As an administrator who sets up Automation Pipelines, after you log in, you can add endpoints, create and run pipelines, and view the results.

Automation Pipelines connects to endpoints on premises through a cloud proxy. Your network configuration and the location of your endpoints on premises in those networks determine how many cloud proxy instances you need. If all your endpoints on premises are in the same network, install a single cloud proxy. If your endpoints on premises reside in different networks, install one cloud proxy for each independent network. Then, in the endpoint configuration in Automation Pipelines, select the cloud proxy that resides in the same network as your endpoint.

In this use case, you add a cloud proxy that connects your cloud-based Automation Pipelines service to a GitLab repository on premises so that your pipeline can download a Kubernetes file.

To add the cloud proxy, you download the OVA from Automation Assembler, and install it in your vCenter instance. Then, in Automation Pipelines you add a Git endpoint that Automation Pipelines uses to connect through the cloud proxy to the on-premises repository. You will then create a pipeline that obtains the developer code from the on-premises GitLab repository, and deploys it to a Kubernetes cluster.

A getting started process is also available as a guided setup in the Automation Pipelines user interface. Click the Help icon and click Guided Setup.

Getting started with Automation Pipelines involves adding an endpoint, adding a cloud proxy, creating a pipeline, and running the pipeline.

Prerequisites

  • Verify that a GitLab repository or a GitHub repository exists on premises, and contains the code that your pipeline will use.
  • To connect your cloud-based Automation Pipelines service to your GitLab repository or a GitHub repository on premises, verify that you can access Automation Assembler so that you can add a cloud proxy.

Procedure

  1. Set up the cloud proxy that your cloud-based Automation Pipelines uses to connect to your on-premises GitLab repository.
    Or, if a local cloud proxy is available, when you add your Git endpoint you can select Default for the cloud proxy. In this use case example, the cloud proxy name is pipelines.
    1. To add a cloud proxy, download the cloud proxy OVA, and install it in your vCenter instance.
    2. Go to your Automation Assembler service, click Infrastructure, click Cloud Proxies, click New, and install the cloud proxy.
      When you add a cloud proxy, you download the OVA file and import it into vCenter Server with the key that you copy here.
  2. Add a Git endpoint that connects Automation Pipelines to your on-premises GitLab repository.
    1. Click Endpoints.
    2. Select the Git endpoint type, and enter a name and description.
    3. Select the cloud proxy that you created. In this example, the cloud proxy name is pipelines. Or, to use a local cloud proxy select Default.
    4. Enter the remaining information and the token.
    5. To test the connection to the endpoint, click Validate, then save the endpoint.
      When you add an endpoint that connects Automation Pipelines and your repository, you select the cloud proxy, repository server, and enter the repository URL.
  3. Click Pipelines, create a pipeline, and add a task that uses the Git endpoint. You can optionally add an email notification.
    When you create a pipeline, you add tasks, and enter the details for each task.
  4. Save your pipeline, then click Enable, which enables it to run.
    After you save your pipeline, you must enable it before it can run.
  5. After you enable the pipeline, click Run.
  6. Click Executions, and observe your pipeline as it runs.
    When you observe your pipeline as it runs, the Stages icon displays the progress.
  7. If the pipeline fails, correct the problem and run it again.
  8. Click Dashboards, and select your pipeline dashboard so that you can monitor the pipeline activity.

Results

Your pipeline ran, and downloaded the developer file from a GitLab instance. The pipeline task deployed the application to a Kubernetes cluster, and you monitored all the activity on the pipeline dashboard.

What to do next

To learn more about using Automation Pipelines, see What is Automation Pipelines and how does it work.

If you don’t find the information you need here, you can get more help in the product. Help icon that opens the In-Product Support panel in the Automation Pipelines user interface.

  • To get the context-specific information, when and where you need it, click and read the signposts and tooltips in the user interface.
  • Open the In-product support panel and read the topics that appear for the active user interface page. To get answers to questions, you can also search in the panel.