Workflows

You can filter the workflows by the following criteria using the Filter by drop-down menu:

Click the Filter by drop-dow menu and select the appropriate filters.

Click Apply to filter the workflows list by the selected criteria, or click Cancel to close out of the filter drop-down menu.

You can also enter keywords in the search bar to search for specific workflows. Press Enter on your keyboard to execute the search and narrow the list of results.

The following actions are available from the Actions drop-down menu:

NOTE  Workflows can only be created or edited from within the User Defined folder and it's subfolders.

Complete the following steps:

1. On the Workflows page, in a location within the User Defined folder, click Create Workflow. Or, click an existing workflow to open the editor.
2. On the Details page, enter a name (required) and description (optional).
3. If you turn on the Active toggle in the Status section, the workflow will be ready to trigger as soon as it is created. If you want to disable the workflow, turn the toggle off.
4. Select which Trigger Type you want to apply to the workflow from the following options: 
   • Notification: Select this trigger if you want the workflow to trigger automatically when a notification type of your choice is triggered for that device. Workflows with the Notification trigger will automatically apply to all devices when active.
   • Ad-hoc and Scheduled: Select this trigger if you want to schedule the workflow to run at a specific time, or you want to be able to trigger the workflow against devices manually. Workflows with the Ad-hoc and Scheduled trigger will need you to set the context where they can be applied.
5. Select the Context that the workflow will apply to. This will affect which devices the workflow will be run against when triggered as part of a schedule or manually executed from the Workflows page.

   NOTE  Step 5 only applies if creating a workflow with the Ad-hoc and Scheduled trigger type.

6. In the Maximum execution time section, enter how many hours the workflow should take to execute its steps before it is forced to stop.
7. Click Next to start defining or editing the workflow.
8. If creating a new workflow, you'll be prompted to establish which trigger will activate this workflow. Each individual trigger can activate one workflow.
   • If creating a workflow of the Ad-hoc and Scheduled trigger type, you will have the option to set the trigger as Ad-hoc for manual execution, or Scheduled if you want to set a recurring execution schedule.
   • If creating a workflow of the Notification trigger rype, you will have the option to select which notification type will trigger the workflow.

     EXAMPLE  For example, the Stop Service trigger will be activated when VSA 10 receives any notification that the services are stopped. The notifications are defined by endpoint policies. If no policy is defined, no notification will appear, and no workflow will be triggered.

9. If you wish to take additional actions when the trigger occurs, click the New Step button at the bottom of the workflow canvas as required.
10. Ending the workflow as a Success or Failure allows you to utilize the action for the purpose of error handling.
11. All available actions are meant to perform a task or run a script on the endpoint with the exception of the condition action. A condition allows you to add rules to the target or filter out specific services, organizations, devices, or custom fields. This special step allows you to define who or what the workflow will target in a more granular manner (if/then route). To apply a condition and configure its rules, click Condition at the top of the Choose an action pane.
    
12. When finished configuring the workflow, click Save to create the workflow.

Configuration page indicators

At the bottom of configuration pages, the indicators display the configuration statuses, as follows:

Indicator	Status
	This configuration page is currently open for the first time.
	This configuration page is not currently open and has not been configured yet.
	This configuration page is currently open, and all required fields are complete.
	This configuration page is not currently open, and all required fields are complete.
	This configuration page is currently open, and required fields must be populated before saving.
	This configuration page is not currently open, and required fields must be populated before saving.

NOTE  This section only applies to Active workflows with the Ad-hoc and Scheduled trigger type.

While workflows of the Notification trigger type will only execute when their notification triggers are met, workflows with the Ad-hoc and Scheduled trigger type can be triggered manually at any time.

There are two ways in which a workflow can be manually executed against devices. Please review the applicable sections below: 

Run a workflow against all devices in it's assigned context

If you need to run a workflow against all devices within it's assigned context quickly, this is the quickest option.

This method of running a workflow is most likely going to apply to workflows that already have an established recurring schedule, where you need to run the workflow against all applicable devices outside of the normal schedule.

1. Navigate to Automation > Workflows.
2. Navigate to the folder location where the workflow you want to run is located.

   

   NOTE  Review the Context column to make sure it's accurate, as the workflow will attempt to run against all devices in that context when triggered.
   
   

3. Hover over the workflow and click the Run button.

   

4. In the Run Workflow confirmation pop-up, click Confirm.

   

Manually run a workflow against one or more devices

If you need to run a workflow against one or more select devices, and not everything that a workflow would apply to, this is the best option.

Using this method, you can individually select which devices you wish to run a workflow against, and even choose a future date and time for the workflow to trigger, if desired.

1. Navigate to Devices > Device Management.
2. Select one or more devices.
3. In the Actions menu at the top of the page, select Run Workflow.

   

4. Select the workflow you wish to run from the pop-up window. Use the search bar at the top of the window to filter the list. Click Next.

   

5. In the next window that appears, select whether you want the workflow to Run now or Run later.
   • If Run Now is selected, when you click Run in the next step, the workflow will trigger immediately.
   • If Run later is selected, you will be prompted to select the Timezone, Start Date, and Start Time of the workflow's next one-time execution trigger.

     

6. Click Run.

To check the status of workflows executed from the Actions menu, click the Bulk Action History button at the top of the page: 

This will pop open the Bulk Action History window, which tracks the status of automations triggered via the Actions menu.

Within the Workflows page, there are three root folders that contain all workflows: 

• Built-in (read-only): Contains default content that is provided with the product.
• Content Packages (read-only): Contains Kaseya created content delivered from packages or templates.
• User Defined: Contains custom content created by product users.

For these folders, it is important to note: 

• Two levels of sub-folders can be created within the default User Defined folder.
• The Built-in and Content Packages folders are read-only, but content can be copied to the User Defined folder if it requires customization.

