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TECHNICAL BRIEF

Written by

Quest Software Inc.

Using Stat with Custom Applications

Technical Brief: Using Stat with Custom Applications 1

© 2010 Quest Software, Inc.

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Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

About Stat: Control, Visualize and Automate Application Change ................................................................................. 4

Change Management for Custom Applications .............................................................................................................. 5

Extending Stat to Custom Applications .......................................................................................................................... 6

Version Control and Object Management ................................................................................................................... 6

Release and Migration Management .......................................................................................................................... 6

Change Request Management and Workflow ............................................................................................................ 6

Auditing/Compliance, Reporting and Security ............................................................................................................ 7

Supported Object Types ................................................................................................................................................ 8

File Objects................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Oracle Data Objects ................................................................................................................................................... 8

Oracle and SQL Server Schema Objects ................................................................................................................... 8

Custom File Objects ................................................................................................................................................... 8

A Brief Technical Walkthrough ....................................................................................................................................... 9

Step 1: Create a New Custom Application CSR ......................................................................................................... 9

Step 2: Add Objects to the CSR ................................................................................................................................. 9

Step 3: Using the CSR ............................................................................................................................................. 10

Appendix A: About Stat ................................................................................................................................................ 11

Summary of Functionality ......................................................................................................................................... 11

Architecture .............................................................................................................................................................. 12

Appendix B: Pre- and Post-Migration Steps ................................................................................................................. 13

Automatic Pre- and Post-Migration Steps ................................................................................................................. 13

Example of Pre-Migration Step ................................................................................................................................. 13

Pre-Migration Step Name...................................................................................................................................... 13

Pre-Migration Step - Define Command ................................................................................................................. 13

External File Utilized/Called (External Application Call) ........................................................................................ 13


Abstract Quest Stat is commonly used to manage change to PeopleSoft and Oracle E-Business Suite applications. However, many organizations use additional applications, including applications developed in-house and software from other third-party vendors.

By extending Stat to these additional applications, organizations gain consistent change management coverage across their application environment. This document outlines techniques for extending Stat to support these additional application environments.


About Stat: Control, Visualize and Automate Application Change Stat is a change management solution that manages the entire change lifecycle for Oracle E-Business Suite,

PeopleSoft and other business applications. While it has specific functionality for the major ERPs, many of the core

components can effectively manage all types of application change enterprise-wide.

Specifically, Stat is capable of managing a variety of third-party applications, as well as applications developed in-

house (custom applications) in most popular languages and tools, including:

C, C++, C#

Java

Visual Basic

ASP.NET

Ruby

Python

PHP

SQL, PL/SQL

Perl

COBOL


Change Management for Custom Applications The challenge with application change management is that different types of applications have different needs. While

packaged applications often consist of proprietary objects with vendor-specific details, custom applications are

comprised of source code files, database objects, and setup or configuration files. Moreover, with custom

applications, there is usually a strong division of responsibility among those involved in developing, testing and

maintaining the application throughout its lifecycle.

These differences affect how change management is performed for each type of application. For instance, since flat

files typically make up between 85 and 100 percent of custom applications, managing change often consists of a

simple check-in/check-out/build process.

Despite these differences, both packaged and custom applications benefit from implementing a change management

solution because:

Only authorized changes are made.

Changes are available quickly upon completion.

Changes are migrated effectively.

Changes are executed and implemented safely.

The target system and environment continues to operate effectively.

The business needs of end users are met.

It is easy to recover from “bad” changes by rolling them back.


Extending Stat to Custom Applications Quest Stat is commonly used to manage change to PeopleSoft and Oracle E-Business Suite applications. However, many organizations also use custom applications and software from other third-party vendors. By extending Stat to these additional applications, organizations gain consistent change management coverage across their application environment.

Version Control and Object Management Version control is at the heart of any change management requirement. Stat provides basic version control for all

common file types and also the following advanced functionality:

Stat captures an unlimited number of interim application versions (“snapshots” taken during development), and

archives any combination of objects and files in each version. This enable selective retrieval and rollback by

object or file.

Stat is the only solution that provides support for both database objects in their native format and flat files in a

single version control repository

Stat provides support for database schema objects and file objects to enable databases and third-party

applications to be managed in a single place.

Release and Migration Management Stat offers a variety of features to make migrations simpler and error-free:

Stat enables users to identify the impact that object modifications and patches will have on other objects as the

changes cascade through the system.

