Changed features, improvements, and RFEs in version 10.2.8

A list of features changed and improved since the previous release and major improvements.

Changed and improved features

The following features have changed or have been introduced or removed since the previous release:

Requests for enhancements (RFEs)

Requests for Enhancements (RFEs) give customers the opportunity to collaborate directly with the product development team and other users. The team prioritizes and develops new product features based on proposals made by customers.

HCL Workload Automation V 10.2.8 delivers the following RFEs:
Highly scalable Orchestration CLI extraction operations for your workloads
The Orchestration CLI extract command now delivers optimized performance and vast scaling capabilities for your demanding workloads. This optimization helps you streamline your command-line interactions and build a significantly more efficient workload automation process.
Configurable job stream warning icons: tailor your view, streamline your monitoring
The Configurable JS View Warning Icon feature enables administrators to customize the appearance of job status indicators in the Workload Viewer. By adjusting a single property in the TdwcGlobalSettings.xml file, you can decide whether to display a prominent warning icon for active, non-NOP jobs or stick with the standard job status icon. This flexibility enables operations teams to streamline their dashboard monitoring according to their visual preferences and workflow requirements.
Optimize large job stream views with configurable layouts
Large numbers of independent or parallel jobs frequently expand job stream containers beyond normal screen width, reducing graph readability and canvas navigation efficiency. This feature optimizes container dimensions by organizing parallel jobs into a structured grid layout:
  • Arranges parallel jobs in a structured grid within the job stream container.
  • Prevents horizontal expansion to maintain a consistent container width across the canvas.
  • Configures column density using the jobstreamGroupColumnperRow global setting.
  • Applies a default fallback of 3 columns per row whenever the configured setting is invalid or unavailable.
  • Preserves existing dependency chains and visual layout rules for complex job dependencies.
Standard error and standard output management in job logs
For native jobs, you can now specify how standard error and standard output information is recorded in the job log. You can choose to have this information overwrite the existing log file content, instead of appending it to the end of the file. By default, starting from version 10.2.8, HCL Workload Automation overwrites the standard output and standard error logs. You can change this behavior and revert to appending data by adding the AppendJobOutputs property to the [NativeJobLauncher] section of the JobManager.ini file and setting it to true.
If you are upgrading from a previous version, the new default behavior is automatically applied. For more information, see Configuring properties of the native job launcher [NativeJobLauncher].
Ensure smooth job execution with automated user profile loading
Streamline your task environments by ensuring your jobs always have the correct user context. Starting from version 10.2.8, HCL Workload Automation automatically loads the user profile for the user running a job for all supported operating systems. In previous versions, this feature was enabled only for Windows operating systems.
If you are upgrading from a previous version on an operating system other than Windows, this feature is automatically disabled during upgrades to maintain complete backward compatibility for your existing workflows, giving you the freedom to enable it only when you are ready. This feature is enabled or disabled by setting the LoadProfile property in the [NativeJobLauncher] section of the JobManager.ini file.
For more information, see Configuring properties of the native job launcher [NativeJobLauncher].
Implement a consumable variable for counting job reruns
You can use a deterministic rerun counter directly as a consumable variable using the ${this.rerurncount} or ${job.<JOBNAME>.rerurncount} syntax. For more information, see Gain precise control over job reruns with the new deterministic rerun counter.
Effortless control of operational and non-operational status in the Dynamic Workload Console and Orchestration CLI
Streamline your scheduling environment by setting multiple jobs or entire job streams as operational or non-operational directly in the database. Whether you use the Dynamic Workload Console or the Orchestration CLI, this bulk operation temporarily disables the specified workload without altering your complex dependency chains. For more information, see Workload management with bulk nop control.
Granular control of the draft and non-draft status in the Dynamic Workload Console and Orchestration CLI
You can now select multiple job streams and change their status to draft or non-draft (active) simultaneously in the database (model). This bulk operation can be performed smoothly using either the Dynamic Workload Console or the Orchestration CLI.

Additionally, a new specific security permission has been introduced to support this feature. To enhance security and enforce the principle of least privilege, administrators can now grant users targeted access to exclusively modify the draft status of job streams, without needing to grant them broader modification rights over the definitions. For more information, see Effortless control of your job stream status.

Parallel process stopping for ResetPlan and SwitchPlan scripts
The ResetPlan and SwitchPlan scripts now use the stop ;progressive option to halt processes hierarchically, replacing the slower, sequential conman stop @!/@/@ ; wait ; noask method. Instead of the master domain manager stopping every workstation one by one across the network, subordinate managers now independently shut down their own agents in parallel. This distributed approach significantly speeds up network shutdowns and improves overall performance during plan switches and resets.
Unlock unprecedented flexibility with nested variables
You can now define variables that contain other variables, allowing for dynamic substitution at run time. This powerful enhancement makes your workflows highly adaptable and simpler to maintain, saving you time while maximizing the reusability of your job definitions. For more information, see Nested variables for increased flexibility.
Customize Dynamic Workload Console ports using Helm charts
Helm chart configurations now include the servicePort parameter in values.yaml. Use this parameter to change the external port of the Dynamic Workload Console from its default value (9443). This added flexibility helps you integrate the console into custom network topologies and corporate firewall policies without requiring complex port-mapping workarounds or risking port conflicts in shared cluster environments.
Deploy dynamic domain manager with Docker
You can now deploy the dynamic domain manager component when installing HCL Workload Automation on Docker. This enhancement brings domain management into lightweight containerized environments, streamlining your deployment pipelines under standard Docker management while reducing infrastructure overhead.
Route external traffic with the Kubernetes Gateway API
Kubernetes installations now support the Gateway API for managing and routing external traffic. This update supports modern enterprise architecture standards by enabling a flawless transition away from legacy or deprecated Ingress controllers, ensuring long-term operational viability, enhanced traffic management, and advanced role-based routing control across your infrastructure.
Helm chart enhancements: expanded security, networking, and component customization
Helm chart configurations now offer expanded network and security control, as well as enhanced component customization, giving you fine-grained control over TLS certificate issuers, network load balancers, and DNS settings across your environment:
  • Automated CA injection for OpenShift reencrypt routes: You can now automatically configure OpenShift routes using global.routeType: reencrypt without manual certificate handling. The Helm chart dynamically populates the spec.tls.destinationCACertificate field by querying the CA key pair secret generated by the chart at render time. This ensures OpenShift HAProxy routers successfully validate backend TLS certificates.
  • Custom certificate issuer configuration: You can now customize TLS certificate issuers individually for core application components (waagent, waconsole, wa-server, wafileproxy, and wa-aida) in the values.yaml file by using the issuerRef parameter. You can specify custom issuerName and issuerKind values, or leave them empty to use chart defaults. Additionally, you can define an optional issuerGroup parameter, which automatically omits the group: attribute when left empty. This enhancement grants precise control over your cluster's security posture, enabling seamless integration with enterprise certificate authorities and custom cert-manager hierarchies.
  • Custom load balancer IP assignment: For components exposed through a load balancer service, Helm chart configurations now support specifying a custom loadBalancerIP parameter. This capability provides enhanced network predictability, enabling you to bind workload components to pre-allocated static IP addresses in accordance with your organization's firewall rules and cloud infrastructure policies.
  • Custom DNS and SAN configurations: You can now inject a custom list of DNS entries or Subject Alternative Names (SANs) directly into component certificates using three dedicated parameters: addCustomDns, customDns, and customDnsOnly. Enabling addCustomDns appends your domain names to component certificates, while setting customDnsOnly to true replaces built-in default names entirely with your custom list. This gives you complete flexibility when configuring internal hostnames, custom domains, or complex multi-tenant routing environments.
  • Bug fixes and stability improvements: Resolved minor issues and bugs across Helm chart templates to enhance overall system reliability.

To submit a new RFE, contact us at HWAinfo@hcl.com