Application Configurations in software policies

Application configurations can be a powerful tool when used inside a software policy. A software policy defines an ideal state of an application including all the packages, patches, scripts, and other objects to be installed on a server, as well as the way configuration files for the application should be set on the server. When you install the software policy on a managed server, SA applies all the contents to the servers targeted by the policy, including all the values defined in the application configuration.

Using the compliance view in the SA Client, you can view the compliance status of the software installed from the policy. For example, if someone removes a patch from the software policy or installs a new package on the server or changes one of the configuration files defined in the policy, the policy will show as out of compliance in the compliance view. To make sure the application is installed and configured correctly, you can remediate the server.

For more information on using and creating software policies, see "Software Management" section in the the SA 10.51 Use section.

To use application configurations in a software policy:

1. Define Application:Before building a software policy, an application expert gathers all the necessary packages and patches that comprise the application. In addition, gather the configuration templates that define and manage the configuration files associated with the application.
2. Import Packages and Patches into SA: Once the components of a software policy have been defined, import all the packages and patches that comprise the application into the SA Library, so they can be placed in the software policy.
3. Create Application Configuration and Set Values: Define the configuration values that will be used to generate the configuration files. For example, if the software policy is being created to deploy an Apache Web Server, the application expert uses the value set editor to define the default values for the httpd.conf file. Add any pre- or post-installation scripts to the application configuration, for example, to restart the Apache service after the application configuration is pushed during the software policy remediation.
4. Test Application Configurations: Before adding the application configurations to a software policy and deploying the application to a server, it is a good idea to attach the application configuration to a server and make sure that the application is working properly before creating the software policy. You can preview pushing configurations to a server to verify their correctness.
5. Create Software Policy: Once all of the components of the software policy have been defined, created, and imported into SA, the application expert creates a software policy that specifies the software to be installed, the order in which its components will be installed, including all of the patches, packages, and application configurations. When the software policy is saved in the SA Library, it is then accessible to the systems administrators who deploy, test, and manage the application.
6. Attach Policy to Servers or Groups of Servers: After the software policy has been created and saved, the system administrator attaches the policy to a server or group of servers in a device group.
7. Remediate Servers to Install the Software: The system administrator deploys the software to one or more servers by remediating the software policy on servers. Remediation ensures that everything defined in the policy is deployed on the target servers in the order specified in the policy. Prior to remediation, the administrator can preview application configurations in the job. The preview step provides the option to define the appconfig values for the template variables at the server-instance level.
8. Test Application and Iterate Changes: After the system administrator installs the application using software policy remediation, before the application is put into a production environment, the application should be tested to make sure it works properly and contains the correct components. In addition, each part of the application that is affected by its configuration files should be checked to ensure it is configured properly.
9. Roll Out the Application: After the application is deployed and in use, the system administrator can perform ongoing management and maintenance tasks, such as running software compliance scans to determine the compliance status of servers where the application is deployed, remediating non-compliant servers, and generating software compliance reports.

For more information on using software policies, see the SA 10.51 Use section.