Stat can report on all changes that impact a given instance, allowing for a more streamlined testing process.

Stat allows scripts to run either before or after the object migrations, so you can prepare files, control servers,

and so on.

You can roll back a migration or change across a single environment or across all environments.

Because Stat supports mass migrations, you can easily deploy the same objects to multiple environments and

ensure that things stay in sync in a single step.

Change Request Management and Workflow Change management is as much about process as it is about technology. Stat’s built-in change request management

and workflow capabilities support even the most complex process requirements, including the following:

Stat tracks all issues, automates team processes, groups tasks by project, assigns status requirements, and

provides approval authorization.

Stat offers a rich client interface for technical users and a Web interface for business or functional users.

Stat’s e-mail-based approvals make it easier for managers and other users to approve changes without logging

into Stat and learning the interface.

Stat integrates with third-party change request systems so teams using Stat stay in sync with the broader change

management solution.


Auditing/Compliance, Reporting and Security Improved control is one of the primary benefits of change management. The controls provided by Stat serve multiple

business requirements:

Stat maintains a complete audit trail of all application changes, so you can report on all changes for compliance

and management requirements. Stat offers both pre-defined and custom reports.

Stat supports role-based permissions and environment-level controls, which secures the change management

process and helps maintain the integrity of applications.

Proactive enforcement of change policies through Stat’s workflow and business rules prevents unauthorized

changes.

Stat provides reactive reporting of unauthorized changes that may have bypassed normal controls.

Stat offers compliance reporting to expedite the auditing process.


Supported Object Types File Objects Stat supports change management for file type objects (also called flat files).

Oracle Data Objects Data objects are user-defined or third-party data sets residing in your application environments that your system administrator has configured Stat to support. You lock, archive and migrate data objects the same way you do file objects. Stat currently supports data objects in application environments running on Oracle.

Oracle and SQL Server Schema Objects Stat supports certain schema objects (database definitions of tables, indexes, views, packages, etc.) for application environments running on Oracle databases version 8.x or higher and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and higher. If your application runs on a supported database, you can document changes made to the database by locking the affected schema object definitions in the Stat repository. Stat currently supports the following schema object types:

Oracle:

Table

Index

View

Trigger

Function

Procedure

Synonym

Sequence

Package specification

Package body

SQL Server:

Table

Index

View

Trigger

Function

Procedure

Synonym

Custom File Objects Stat also enables you to set up custom file object types to support change management and version control for the objects used in your custom applications. This entails specifying, setting up, and updating the following:

File Types – The types of file objects for which Stat provides change management support, including custom

application file types. You can configure Stat to support any type of file that includes a file extension and is based

on ASCII, EBCDIC, or Image file formats.

File Servers – The file servers where the source file objects are located.

User Working Directories – Stat uses a working directory, much like a UNIX home directory, where Stat places

copies of the file objects assigned to specific users. For each user, you can specify a default working directory,

and you can specify a different directory for each file type.


A Brief Technical Walkthrough This section shows how to use Stat in a .NET development project. Specifically, it explains how to include a custom .NET object in a change request (CSR). Then you can enable Stat to react according to that object when the CSR is migrated from one environment to another.

Step 1: Create a New Custom Application CSR Create a new CSR as you would any other type of CSR within Stat. This CSR can be created either manually or from information sent to Stat via e-mail integration or Stat Web Services from another help desk type of application.

Step 2: Add Objects to the CSR There are several ways to add custom objects to a CSR. The easiest is as follows:

1. From the Environment drop-down menu, select the environment where the custom objects exist.

2. Select the custom object type. These are pre-defined by the Stat administrator.

3. Double-click one object or select multiple objects to add to the CSR Custom Object List in the lower window.

4. Click Save or press Ctrl-S to save your changes. Stat creates a baseline snapshot of the custom objects. The baseline is a copy of the code in its pre-change state. This is your safety net because it gives you the ability to roll these objects back to their pre-change state at any time.


The following screen shows that the objects have successfully been added to the CSR:

Step 3: Using the CSR Once the CSR has been created, you can use Stat with your custom objects just as you would with PeopleSoft and Oracle E-Business Suite. You can use Stat’s compare and merge functionality, impact analysis, automated migrations, and other capabilities to increase productivity and reduce the time it takes to recover from an ill-fated migration event.


Appendix A: About Stat Summary of Functionality Stat is much more robust than typical change management solutions. In addition to the basic capabilities that any change lifecycle management solution should have, Stat also offers the following:

Object versioning. Stat is the only tool that provides support for objects in their native formats. Stat also

supports additional object types to enable additional applications to be managed in a single place.

Support for database schema and data objects. This allows any database changes to be directly handled

within Stat.

Migration management capabilities. Stat makes migrations simpler and error-free.

Bi-directional integration with common change request ticketing systems.

Impact analysis. Stat can advise you of the effects of planned changes so you can address issues before

beginning a migration.

Pre- and post migration steps. Stat allows scripts to be run either before or after object migrations, so you can

prepare files, control servers, and so on.

Mass migrations. With Stat, you can easily deploy the same objects to multiple environments and ensure

things stay in sync in a single step.

Advanced workflows. Stat goes beyond the basic approvals that are part of any change workflow solution. Stat

offers e-mail based approvals to make it fast for managers and other users to approve changes without logging

into Stat and learning its interface.

A central repository. Stat stores all change activities it manages in a central repository, making it much easier

to keep an audit trail and report on all application level changes activities.


Architecture

Please be sure to ask your Account Manager for the current hardware/software specifications sheet.

Stat for Custom Application Infrastructure


Appendix B: Pre- and Post-Migration Steps Pre- and post-migration steps define actions to be performed before and after migration of an archive set. The steps

are meant to promote adherence to development standards and are not mandatory.

Pre-migration steps can be associated with object types and with target environments. When you migrate an archive

set that includes an associated object type, or when you migrate an archive set to an associated environment, Stat

opens the Pre-migration Steps window.

Automatic Pre- and Post-Migration Steps Migration steps can be performed either manually by the user or automatically by Stat. An automatic step consists of

pre-defined commands to be executed by Stat. These can be PL/SQL, SQL, shell scripts, or any custom or system

commands defined by your system administrator.

To execute an automatic step, click Run. Depending on the step, Stat may prompt you to specify additional

parameters.

Example of Pre-Migration Step For example, corporate policy might require that whenever you plan to migrate executable (*.exe) files, you must first

back up, using zip files, the target environment's directory structure. Enforcing this policy is easy with Stat.

Therefore, using Stat, we will jump forward to the target environment, the TEST Environment, WinZip all of the

executables in the target environment’s directory (*\Exec\*.exe) Directory.

The following command calls WinZip to zip all executable files in the target environment’s directory

(C:\01_File_Servers\TEST\NT\Exec\*.exe) and save the resulting zip file as

C:\01_File_Servers\TEST\NT\General\ZipFiles\WRH_Exec.zip.

Pre-Migration Step Name

EXE – Automatic – Custom Step Name = “Zip Target Executables”

Pre-Migration Step - Define Command

Uninterrupted:

CMD /K %%WZZipExeLocation%% %%Test_Zip_Backup_Directory%%\WRH_Exec.zip %%Test_EXE_Directory%%\*.exe

Interpreted:

CMD /K "E:\Program Files\WinZip\WZZIP.EXE" -a -ybc C:\01_File_Servers\Test\NT\General\ZipFiles\WRH_Exec.zip C:\01_File_Servers\Test\NT\Exec\*.exe

External File Utilized/Called (External Application Call)

E:\Program Files\WinZip\WZZIP.EXE

5 Polaris Way, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 | PHONE 800.306.9329 | WEB www.quest.com | E-MAIL [email protected]

If you are located outside North America, you can find local office information on our Web site.

TECHNICAL BRIEF

About Quest Software, Inc.

Now more than ever, organizations need to work smart and improve efficiency. Quest Software

creates and supports smart systems management products—helping our customers solve

everyday IT challenges faster and easier. Visit www.quest.com for more information.

Contacting Quest Software

PHONE 800.306.9329 (United States and Canada)

If you are located outside North America, you can find your

local office information on our Web site.

E-MAIL [email protected]

MAIL Quest Software, Inc.

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USA

WEB SITE www.quest.com

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© 2009 Quest Software, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Quest Software is a registered trademark of Quest Software, Inc. in the U.S.A. and/or other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. TBA-UsingStatWithCustomApplication-US-AG-20100222

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