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Version: Deploy 24.3

Get started with CIs

This topic provides information on how Deploy stores all its data in the repository. The Explorer interface allows you to access, view, and manually edit the configuration items (CIs) stored in the repository.

Create a new CI​

To create a new CI in the repository:

  1. On the top navigation bar, click Explorer.
  2. In the left pane, depending on the type of CI you want to create, select Applications, Environments, or Configurations, and click Explorer action menu, select New, and select the CI type you want to create.
  3. Fill in the required properties. Note: The ID field of the CI is a special non-editable property that determines the place of the CI in the repository.
  4. Click Save and close.

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

note

In 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 from a copy of an existing CI as a template. To duplicate an existing CI:

  1. On the top navigation bar, click Explorer.
  2. In the left pane, Select the CI that you want to duplicate from the repository directory.
  3. Hover over the CI, click Explorer action menu, and select Duplicate.

This creates a duplicate copy of the existing CI. The copy contains same name as the original, with the word 'Copy' appended. The duplicate can be modified by changing the name or other properties.

The logic to find a name for the duplicated CI is as follows. First it tries to append "(1)" to the name in case current name is not ending with same. If such name already exists then it will try to create "(2)", "(3)" and so forth till it finds a non-conflicting name

Modify a CI​

To modify an existing CI:

  1. On the top navigation bar, click Explorer.
  2. In the left pane, select the CI that you want to modify from the repository directory.
  3. Use double click the CI.
  4. Modify the CI.
  5. Click Save and close.
  6. **Save Click on the Save.

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

Delete a CI​

important

You cannot recover a deleted CI.

To delete an existing CI:

  1. On the top navigation bar, click Explorer.
  2. In the left pane, select the CI that you want to Delete from the repository directory.
  3. Hover over the CI and click Explorer action menu, then select Delete.
note

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, will remain under the Applications root node.

Compare CIs​

Comparing against other CIs​

Depending on your environment, deploying the same application to multiple environments may use different settings. To help keep of what is running where and how it is configured, the Deploy CI comparison feature can be used to find the differences between two or more deployments.

To compare multiple CIs:

  1. On the top navigation bar, click Explorer.
  2. In the left pane, select the CI that you want to use as the reference CI, click Explorer action menu, then Compare > With other CI.
note

The reference CI what the other CIs will compared against.

  1. To add more CIs into the comparison, locate them in the left pane and drag them into the Comparison Tab. Deploy will mark the properties that are different in red.
note

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

Comparing against previous versions​

When you make changes to a CI, 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 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

CIs under Applications cannot be compared against their previous versions.

To compare different versions:

  1. On the top navigation bar, click Explorer.
  2. In the left pane, select the CI that you want to use as the reference CI, click Explorer action menu, then Compare > With previous version. If previous versions are available, a comparison workspace will be displayed. By default, Deploy will compare the current version with the previous version.
  3. 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.
note

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 Deploy Compare feature can compare two or more CI trees. 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, see Compare configuration items.

CIs and security​

Access to CIs is determined by local permissions set on repository directories. For more information, see Local permissions.

Customizing CI types​

For information on how you can customize the Deploy CI type system, see to: