Getting started with IBM UrbanCode Release

Quickly become productive with IBM® UrbanCode Release by following these steps.

The following diagram outlines the basic steps that are required to create a release and run a deployment in a release environment. Each box describes a core activity and, taken together, illustrates the product's primary function. The fastest way to become productive is to work through these steps and understand what each does and how each interrelates with the others.

The process editor, showing the
      editing area and the list of available steps Click this area for information about integrating with external products. Click this area for information about creating applications. Click this area for information about creating release environments. Click this area for information about creating releases. Click this area for information about creating deployment plans. Click this area for information about creating plan segments. Click this area for information about creating tasks. Click this area for information about creating releases. Click this area for information about scheduling deployments. Click this area for information about running deployments.

Setup applications and environments

Table 1. Setup activities
Activity Description
Configure integrations

Make external objects available by configuring integrations. IBM UrbanCode Deploy applications and snapshots, for example, become available afterIBM UrbanCode Deploy is integrated with IBM UrbanCode Release.

Create applications

Create applications that are used in manual tasks. See Creating and configuring applications.

Define release environments

Create the environments that are mapped to release phases. When a release is created, you assign an environment to each phase.

Plan the release

Each release presents its own challenges, but the following approach can be useful:

Table 2. Release planning activities
Activity Description
Create the release.

Give the release a meaningful name and description.

Associate applications with the release

Although applications are not required (you might create a release that is composed entirely of milestones and infrastructure-related tasks, for example), most releases involve deploying applications. Applications can come from integration with external tools such as IBM UrbanCode Deploy, or be created within IBM UrbanCode Release itself.

Define path to production

The phases available to a release are defined in the lifecycle that is selected for it. It might be helpful to think of a lifecycle model as a template used to create and drive releases. A lifecycle defines the progression of phases through which software passes on its way to production, which is represented by a production phase, or some similarly designated final phase. The lifecycle does not specify which particular environments are used for a release, but the general pattern. For example, a lifecycle might have the following phases: Development, Quality Assurance, and Production. Releases based on this lifecycle have all three phases, although the actual environments used might vary from release to release. A lifecycle can also define the quality steps, called gates, required to be successfully completed before software can progress to the next phase.

Map release environments to phases

Identify the environments to be used during each lifecycle phase. A release environment is a user-defined construct that represents deployment targets.

Identify deployment dates and reserve release environments

Known production and pre-production dates can be recorded and disseminated by scheduling deployments to the environments allocated to the release.

To avoid conflicts with other releases, reserve release environments.

Create or modify deployment plans

Deployment plans define the segments and segment-related tasks that drive deployments.

Table 3. Deployment plan activities
Activity Description
Create a deployment plan.

Typically, you create deployment plans from existing plans but you can start with a blank plan.

Create plan segments

Segments are containers for tasks that have some user-defined relationship and that must be finished together.

Create automatic tasks

A task represents a release activity that has starting and ending points and a measurable duration. Typically, automatic tasks represent application processes that are imported from IBM UrbanCode Deploy.

Create manual tasks

When you create a manual task, you specify its duration and define its pattern. The pattern determines how frequently the task can be used and the release environments where it can be used.

Associate the plan with a release

When you create a deployment plan, you associate it with a release. Each release-plan combination is unique.

Run deployments

You complete a deployment by resolving its tasks. Resolve tasks by starting them and then applying various statuses to them.

Table 4. Deployment activities
Activity Description
Schedule the deployment

When you schedule a deployment, you select the release, the release environment, associated application versions, and the deployment plan. Beginning at the scheduled start time, your team resolves the deployment's tasks. Deployments can start automatically or manually. Rules can also be defined to run deployments on a recurring schedule.

Select application versions

If you did not configure the deployment to automatically select application versions, you can select versions anytime before the deployment starts. Automatic tasks without designated application versions cannot run.

Configure notifications

Notifications can be set to trigger in several ways. Email notifications can be sent to users whenever user-defined trigger events occur.

Start the deployment.

When a deployment starts, regularly updated feedback provides information about the deployment's progress. You can also modify existing tasks and add new ones even after the deployment starts.

Start segments.

The tasks in a segment cannot be started until the segment itself is started. More than one segment can be started and be in progress at the same time. If a segment has prerequisites, it cannot be started until all prerequisite segments are complete.

Claim and resolve tasks

Before a task can be started, it must be claimed by a user with the role that is assigned to the task. A task is resolved by changing its status.

When all tasks are resolved, the deployment is complete.


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