Software Distribution IV: Distribute via PackageCloud
Matrix42 PackageCloud
The Matrix42 PackageCloud offers a wide range of business relevant applications as pre-packaged software. You can benefit from a wide range of packages for different software products that ensures a simple and fast deployment of applications as cloud services. The integration into the Unified User Experiences allows you to easily search for packages and directly integrate or download them.
Configuration and prerequisites
To import or download packages, an authentication to the Matrix42 Account Service must be established. This is done in the Administration in the Service Connections section. Depending on whether your company has a PackageCloud subscription, either all or only the "free" packages are downloadable. The PackageCoud packages are retrieved every night by a data provider.
If no authentication is configured the packages are shown and details about packages can be retrieved by selecting a package, but the packages cannot be downloaded or integrated. A Matrix42 Service Connection is used to provide the authentication and subscription information. It can be selected by editing the Package Cloud Connector Configuration of the PackageCloud Data Provider. Use the Action "Add Matrix42 Service Connection" in Administration -> Integration -> Service Connections. The ability to easily create a service connection to the Matrix42 Account Service will be provided with a DWP 11.0.0. Until than the Service Connection can be established using this How-to article.
Views
List view
The list view shows all available PackagCloud Packages in a grid view. Selecting an entry shows the details in a preview pane.
Table of content
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | The or developer of the software or script |
| Name | Name of the package |
| Version | Version |
| Last Updated |
Last update of the package or package information |
| Creation Date | Initial upload of the package |
| Size in MB | Size of the package in megabyte |
| Ready to use | The package contains all required data and files and can be directly imported (depends on the subscription) |
| Sources Included | The package contains the required software files (see the package documentation for more information) |
| Downloadable | The package can be downloaded (depends on the subscription) |
| Revision | Revision of the package |
| Description | Description of the package |
Preview
The preview shows the details of the package and for which language and operating systems the package is approved. The package documentation is provided as a link (not for all package documentation links are available. A documentation is always included in the package itself)
Actions
When opening a preview of an application in the Package Cloud section, you can either download the package or import the package directly into the system.
Import package
Packages that are Ready to use are imported into the connected Empirum Server and the package library. The file download is performed by the Empirum Server, which receives the request via the Enterprise Service Bus.
Download Package
If a valid PackageCloud subscription is booked, all packages can be downloaded to the local machine for manual import or modification in Empirum. Various packages are available to all Matrix42 customers even without a subscription. Please note that your browser needs to allow pop-up windows for this website to perform the downloads.
Assign Packages
After importing or uploading an downloaded and modified package, the package should available in the Software Packages section. The packages are now ready to be assigned and you can add packages directly to an existing assignment or create a new one from the actions inside the preview. In addition, you can create a new Assignment from the Assignment section and add the target devices and packages separately.
Add to Assignment(s)
Click on the button to open a list of all available assignments. You can now mark one or more assignments and then add them via the button to the assignments. This option is only available for object types which can be added multiple times to an assignment (i.E multiple software packages but not multiple OS installation sources).
Create Assignments
Clicking the button opens the Assignment window, in which an appropriate assignment can be configured for the selected device.
Error handling
If the PackageCloud import is not working and the following error message is shown in the last result message of the PackageCloud Data Provider, the user needs to reauthenticate in the Administration -> Integration -> Service Connections -> Connections with the Matrix42 account.
Matrix42.Workflows.Activities.Common.WorkflowActivityRuntimeException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at Matrix42.DataGateway.Worker.Processors.WorkflowSyncExecutor.RunWorkflow(String name, IEnumerable`1 arguments) at Matrix42.DataGateway.Proxy.Workflow.ClientWorkflowRepository.RunWorkflow(ClientWorkflowKey workflowKey, IEnumerable`1 arguments) at Matrix42.DataGateway.Workflow.Handlers.WorkflowCommandHandler.Handle(IMessage message, ExecuteWorkflowRequest command) at Matrix42.Workflows.Activities.RunWorkflow.OnReadComplete(NativeActivityContext context, Bookmark bookmark, Object state) at System.Activities.Runtime.BookmarkWorkItem.Execute(ActivityExecutor executor, BookmarkManager bookmarkManager)