Home
Modeling software deployment
Modeling software deployment in HCL Launch includes configuring components and component processes and adding those components to applications. Then, you use processes to deploy the components to environments.
Snapshots
A snapshot is a collection of specific versions of components and processes. Typically, a snapshot represents a set of component versions that are known to work together. In most cases, snapshots include all of the components in an application.
Importing and exporting snapshots
You can import and export snapshots to transfer snapshots and component version artifacts to different servers.

Modeling software deployment
Modeling software deployment in HCL Launch includes configuring components and component processes and adding those components to applications. Then, you use processes to deploy the components to environments.
- Components
  Components represent deployable items along with user-defined processes that operate on them, usually by deploying them.
- Resources
  A resource is a logical deployment target that typically resolves to an agent and a user-defined construct that is based on the architectural model of HCL Launch.
- Applications
  Applications are responsible for bringing together all the components that must be deployed together.
- Application environments
  An environment is a user-defined collection of resources that hosts an application.
- Application templates
  With an application template, you can save and reuse a collection of resources, environments, processes, and tagged components or component templates to create a standardized application.
- Application processes
  Application processes, like component processes, are created with the process editor. You use application processes to deploy or to roll back components.
- Application blueprints
  An application blueprint maps application components to a resource template. When you create an environment or provision one from the cloud, you can use the blueprint as a model.
- Snapshots
  A snapshot is a collection of specific versions of components and processes. Typically, a snapshot represents a set of component versions that are known to work together. In most cases, snapshots include all of the components in an application.
  - Creating snapshots
    To create a snapshot, you specify which version of components and processes to include in the snapshot. Typically, to create a snapshot you copy the components and processes from an environment where you deployed the application without errors.
  - Deploying snapshots
    After you create a snapshot, you can deploy the snapshot to an environment.
  - Comparing snapshots
    You can compare two snapshots to see differences in the files that they contain.
  - Previewing snapshots
    You can preview an application snapshot before you deploy it to see the upcoming changes in resources and properties.
  - Importing and exporting snapshots
    You can import and export snapshots to transfer snapshots and component version artifacts to different servers.
  - Viewing snapshot history
    You can track changes to component versions included in a specific snapshot from the Changes tab.
- Creating manual application tasks
  A manual application task interrupts an application process until manual intervention is done. To create a manual task, add a manual step to an application process and select a notification template.
- Approval process
  You can add approval requirements to deployments. Deployments with approvals cannot be completed until all approvers respond. Approvers can respond to requests on the Work Items tab, or by email.
- Inventories
  You use different inventories to track installed components and properties in HCL Launch elements.
- Processes
  Processes are automated tasks that run on agents.
- Statuses
  Create and apply statuses to track component inventory states or to track component versions in environments and resources.
- Properties
  Properties are variables that store information about many different elements, including components, environments, processes, and applications. You can also set global properties for the system.
- Tags
  A tag is a user-defined, shared, short label that you use to classify, view, and conduct operations on objects such as applications, components, agents, and resources.
- Webhooks
  Using the webhooks, you can send text-based responses to users in messaging platform such as MS Teams and Slack when a specific event occurs during deployment process.
- Secret Stores
  Allows HCL Launch to retrieve credentials of individual servers from the Vault and authenticates a plug-in step in the deployment process.

Importing and exporting snapshots

You can import and export snapshots to transfer snapshots and component version artifacts to different servers.

Before you begin

Make sure that the application and the components in the snapshot exist on the target server.

Note: Exporting snapshots in this way includes only the versions of the components that are in the snapshot. However, the exported snapshot always includes the most recent versions of component processes.

About this task

To export a snapshot, go to the Snapshots tab for an application and next to the snapshot, click Export. The server stores the snapshot, the component versions, and the plug-ins that the components use in an archive file.

To import the snapshot on another server, open the application, go to the Snapshots tab, and click Import Snapshots.

Note: You must create the archive file that contains the snapshot on a server that uses the same version of HCL Launch as the destination server.