We’re pleased to announce that we have beta copies of the new RES Automation Manager Job Execution Tool (JET) and Job Execution Tool Command Line (JETCMD) available. The premise of these two new utilities is to overcome a particular shortcoming in the RES Automation Manager product suite; unattended job scheduling. These new tools overcome the following problems:
- When scheduling a job unattended you have to specify the target agent that you wish a job to run on as there is no way to flag the “local” machine.
- When integrating RES Automation Manager jobs with RES Workspace Manager you have to supply parameter values up front. There is no way to prompt the user for parameter values from RES Workspace Manager.
- When parameter values are required at run-time, jobs have to be scheduled via the RES Automation Manager GUI.
JET
The main JET utility is a graphical interface, dynamically built around an XML 
configuration file. Its initial intention was to be able to schedule RES Automation Manager jobs via managed RES Workspace Manager managed shortcuts with the ability to prompt for parameter values. Many customers have asked whether we can provide access to Run Books without granting access to the RES Automation Manager console. Unfortunately for us, there is no way to prompt for RES Automation Manager parameters when integrated with RES Workspace Manager. We can integrate parameters, but they’re a one-way operation and set in stone, i.e. they cannot be changed on the fly only configured up front.
JET overcomes this issue and permits execution of either Modules, Projects or Run Books on the local agent without having to know the local agent’s name, GUID or launch the RES Automation Manager console. If you don’t want the target job to run on the local agent, then it can all be predefined in the target Run Book.
Here are a couple of scenarios where we have used JET to-date:
- Invoking AD object creation tasks (users etc) via managed desktop shortcut without requiring access to the RES Automation Manager console. This provides a simple to access self-service menu and reduces training as Helpdesk staff having to understand another console.
- During imaging processes to allow the technicians to select the target department/application set for the end user. Otherwise, this would require the technician having to manually schedule a RES Automation Manager project on the target device. What is its name etc.
The graphical interface is fully customisable (within reason) so you can change all the wording and even the main graphic if required. This helps end-user adoption as it can be branded with the corporate imaging etc. Here’s an example we’ve used (customer artwork removed!) at the end of the imaging process. After deployment, the relevant departmental applications can be installed by selecting the department:
These new tools will be included in the upcoming Virtual Engine Toolkit v1.2 release. Until then, if you’d like a copy please complete the Contact Us form or email me and we’ll happily send you a copy!
