Enterprise Manager sub-type operation

Theme: Configure | Audience: Automation Engineer

What is it?

The Enterprise Manager sub-type provides a Windows job sub-type form for defining Azure VM jobs within OpCon's Enterprise Manager interface. It simplifies the process of building the command-line arguments required to run each connector task.

• Use this sub-type when your OpCon environment uses Enterprise Manager and you want a guided form for defining Azure VM job definitions.
• Use this sub-type when you need to manage Azure virtual machines — create, delete, start, stop, restart, or list — as automated steps in an OpCon schedule.

Prerequisites

Before defining Azure VM jobs, confirm the following:

• The Azure VM Connector is installed on a Windows agent. See Installation.
• The AzureVmPath global property is created and contains the connector installation directory.
• The global properties AZURE_WINDOWS_SERVERS, AZURE_LINUX_SERVERS, and AZURE_SERVER_SIZES are created and populated with valid values. These properties populate the drop-down lists in the sub-type form.

The three global properties are defined as follows:

Property	Description
AZURE_WINDOWS_SERVERS	Comma-separated list of Windows VM image names (double quotes required around each value)
AZURE_LINUX_SERVERS	Comma-separated list of Linux VM image names (double quotes required around each value)
AZURE_SERVER_SIZES	Comma-separated list of VM size names (double quotes required around each value)

AzureVM job sub-type

The AzureVM connector provides a Windows job sub-type that simplifies job definitions in OpCon.

To define an Azure VM job in Enterprise Manager, complete the following steps:

1. Create or open a Windows job in Enterprise Manager.
2. From the Job Sub-Type list, select Azure VM.
3. From the Task list, select the task to perform.
4. Enter the required field values for the selected task. Only fields applicable to the selected task are enabled.
5. Select Save.

note

Once a task has been saved, the task type cannot be changed.

When creating a virtual machine, complete the following fields:

1. From the Virtual Machine Type list, select Windows or Linux. The Image Name list updates to show images for the selected type.
2. From the Region list, select the target Azure region.
3. From the Image Name list, select the image to use. To use a custom image, select the Custom Image checkbox. When using a custom image, a disk size is not required.
4. From the Image Size list, select the VM size. For custom images, the size must match the size used when the image was created.
5. In the Disk Size (Gb) field, enter a disk size in gigabytes. This field is required for non-custom images.
6. In the Network and Address Space fields, enter the virtual network and subnet. To add the VM to an existing network, enter the existing network name.
7. In the Admin Userid field, enter an administrator user name following the naming requirements for your VM type.
8. In the Admin Userid Password field, enter the administrator password. Encrypted global properties can be used to conceal the password value.

AzureVM arguments

The AzureVM connector uses command-line arguments to define tasks. The sub-type form generates these arguments automatically when a job is saved.

Global arguments

The following arguments apply to all tasks:

Argument	Description
-rg	(Required) The resource group associated with the Azure request
-t	(Required) The task to perform

Create virtual machine

Creates a new virtual machine in the associated resource group.

Argument	Description
-t	Value: create
-vm	(Required) The name of the virtual machine to create
-ippvt	(Optional) The global property name to store the private IP address of the new VM
-ippub	(Optional) The global property name to store the public IP address of the new VM
-r	(Required) The Azure region where the VM will be created
-at	(Required) The attributes used to create the VM
-ci	(Optional) Include this flag if the image is a custom image

Example:

AzureVM.exe -rg MY_RESOURCEGROUP -t create -vm MY_VMACHINE -ippvt MY_VMACHINE_PVT -ippub MY_VMACHINE_PUB -at "linux,LINUX003,Canonical_UbuntuServer_18.04-LTS,Standard_DS3_v2,50,myadmin,<SmaEncrypt>Ohj+VFLoM3YX0WxNNN4vJQ==</SmaEncrypt>,LzLabsEU/default,LzLabsEU/default,"

Delete virtual machine

Removes a virtual machine from the resource group.

Argument	Description
-t	Value: delete
-vm	(Required) The name of the virtual machine to delete

Example:

AzureVM.exe -rg MY_RESOURCEGROUP -t delete -vm MY_VMACHINE

List virtual machines

Returns status information for all virtual machines in the resource group.

Argument	Description
-t	Value: list

Example:

AzureVM.exe -rg MY_RESOURCEGROUP -t list

Sample output:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
Virtual Machine Name     Region              Current State                 IP Private     IP Public      OS Type    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
LINUX001                 West Europe         PowerState/running            10.1.0.17      52.178.65.0    LINUX      
LINUX002                 West Europe         PowerState/running            10.1.0.16      13.95.134.20   LINUX      
LINUX003                 West Europe         PowerState/running            10.1.0.18      13.95.106.31   LINUX      
OpCon                    West Europe         PowerState/running            10.1.0.6       52.166.248.28  WINDOWS    
SDM2                     West Europe         PowerState/stopped            10.1.0.9       168.63.108.63  LINUX      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

PowerOff virtual machine

Powers off a virtual machine. The VM is stopped but resources remain allocated.

Argument	Description
-t	Value: poweroff
-vm	(Required) The name of the virtual machine to power off

Example:

AzureVM.exe -rg MY_RESOURCEGROUP -t poweroff -vm MY_VMACHINE

Restart virtual machine

Restarts a virtual machine. Optionally stores the IP addresses after restart.

Argument	Description
-t	Value: restart
-vm	(Required) The name of the virtual machine to restart
-ippvt	(Optional) The global property name to store the private IP address after restart
-ippub	(Optional) The global property name to store the public IP address after restart

Example:

AzureVM.exe -rg MY_RESOURCEGROUP -t restart -vm MY_VMACHINE -ippvt MY_VMACHINE_PVT -ippub MY_VMACHINE_PUB

Start virtual machine

Starts a stopped virtual machine. Optionally stores the IP addresses after startup.

Argument	Description
-t	Value: start
-vm	(Required) The name of the virtual machine to start
-ippvt	(Optional) The global property name to store the private IP address after startup
-ippub	(Optional) The global property name to store the public IP address after startup

Example:

AzureVM.exe -rg MY_RESOURCEGROUP -t start -vm MY_VMACHINE -ippvt MY_VMACHINE_PVT -ippub MY_VMACHINE_PUB

Exit codes

The connector returns 0 on success and 1 on failure.

To detect a failure, set the Failure Criteria for the job to NE (Not Equal) to 0.

FAQs

What is the difference between PowerOff and Delete? PowerOff stops the VM and keeps it in a stopped state while Azure continues to reserve the allocated resources. Delete removes the VM and its resources from the resource group entirely.

Can I store the VM's IP address in an OpCon global property after a start or restart? Yes. Use the -ippvt argument to store the private IP address and -ippub to store the public IP address. Provide the name of the global property (not the property value) as the argument value.

Can I use encrypted global properties for the Admin Userid Password? Yes. Encrypted global properties can be referenced in the Admin Userid Password field to avoid displaying the password in plaintext in the job definition.

Why does saving a job lock the task type? The task type determines which fields are required and which arguments are generated. Changing the task type after saving would invalidate the saved field values.

Glossary

Resource group — An Azure container that holds related resources such as virtual machines. All connector tasks target a single resource group per job.

Sub-type — A guided form in Enterprise Manager that simplifies job definition for a specific connector. The Azure VM sub-type generates the required command-line arguments for the selected task.

Global property — A named value stored in OpCon that can be referenced in job definitions. Used by the Azure VM Connector to provide image lists, size lists, and to store VM IP addresses after job completion.

PowerState/running — The Azure VM status indicator that confirms the VM is powered on and operational, as shown in the list task output.