The following folder management tools are available: 

• Create Folder
• Edit Folder
• Delete Folder
• Clone
• Copy To or Move To another parent folder.

Expand the a section below to learn more about that folder management tool.

Creating a folder

NOTE  New folders can only be created within the User Defined folder and within root-level folders within User Defined.

In order to create a folder, complete the following steps: 

1. On the Workflows page, hover over the User Defined folder, or over a root-level folder within User Defined, and click Create Folder.
   
2. Enter in a name for the folder, and click Create.
   
   
3. The newly created folder will become active, and you will be able to start organizing workflows within it.
   
   

Editing a folder

NOTE  Only folders contained within the User Defined folder can be edited.

In order to create a folder, complete the following steps: 

1. On the Workflows page, hover over the folder you wish to edit, and click Edit Folder.
   
2. Enter in a new name for the folder, and click Save.
   
   
3. A confirmation message will appear at the bottom of the page when the edited folder has been successfully saved.
   
   

Deleting a folder

NOTE  Folders can only be deleted from within the User Defined folder and it's subfolders.

In order to delete a folder, complete the following steps: 

1. On the Workflows page, hover over the folder you wish to delete and click Delete.
   
   
2. In the pop-up that appears, confirm that you want to delete the folder, then click Delete.
   
   
3. A confirmation message will appear at the bottom of the page when the folder has been successfully deleted.
   
   

Cloning a folder

The Clone tool allows you to create a copy of a folder with a new name in the same location the original folder is located.

NOTE  Folders can only be cloned from within the User Defined folder and it's subfolders.

In order to clone a folder, complete the following steps: 

1. On the Workflows page, hover over the folder you wish to copy, click the action menu, and click Clone.
   
   
2. In the pop-up that appears, create a new name for the cloned folder, then click Clone.
   
   
3. A confirmation message will appear at the bottom of the page when the folder has been successfully cloned.
   
   

Copying a folder

The Copy tool allows you to copy folders from anywhere in the Workflows folder structure and save it to anywhere within the User Defined folder. This is useful if you want to modify any built-in workflows to better suit your needs.

NOTE  Folders can be copied from the Built-In, Content Packages, or User Defined folders, but the copies can only be added to a location within the User Defined folder.

NOTE  Folders that have nested subfolders can not be copied to any location except the root of the User Defined folder.

In order to copy a folder to a new location , complete the following steps: 

1. On the Workflows page, hover over the folder you wish to copy, click the action menu, and click Copy To.
   
   
2. In the pop-up that appears, select the location where you want to save the copy, then click Copy.
   
   
3. A confirmation message will appear at the bottom of the page when the folder has been successfully copied.
   
   

Moving a folder

The Move To tool allows you to move a folder to a new location.

NOTE  Folders can only be moved to locations within the User Defined folder.

NOTE  Folders that have nested subfolders can not be moved to any location except within the root of the User Defined folder.

In order to move a folder, complete the following steps: 

1. On the Workflows page, hover over the folder you wish to move, click the action menu, and click Move To.
   
   
2. In the pop-up that appears, select the location you want to move the folder to, then click Next.
   
3. Click Move in the confirmation pop-up that appears to complete the move. If a folder of the same name exists in that location, you will be prompted to rename the folder you are moving.
   
   
4. A confirmation message will appear at the bottom of the page when the folder has been successfully moved.
   
   

1. Navigate to Automation > Workflows.
2. Click a workflow in the list.
3. Click New Step.

NOTE  You will need to navigate to the bottom of the workflow canvas to see the New Step button. In a long workflow canvas, zooming out may be useful.


The Choose an action pane will open on the right side of the page.

4. In the System section, click Set Custom Field Value.
5. From the Custom Field drop-down menu, select a custom field.
6. From the Context drop-down menu, select System, Organization, or Global.

   NOTE  The context option will change based on the custom field selected.

7. From the Operation drop-down menu, select Set Value, Set to empty, or Reset to default value.
8. Click Confirm. The custom field is added to your workflow.

In this example, we are using a workflow to check and see if the VSA 10 trace.log file exists on a device, and send an email if it is missing.

We can check if the file exists using the Get Device Value action, configured with the File Exists variable value option, then setting where it should look for the file, and what the file should be called.

Then, after adding a condition to check the value of the variable, the workflow is split based on if the file exists. If it exists, the workflow ends as a success. If it doesn't exist, it will send an email: 

Of course, this workflow can be reconfigured to check for other files, or take other actions upon finding or not finding the file.

In this example, a High CPU usage notification will trigger the workflow when it exceeds preset limits.

Once a trigger is added, it is displayed as part of the workflow schema. You will see the option to add a step in the chain of actions. Click New Step to proceed.

The Choose an action pane on the right side of the page displays available actions for the selected trigger type. You can make use of condition steps to execute different actions based on the outcome of your logical statements.

In this example, because of the configured condition, if a high CPU usage notification on the device is triggered and the name for the top process is Sublime, then the process should be killed.

You can add more actions based on the outcome that results from the first action, either successful or unsuccessful.

In this example, conditions are set to restart certain service on one particular device. If the condition Service Name equal to btserv is removed, then the action to start service will be executed on all devices in the group ESXi.

NOTE  To start required services in required groups, these blocks with conditions should be chained as IF statements.

As in the preceding example, once the conditions are configured, you can configure the actions: action to be performed when the condition is true (Start Service in this example) and action to be performed when the condition is false. To define these actions, click New Step underneath the green circle (the condition is true) and New Step under the red circle (the condition is false).

The below video goes over a workflow that, when new devices are added to VSA 10, it will trigger a notification, automate initial setup, patching, and software installation, effectively automating the onboarding of a new device. Please watch the below video for details on how to set this up.