A
Salt master can also be managed like a minion and can be a
target if it is running the minion service. Defining targets
for your jobs or operations helps to prevent operations from
running on nodes that should not run that operation. You can
organize your targets using grains, globs, lists, or
compounds. You can use the
Targets workspace to create and
manage your target groups and quickly view information about
your target groups. |
Minion Keys | The Minion Keys workspace is used to manage minion keys. A
minion key allows encrypted communication between a Salt master
and Salt minion. The workspace provides an overview of all
minions filtered by their respective key states. On initial
connection, a Salt minion sends its public key to the Salt
master, which the Salt master can accept, reject, or deny.
|
Activity | The Activity workspace is used to monitor the status of jobs
and other activities. The Activity workspace gives visibility to
many types of events and activities, such as scheduled jobs,
ad-hoc jobs, compliance or vulnerability assessments. |
Jobs | Jobs are used to run remote execution tasks, apply states,
and start Salt runners. The Jobs workspace is where you can
create, configure, and save job settings for reuse. Jobs are
generally intended for system operations that need to be
automated and executed multiple times and saves configuration
time. For more information, see How do I
create jobs. |
Schedules | Schedules are used to automate job execution. You can use the
Schedules workspace to schedule one-off or recurring jobs to
monitor your environment, run jobs continuously at any time,
enable/disable schedules, or run a scheduled job. For more
information, see How do I
create jobs. |
Pillars | The Pillars workspace allows you to create and manage pillar
data that is stored natively in Automation Config . Pillars are structures of
data defined on the Salt master and passed through to one or
more minions, using targets. They allow confidential, targeted
data to be securely sent only to the relevant minion. For more
information, see How do I
create pillar data. |
File Server | The file server is a location for storing both Salt-specific
files, such as top files or state files, as well as files that
can be distributed to minions, such as system configuration
files. In the File Server workspace, you can view, author, and
save state files (YAML), and text files. Files in Automation Config are useful
for configuring states you can then apply through jobs. Jobs are
used to run remote execution tasks, apply states, and start Salt
runners. In the
File Server workspace, you can
create new files and clone existing ones. You can also edit
and delete files. |