This blog was started to collect and share my experience in automation with Broadcom's tool Automation Engine. For more than 10 years I install and maintain environments, but also create solutions to solve various production requests and questions.
Starting with version 8 until one of the latest 12.3. This year version 21 was published.
The tool changes its name and owner over the last decades, but is still one of the biggest player in market for automation. Today it is owned by Broadcom and current product name is Automic Automation, but it is still wellknown as UC4.
Automic Automation is using Client / Server Architecture. With version 21 Broadcom now enables installation on Kubernetes. Most information like definitions and statistics is saved in database. Automic supports Oracle and Postgres for Windows and Linux environments, MS SQL server only for Windows.
High availibility is possible with database cluster and multiple AE server. AE server are able to switch the role primary between servers automatically.
Defined tasks get scheduled and controlled by AE server in work processes (WP). The tasks itself get executed by agents, which are connected via communication processes (CP) to AE server.
There are various types of agents.
(1.) OS agents exist for Windows and Linux, but also for Mainframes (zOS). The installation take place on the server on which the task is executed.
(2.) Application agents like SAP agents or Database agents can be installed on any server. This kind of agent communicate with own protocol via network. This also valid for Rapid Automation (RA) agents, that are supporting protocols like SFTP, JMS, JMX …
Integration to third party applications is possible via UC4 Java API und Call API. With UC4 Java API there is full access to capabilities of Automic Automation. It is possible to do mass changes, to execute automated complex searches, to create statistics or lists with detail information of scheduled tasks. With Call API UC4Script can be executed from outside. Starting with version 12.0 there is now also Rest API available, but capabilities are still limited.
Another good source of information is database. Lots of information can be selected and problems can be solved by SQL.
This is a broad bucket of interesting topics.