Working with configuration items

XL Deploy stores all of its information in the repository. The Explorer gives you access to the configuration items (CIs) in the repository and allows you to edit them manually.

Create a new CI

To create a new CI in the repository:

  1. Select the type of CI to create. In the Explorer, locate the place in the left pane where you want to create the CI, hover over it and click Explorer action menu, and then select New. Select the CI type you want to create.
  2. Create a new CI. The selected CI type will be opened in the right pane. Fill in the required properties to create a new CI. Note: the Id field of the CI is a special non-editable property that determines the place of the CI in the repository. For more information about the Id property, see the XL Deploy Reference Manual.
  3. Save the new CI. Click on the Save button to save the new CI in the repository. XL Deploy will perform validation on the CI to ensure that all properties have appropriate values. An error message is shown if not.

If the CI is an artifact CI representing a binary file, you can upload the file from your local machine into XL Deploy. If the CI contains a directory structure then you must first add it to a ZIP file, then upload it.

Note In the left pane of the Explorer, you can move a CI from one directory to another using drag and drop.

Duplicate a CI

You can create a new CI by starting from a copy of an existing CI as a template. This is possible by duplicating an existing CI:

  1. Browse to the existing CI. In the Explorer, locate in the left pane an existing CI you want to use as a template for a new CI.
  2. Select Duplicate. Hover over the CI and click Explorer action menu and then select Duplicate.

This creates an exact copy of the existing CI. The copy contains the same name as the original, with the word ‘Copy’ appended. The duplicate can be modified by changing the name or the properties.

Modify a CI

To modify an existing CI:

  1. Select the CI in the Explorer. In the Explorer, navigate the left pane to find the CI you want to modify. For more information about the repository structure, see the XL Deploy Reference Manual.
  2. Edit the CI. Use double click to edit the CI the right pane.
  3. Save the CI. Click on the Save button to save the new CI in the repository. XL Deploy will perform validation on the CI to ensure that all properties have appropriate values. An error message is shown if not.

Delete a CI

To delete an existing CI:

  1. Select the CI in the Explorer. In the Explorer, navigate the left pane to find the CI you want to delete. For more information about the repository structure, see the XL Deploy Reference Manual.
  2. Delete the CI. Hover over the CI and click Explorer action menu and then select Delete XL Deploy will confirm whether you want to delete the CI and, if yes, the CI will be deleted.

Note that deleting a CI will also delete all nested CIs. For example, by deleting an environment CI, all deployments on that environment will also be deleted. The deployment package that was deployed on the environment, however, will remain under the Applications root node.

Note that you cannot recover a deleted CI.

Compare CIs

Comparing against other CIs

Depending on your environment, deploying the same application to multiple environments may use different settings. With all these differences, it is easy to lose track of what is running where and how it is configured. XL Deploy’s CI comparison feature makes it easy to spot the differences between two or more deployments.

To compare multiple CIs, follow these steps:

  1. Select the reference CI in the Explorer. The reference CI is the basis for the comparison, the CI that the other CIs are compared against. In the Explorer, locate in the left pane an existing CI you want to use as reference CI, hover over it and click Explorer action menu, and then select Compare > With other CI.
  2. Drag comparison CIs into the Comparison Tab. To add more CIs into the comparison, locate them in the left pane and drag them into the Comparison Tab. XL Deploy will mark the properties that are different in red.

You can only compare CIs that have the same type and a maximum number of 5 CIs.

Comparing against previous versions

Whenever you make changes to a CI, XL Deploy creates a record of the previous version of the CI. You can see and compare a CIs current and previous versions with the comparison feature.

The current version of a CI is always called ‘current’ in XL Deploy. Only CIs that are persisted get a version number which starts from 1.0. The reported date and time are the creation or modification date and time of the CI. The user reported is the user that created or modified the CI.

Note: The comparison does not show properties that are declared “as containment” on child CIs pointing upwards to their parent.

Important: As of version 8.0.0, the CIs under Applications cannot be compared against their previous versions.

To compare different versions, follow these steps:

  1. Select the CI you want to compare in the Explorer. In the Explorer, locate in the left pane an existing CI you want to use as reference CI, hover over it and click Explorer action menu, and then select Compare > With previous version. If there are previous versions available, a comparison workspace will be displayed. By default, XL Deploy will compare the current version with the previous version.
  2. Select different versions. You can change the version shown in the left and right hand side of the comparison window by using the version dropdown list.

You can only compare versions of one specific CI against itself. It is not possible to see CI renames and security permission changes in the CI history, this information can be found in the auditing logs.

Comparing a CI tree

The XL Deploy Compare feature allows you to compare two or more CI trees. That means, in addition to comparing the chosen configuration items, it recursively traverses the CI tree and compares each CI from one tree with matching configuration items from other trees. For information about using the Compare feature, refer to Compare configuration items.

CIs and security

Access to CIs is determined by local permissions set on repository directories. For information about local permissions, refer to Roles and permissions in XL Deploy.

Customizing CI types

For information about the ways that you can customize the XL Deploy CI type system, refer to: