RDA Packs
1. What is RDA Pack
RDA Pack is collection of various artifacts that are developed as part of a feature.
Example of a pack is vCenter Inventory
which may consists of datasets, pstreams, pipelines, dashboards that are required to support the inventory collection.
A pack can include the following supported artifacts:
-
Datasets (and initial data of the dataset)
-
Persistent streams (optionally, the initial data to be populated)
-
Dashboards
-
Pipelines
-
Credentials
-
Icons
-
Blueprints
-
Stacks
-
Graphdb
-
Relationship maps
-
Textfsm
-
Alerts, Incidents, and Messages Endpoints
-
Alerts, Incidents, and Messages Mappings
-
Suppression and Correlation policies
-
Formatting Templates
-
FSM Models
-
User Groups
-
Tags
-
Team Configurations
2. Why RDA Packs
1. Feature as a Deliverable
-
Makes it easier to port a feature/app between deployments.
-
When a feature or an application is developed in one deployment or for one customer, it consists of several artifacts developed and tested over time. Copying these artifacts manually is time consuming and error prone.
2. Repeatable
- Makes features as repeatable deliverables to end customers.
3. Version Control of Features
- Makes version management of features easier.
3. Structure of RDA Packs
- RDA Pack is a
tar.gz
file of directory. There should be amanifest.yaml
file at the top level. Other files are optional.
3.1 Example Structure of RDA Pack tar.gz
-
manifest.yaml
-
Artifacts
-
Pstreams
- Pstream Definitions
-
Pipelines
- pipelines files in text format(.txt)
-
Dashboards
- Dashboard files in json format(.json)
-
Blueprints
- Service blueprint files in yaml format(.yaml)
-
Datasets
- Dataset files in csv format(.csv)
-
-
customer_level(Customer Scoped Artifacts)
-
Contains artifacts that are specific to a customer
-
May include: datasets, blueprints, credential
-
-
single_tenant(Single Tenant Scoped Artifacts)
-
Contains artifacts for the single tenant in an environment
-
May include: datasets, blueprints, credential
-
-
3.1.1 Manifest File Sections
Manifest file is the source of truth for a pack. It contains different sections which are listed below with examples.
-
Information
-
Artifact
-
Activation
-
Customer level
-
Single tenant
3.1.1.1 Information
This section contains the attributes that uniquely identifies a pack and lists down any dependencies the pack might have on other packs and /or fabric services.
In the above given example the pack name is "VMware vCenter" version is 9.0.0 & it requires Base Pack of version >= 5.0.0 to be deployed.
3.1.1.2 Artifacts
Artifacts listed under this section will be created during activation and removed during deactivation.
In the above given example Credentials, Pstreams, Dashboards, Pipelines & Stacks will be created upon activation and deleted upon deactivation.
3.1.1.3 Activation Actions
Note
Activation section is optional.
This section contains launch_dashboard
, variables
& run_on_activation
entries.
If variables are specified then at the time of activation, the user will be prompted for the values of the variables.
pipelines that are listed as part of “run_on_activation” will be executed after the pack artifacts are successfully created.
In the example shown above the user will be prompted for deployment_name
and simple_pipeline
will run upon successful creation of all artifacts
3.1.1.4 Customer Level
-
This section contains the artifacts that need to be created for different customers in a multi-tenant environment.
-
The artifacts are created with their names prepended with the customer tag.
-
This section can be enabled / disabled for different customers on as needed basis.
-
The customer level can only be enabled if the pack is in ACTIVATED state.
-
When customer level is disabled for a customer, all the artifacts created for that customer are deleted.
In the example shown above when the pack is enabled for, say customer with tag customer1 then credential & blueprint will be created with names customer1_vcenter-1 & customer1_vCenter 1.
3.1.1.5 Single Tenant
-
This section contains the artifacts that need to be created in a single tenant environment.
-
This section can be enabled after the pack is in ACTIVATED state.
-
When pack for single tenant is enabled, it creates the artifacts listed under single_tenant section in manifest.
-
When the single tenant is disable, the artifacts listed under single_tenant section are deleted.
In the example shown above when the pack is enabled for single tenant, credential & blueprint will be created with names vcenter-single-tenant & vCenter Single Tenant respectively.
4. RDA Packs Interface
4.1 Administration User Interface
RDA Packs comes with User Interface to conveniently manage RDA Packs. To access RDA Packs UI, login to RDA portal as MSP Administrator then Navigate to RDA Administration -> Packs page, It provides following functionality to Administrators:
-
Catalog of Packs
- Displays the list of packs that are available in RDA Portal along with their statuses, Upload time & activation/deactivation time.
-
Upload RDA Packs
- Upload the
tar.gz
file of the pack to the portal.- Upload packs from catalog.
-
Compare Uploaded Packs
- Compare an uploaded pack with any other uploaded pack.
- Compare an uploaded pack with the deployed artifacts.
-
View documentation on the uploaded packs
- View information, artifacts, requirements and variables of the pack.
-
Activate uploaded packs
- Deploy and create the artifacts defined in the packs.
-
View the status of activated packs
- Displays the deployment details of different artifacts.
-
Launch Dashboard
- If launch_dashboard is specified in the manifest file then upon successful activation of pack, Launch Dashboard action will be available to navigate to that dashboard directly.
-
Deactivate packs
- Remove the artifacts that were deployed as part of the pack.
-
Remove uploaded packs
- Remove the uploaded
tar.gz
file of the pack. -
Optionally, if pack contains single_tenant section then Single Tenant related options become available after the pack is in
ACTIVATED
state.
4.2 Single Tenant Administration User Interface
RDA Packs that contains single tenant section following menu options are available
1) Enable Single Tenant : Will be available if single_tenant section exists in the pack and pack is ACTIVATED. Creates the artifacts that are listed in single_tenant section in the manifest.
2) View Single Tenant Activation Status : Will be available when the pack is enabled for Single Tenant. Displays the deployment details of different artifacts.
3) Disable Single Tenant : Will be available when the pack is enabled for single tenant. Removes the artifacts that were created for single tenant.
4.3 Customer Level Administration User Interface
-
The Customer Packs page will display all the packs that can be activated for selected customer. This page will be available to customer administrator in multi tenant environment.
-
Following management options are available:
1 Enable Package : Will be available if customer_level section exists in the pack and pack is ACTIVATED. Creates the artifacts that are listed in customer_levelsection.
2 View Activation Status : Will be available when the pack is enabled for that customer. Displays the deployment details of different artifacts.
3 Disable Package : Will be available when the pack is enabled for that customer. Removes the artifacts that were created for that customer.
5 RDA Packs Command Line
In addition to User Interface for management of packs, administrator can also use “rdac pack” commands to perform various actions that are available through UI. Following commands are available.
upload Upload RDA Pack
remove Remove RDA Pack
list List RDA Packs
activate Activate RDA Pack and deploy corresponding common artifacts
enable-single-tenant Enable RDA Pack single tenant and deploy single tenant scoped artifacts
enable-customer Enable RDA Pack for a customer and deploy customer scoped artifacts
deactivate Deactivate RDA Pack and delete corresponding common artifacts
disable-customer Disable RDA Pack for a customer and delete customer scoped artifacts
disable-single-tenant Disable RDA Pack for single tenant and delete single tenant scoped artifacts
compare Compare a pack against the deployed artifacts or another pack.
create Create a RDA Pack.
6 RDA Packs Deployment Steps
Prerequisite
- If one pack depends on another, then the parent pack must be deployed first.
- Follow steps 1 and 2 to upload and activate the parent pack.
High level steps
1) Upload the pack.
2) Activate the pack.
Single Tenant Environment
3) Enable the pack for single tenant.
4) Once the pack is enabled, Launch Dashboard option can be used to directly navigate to the dashboard.
Multi Tenant Environment
5) After the pack is activated, customer administrator can enable the pack for customer.
6) Once the pack is enabled for a customer, users can start using the pack from Customer Ops page. Customer ops page will be available to users in multi tenant environment.
6.1 RDA Packs Upload
Login to RDA Portal as an Administrator. Go to RDA Administration -> Packs.
Use Upload option to upload the tar.gz
file of a pack.
6.2 RDA Packs - Activate Pack
- From the Packs page, choose Activate Package menu option to activate the pack.
As part of the solution pack activation process, two snapshots are automatically created to safeguard artifacts:
-
Before artifact creation begins
-
After artifact creation completes successfully
Snapshot Naming Convention The snapshots follow this naming format:
Before Creation:
<safe_pack_name>_<safe_pack_version>_<deploy_type>_before_deploy
After Creation:
<safe_pack_name>_<safe_pack_version>_<deploy_type>_after_deploy
Where,
-
safe_pack_name and safe_pack_version = spaces and "." replaced with "_"
-
deploy_type = common or single_tenant or
Note
These snapshots enable manual recovery of artifacts that might be unintentionally overwritten during the deployment process. After selecting the "Activate Pack" option, an Activate Pack dialog is displayed, listing the names of the two generated snapshots for reference.
6.3 RDA Packs - Enable for Single Tenant
- After the pack is ACTIVATED, Enable Single Tenant menu option to enable the pack.
Note
Enable Single Tenant option will only be visible when pack is ACTIVATED
6.4 RDA Packs - Access Main Dashboard for Single Tenant
-
After the pack is enable for single tenant, Launch Dashboard menu option can be used to navigate to the main dashboard of the pack.
-
Administrator can make the main dashboard visible to the users upon login.
6.5 RDA Packs - Enable for a Customer in Multi Tenant
In multi-tenant environment Admin Ops page will be available for customer administrators.
After the pack is ACTIVATED, customer administrator can use the customer Admin page to enable the pack for that customer.
6.6 RDA Packs - Access Main Dashboard for Multi Tenant
After the pack is enabled for a customer, the pages of the dashboard will dynamically get added to the Customer Ops page.
7 Compare RDA Packs
An uploaded pack can be compared with
- Existing artifacts
- Another pack
In both the cases the report tar
file is generated and is available for download from MyDownload page.
Report Filename Format
<safe_pack_name>_<safe_pack_version>_<compare_type>_<timestamp>
Where
-
safe_pack_name and safe_pack_version: All spaces and periods (.) are replaced with underscores (_)
-
compare_type: Indicates the comparison type either deployed or pack.
One of the Compare option can be selected from the menu option for a pack.
The HTML generated report can be downloaded from the My Downloads page in the RDA Portal.
8 Create RDA Pack from Cli
-
rdac pack create command can be used to create packs.
-
pack create supports
- Create pack with all supported artifacts that exists in the RDA deployment.
- Create pack with specified artifacts and all their dependencies.
-
rdac pack create –help command output
usage: pack [-h] --name PACK_NAME --version PACK_VERSION [--upload]
[--artifact_config ARTIFACT_CONFIG]
options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--name PACK_NAME Pack name. Must be unique.
--version PACK_VERSION
Pack version. Must be unique.
--upload Uploads the created RDA Pack
--artifact_config ARTIFACT_CONFIG
JSON string specifying artifact backup configuration.
Example: '{"default_artifact_type_backup": false,
"artifact": {"dashboard": {"backup_all": false,
"artifacts": ["topology-details-app-with-
graphdb"]}}}'. If 'default_artifact_type_backup' is
true, all artifact types not listed in 'artifact' will
also be backed up.
8.1 RDA Pack Creation and Direct Upload Example Output
RDA Pack created & uploaded directly to packs using –upload argument.
rdauser@infra107-75:~/packs_demo$ rdac pack create --name demo2 --version 1.0.0 --artifact_config '{"default_artifact_type_backup\": false, \"artifact\": {\"dashboard\": {\"backup_all\": false, \"artifacts\": [\"topology-details-app-with-graphdb\"]}}}' --upload
Wait for 30 seconds... Collecting artifacts for Pack: demo2 version: 1.0.0
Creating Pack: demo2 version: 1.0.0
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Dashboard/topology-details-app-with-graphdb.json
RDA Pack manifest.yaml generated
RDA Pack dependency overview generated
Generating Pack file: demo2.tar.gz
Uploading Pack: demo2 version: 1.0.0 file: demo2.tar.gz
RDA Pack: demo2 created successfully
rdauser@infra107-75:~/packs_demo$ ls
artifact_t1.json demo1.tar.gz demo2.tar.gz demo_README.txt demo.tar.gz
rdauser@infra107-75:~/packs_demo$
8.2 RDA Packs – Default Creation of All Supported Artifacts
RDA Pack creates & saves all existing supported artifacts, If no particular artifact is specified.
rdauser@infra107-75:~/packs_demo$ rdac pack create --name demo3 --version 1.0.0
Wait for 30 seconds... Collecting artifacts for Pack: demo3 version: 1.0.0
Creating Pack: demo3 version: 1.0.0
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Blueprint/Alerts Enricher.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Blueprint/Blueprint_2023_02_16.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Blueprint/Metric Data Collection for IRM.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Blueprint/OIA Source Stream Merger.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Dashboard/Authentication Servers.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Dashboard/Image-widget-Z-dash.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Dashboard/NIM_Benchmarking_duplicate_dashboard.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Dashboard/agentic-ai-analytics.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Dashboard/ai-admin-manage-user-group.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/PublishedPipeline/sample-servicenow-incidents.txt
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/PublishedPipeline/shaded-stream.txt
RDA Pack manifest.yaml generated
RDA Pack dependency overview generated
Generating Pack file: demo3.tar.gz
RDA Pack: demo3 created successfully
rdauser@infra107-75:~/packs_demo$ ls
artifact_t1.json demo1.tar.gz demo2.tar.gz demo3.tar.gz demo_README.txt demo.tar.gz
rdauser@infra107-75:~/packs_demo$
Artifacts Type
-
dashboard
-
published_pipeline
-
dataset
-
pstream
-
blueprints
-
endpoints (specify id instead of name. Only single tenant supported in 8.1)
-
mappings (specify id instead of name. Only single tenant supported in 8.1)
-
correlation_policy (specify id instead of name. Only single tenant supported in 8.1)
-
suppression_policy (specify id instead of name. Only single tenant supported in 8.1)
-
teams_config (specify id instead of name. Only single tenant supported in 8.1)
8.3 RDA Pack Creation with artifact_config
(JSON File)
RDA Pack created using artifact_config argument with JSON file.
While creating pack, it also retrieves its dependent artifacts and saves them into packs.
rdauser@infra107-75:~/packs_demo$ cat artifact_t1.json
{
"default_artifact_type_backup": false,
"artifact": {
"dashboard": {
"backup_all": false,
"artifacts": [
"topology-details-app-with-graphdb"
]
}
}
}
rdauser@infra107-75:~/packs_demo$ rdac pack create --name demo --version 1.0.0 --artifact_config artifact_t1.json
Wait for 30 seconds... Collecting artifacts for Pack: demo version: 1.0.0
Creating Pack: demo version: 1.0.0
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Dashboard/topology-details-app-with-graphdb.json
RDA Pack manifest.yaml generated
RDA Pack dependency overview generated
Generating Pack file: demo.tar.gz
RDA Pack: demo created successfully
8.4 RDA Pack Creation with artifact_config
(JSON String)
-
RDA Pack created using artifact_config argument with JSON String.
-
While creating pack, it also retrieves its dependent artifacts and saves them into packs.
rdauser@infra107-75:~/packs_demo$ rdac pack create --name demo1 --version 1.0.0 --artifact_config \
'{\"default_artifact_type_backup\": false, \"artifact\": {\"dashboard\": {\"backup_all\": false, \
\"artifacts\": [\"rda-packs-all\"]}}}'
Wait for 30 seconds... Collecting artifacts for Pack: demo1 version: 1.0.0
Creating Pack: demo1 version: 1.0.0
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Dashboard/rda-packs-all.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Dashboard/rda-packs-view-deployed-artifacts.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/Dashboard/rda-packs-view-detail.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/PStream/customer-rda-packs-artifacts.json
Saving artifact file: snapshot-artifacts/PStream/rda_packs_meta.json
RDA Pack manifest.yaml generated
RDA Pack dependency overview generated
Generating Pack file: demo1.tar.gz
RDA Pack: demo1 created successfully
rdauser@infra107-75:~/packs_demo$ ls
artifact_t1.json demo1.tar.gz demo_README.txt demo.tar.gz
8.5 Structure of Created tar File
The pack.tar.gz archive contains the following:
snapshot-artifact/
: A folder storing all captured artifact payload files.
manifest.yaml
: This file defines the captured artifacts for deployment.
artifact_pack_overview.md
: Contains required prerequisite steps and a list of missing dependent artifacts.
meta_artifacts.json
: Contains the list of captured artifacts and their dependencies.
8.5.1 Structure of Artifact Sub Directory
The snapshot-artifacts/
folder contains all collected and saved artifacts.
8.5.2 Sample Manifest File Structure
name: june18_t1
label: june18_t1
version: 1.0.0
type: feature
published_date: '2025-06-18'
publisher: Fabrix.ai
scope: system
description:
md: ./artifact_pack_overview.md
artifacts:
blueprints:
- name: Alerts Enricher
file: snapshot-artifacts/Blueprint/Alerts Enricher.json
8.5.3 Sample Description File For The Pack
## Overview section
This pack can be used to restore the artifacts in another environment.
## Pre-Requisite Steps
- Add `credentials` named **asset-discovery** required by other artifacts
## Quick Start Guide
1. If there are steps listed in Pre-requisite section, complete them.
2. Activate the pack to restore the artifacts.
9 Create RDA Pack from UI
The Dashboard Create Pack feature allows user to export a single dashboard along with all its dependencies into a self-contained pack. This pack can then be easily deployed into another system or environment, ensuring consistent and complete dashboard migration.
Steps to Create Pack
1. Log in to the RDA Portal as an Administrator.
2. Navigate to RDA Administration → User Dashboards.
3. From the list of available dashboards, select the action menu (⋮) for the dashboard you want to export.
4. Click on “Create Pack”.
5. A pop-up modal will appear:
-
Enter a Pack Name and Version.
-
Review the list of Dependencies that will be automatically included in the pack.
6. Click "Create" to generate the pack.
Once the pack is created, you can download it from My Downloads.
Dependencies
When a user creates a pack from a dashboard, the system automatically identifies and includes all required dependencies to ensure the dashboard operates seamlessly in the target environment.
These dependencies may include:
-
All pstreams used in the dashboard definition
-
Any referenced dashboards through drilldowns or cross-links
Before the pack is generated, a pop-up window displays a summary table of all the components that will be included. This allows the user to review and confirm the contents before proceeding.
Deploying the Pack
Once the pack is downloaded, it can be uploaded and deployed into another RDA instance using the Packs interface. This makes it easy to transfer dashboards and their dependencies between environments.
10 Create RDA Pack Manually
RDA Packs tar file can be created manually by following the steps below
1. Create the directory structure
- Follow the structure described in Section 3 Structure of RDA Packs in the RDA Packs User Guide.
2. Create the manifest.yaml file
- Refer to Section 3 Structure of RDA Packs in the RDA Packs User Guide for details.
3. Define pack metadata
- In the manifest.yaml file, specify the name, version, and description of the pack.
4. Add artifacts
- Include all artifacts that should be created by the pack during deployment. Refer to the table below for sample YAML entries for each supported artifact.
