Set deployment blackouts

This topic explains how to set a blackout period during which no deployments or other processes can run in an environment or on an agent.

You can schedule blackouts for a global environment, an application environment, or a resource, and run them at specified times or on a regular basis.

Schedule application environment blackouts

You can schedule a single blackout or a series of regular blackouts for an application environment.

To set an application environment blackout:

  1. Navigate to Deployment > Timeline.

  2. Click Schedule and select Application Environment Blackout. The Schedule Application Environment Blackout dialog box opens.

  3. Follow the wizard and select the application and environment for which to set the blackout.

  4. Under Schedule, specify the following properties:
    • (Optional) Blackout name.
    • The time zone to which Deployment Automation binds the schedule.
    • The date and time range of the blackout, according to the time zone.

  5. (Optional) To schedule regular blackouts, select Recurring and define the recurring pattern.

    Pattern Description
    Duration Specify how long you want the blackout to last in hours and minutes.
    Repeat every Specify how often you want to run the blackout in days, weeks, months, or years.

    For example, to repeat blackouts daily, enter 1 and select Day from the list of patterns.
    Repeat on For the Week pattern, select the exact days of the week, from Sunday to Saturday, on which you want to run the blackout.
    Monthly options

    For the Month pattern, select one of the following:

    • On the exact day of the month. Schedule the blackout for a specific calendar day. In the Day field, enter the day of the month. For example, to black out on the 10th of the month, enter 10.
    • Relative date. Run the blackout on a relative day of the month. In the Repeat On field, set the pattern, for example, last Monday of the month or third Wednesday of the month.
    Ends

    Specify when to stop the blackouts:

    • Never. Select this option to continue the cycle indefinitely.
    • On. Select a calendar date on which to stop the blackouts.
    • After. