@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-aap-backend

Ansible Automation Platform Backstage provider plugin

The Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) Backstage provider plugin synchronizes the accessible templates including job templates and workflow job templates from AAP into the Backstage catalog.

For administrators

Installation and configuration

The AAP Backstage provider plugin allows the configuration of one or multiple providers using the app-config.yaml configuration file of Backstage.

Procedure

1. Run the following command to install the AAP Backstage provider plugin:

   yarn workspace backend add @janus-idp/backstage-plugin-aap-backend
   

2. Use aap marker to configure the app-config.yaml file of Backstage as follows:

   catalog:
     providers:
       aap:
         dev:
           baseUrl: <URL>
           authorization: 'Bearer ${AAP_AUTH_TOKEN}'
           owner: <owner>
           system: <system>
           schedule: # optional; same options as in TaskScheduleDefinition
             # supports cron, ISO duration, "human duration" as used in code
             frequency: { minutes: 1 }
             # supports ISO duration, "human duration" as used in code
             timeout: { minutes: 1 }
   

3. Configure the scheduler using one of the following options:

   • Add the following code to the packages/backend/src/plugins/catalog.ts file if the scheduler is configured inside the app-config.yaml file:

     /* highlight-add-next-line */
     import { AapResourceEntityProvider } from '@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-aap-backend';
     
     export default async function createPlugin(
       env: PluginEnvironment,
     ): Promise<Router> {
       const builder = await CatalogBuilder.create(env);
     
       /* ... other processors and/or providers ... */
       /* highlight-add-start */
       builder.addEntityProvider(
         AapResourceEntityProvider.fromConfig(env.config, {
           logger: env.logger,
           scheduler: env.scheduler,
         }),
       );
       /* highlight-add-end */
     
       const { processingEngine, router } = await builder.build();
       await processingEngine.start();
       return router;
     }
     

   • Add a schedule directly inside the packages/backend/src/plugins/catalog.ts file as follows:

     /* highlight-add-next-line */
     import { AapResourceEntityProvider } from '@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-aap-backend';
     
     export default async function createPlugin(
       env: PluginEnvironment,
     ): Promise<Router> {
       const builder = await CatalogBuilder.create(env);
     
       /* ... other processors and/or providers ... */
       /* highlight-add-start */
       builder.addEntityProvider(
         AapResourceEntityProvider.fromConfig(env.config, {
           logger: env.logger,
           schedule: env.scheduler.createScheduledTaskRunner({
             frequency: { minutes: 1 },
             timeout: { minutes: 1 },
           }),
         }),
       );
       /* highlight-add-end */
     
       const { processingEngine, router } = await builder.build();
       await processingEngine.start();
       return router;
     }
     

Troubleshooting

When you start your Backstage application, you can see the following log lines:

[1] 2023-02-13T15:26:09.356Z catalog info Discovered ResourceEntity API type=plugin target=AapResourceEntityProvider:dev
[1] 2023-02-13T15:26:09.423Z catalog info Discovered ResourceEntity Red Hat Event (DEV, v1.2.0) type=plugin target=AapResourceEntityProvider:dev
[1] 2023-02-13T15:26:09.620Z catalog info Discovered ResourceEntity Red Hat Event (TEST, v1.1.0) type=plugin target=AapResourceEntityProvider:dev
[1] 2023-02-13T15:26:09.819Z catalog info Discovered ResourceEntity Red Hat Event (PROD, v1.1.0) type=plugin target=AapResourceEntityProvider:dev
[1] 2023-02-13T15:26:09.819Z catalog info Applying the mutation with 3 entities type=plugin target=AapResourceEntityProvider:dev

For users

Accessing templates from Ansible Automation Platform in Backstage

Once the AAP Backstage provider plugin is configured successfully, it synchronizes the templates including job templates and workflow job templates from AAP and displays them on the Backstage Catalog page as Resources.

Prerequisites

• Your Backstage application is installed and running.
• You have installed the AAP Backstage provider plugin. For installation and configuration instructions, see Installation and configuration.

Procedure

1. Open your Backstage application and Go to the Catalog page.

2. Select Resource from the Kind drop-down and job template or workflow job template from the Type drop-down on the left side of the page.

   

   A list of all the available templates from AAP appears on the page.

   NOTE: The imported templates from AAP in Backstage follow the {jobTemplateName}-{orgName}-{envNameInConfig} naming syntax without white spaces. For example, in the Demo_Job_Template-Default-Stage, Demo_Job_Template is jobTemplateName, Default is orgName, and Stage is envNameInConfig.

3. Select a template from the list.

   The OVERVIEW tab appears containing different cards, such as:

   • About: Provides detailed information about the template.

   • Relations: Displays the visual representation of the template and associated aspects.

   • Links: Contains links to the AAP dashboard and the details page of the template.

   • Has subcomponents: Displays a list of associated subcomponents.