Artifact |
Sample YAML in Manifest |
---|---|
pstream | pstreams: - name: network_device_interfaces attributes: unique_keys: [ "unique_id", "customer_tag" ] |
dataset | datasets: - name: ifTypeLabel_dict data_file: ./data/ifTypeLabel_dict.csv folder: NetworkDevicePack |
pipeline | pipelines: - name: access_verification_main_pipeline folder: NetworkDevicePack version: 2024.03.19.2 file: ./artifacts/pipelines/access_verification_main_pipeline.txt |
dashboards | dashboards: - name: network_device file: ./artifacts/dashboards/network_device.json |
blueprint | blueprints: - name: network_device_discovery file: ./artifacts/blueprints/network_device_discovery.yaml |
credentials | credentials: - name: asset-discovery type: asset-discovery |
icon | icons: - name: test_icon file: ./artifacts/icons/test_icon.jpg |
formatting template | formatting_templates: - name: test_raise_alerts_from_anomalies file: ./artifacts/formatting_templates/test_raise_alerts_from_anomalies.template folder: test_templates version: 2024.03.19.1 |
endpoint | endpoints: - name: endpoint1 file: ./artifacts/endpoints/endpoint1.json - name: endpoint2 |
graphdb | graphdbs: - name: test_db |
stack | stacks: - name: test_pack_stack file: ./artifacts/stacks/host_os_stack.json |
tags | tags: - name: TAG_tag2 description: create via pack |
user group | user_groups: - name: msp_admin_grp2 tags: - TAG_tag2 - TAG_tag3 role: msp-admin |
mapping | mappings: - file: artifacts/Mapping/test_mapping.json |
correlation policy | correlation_policies: - name: test_cp-2 file: snapshot-artifacts/CorrelationPolicies/test_cp-2.json |
suppression policy | suppression_policies: - name: test_sp-1 file: snapshot-artifacts/SuppressionPolicies/test_sp-1.json |
FSM model | fsm_models: - name: model1 version: 1.0.0 file: ./artifacts/fsm-models/model1.json |
team configuration | teams_configuration: - name: test1 file: snapshot-artifacts/TeamsConfiguration/test1.json |
relationship map | relationship_maps: - name: test_gdb_relationship_map file: ./artifacts/stacks/test_gdb_relationship_map.json remove_on_deactivation: false |
5. Create the tar.gz
file
- Ensure that the manifest.yaml file is located at the top level of the tarball.
11 Bundles to Packs Migration
The Bundles page has been deprecated from the RDA Administration. Identified bundles have been converted to solution packs, which can now be uploaded via the “Upload from Catalog” option on the Packs page in RDA Administration.
11.1 Mapping: System Bundles to Solution Packs
The following is the list of system bundles and their corresponding solution packs:
System Bundle | Corresponding Solution Pack(s) |
---|---|
network_inventory_bundle |
Network Device Discovery |
topology_path_viz_bundle |
Network Device Discovery, VMWare vCenter, Cisco vManage, VMWare VeloCloud, Linux and Windows Host OS |
kpi_workbench |
Fabrix AIOps Network Performance Management SNMP |
kpi_workbench_telemetry |
Fabrix AIOps Network Performance Management Telemetry |
oia_l1_l2_bundle |
Fabrix AIOps Fault Management Base |
bulkstats_ml_insights |
Fabrix AIOps BulkStats |
ml_asset_correlation_regression |
Fabrix AIOps Correlation and Regression |
ml_metrics_regression |
Fabrix AIOps Regression |
oia_ml_bundle |
Fabrix AIOps ML |
fsm_events_kafka_publisher_bundles |
Fabrix AIOps Ticketing Base (coming soon) |
oia_fsm_common_ticketing_bundle |
Fabrix AIOps Ticketing Base (coming soon) |
oia_fsm_aots_ticketing_bundle |
Fabrix AIOps BMC Remedy Ticketing (coming soon) |
oia_fsm_smartbonding_ticketing_bundle |
Fabrix AIOps SmartBonding Ticketing (coming soon) |
oia_fsm_snow_ticketing_bundle |
Fabrix AIOps ServiceNow Ticketing (coming soon) |
11.2 Obsoleted System Bundles
The following system bundles have been obsoleted:
aia_network_ipt_bundle
all_credentials_connectivity
dashboard_schedule_bundle
graphdb_bundle
opsgenie_bundle
synthetic_metric_anomalies_bundle
system
topo-artifacts
metrics_workbench
device_onboarding_artifacts
upload_devices_bpa_bundle
performance_management_bundle
bcs_operational_insights
bluecat_aia_bundle
HPNA_AIA_bundle
oia_periodic_alerts_stream_sync_bundle
oia_stream_sync_bundle
seasonality_based_metrics_regression_bundle
- |
dna_center_bundle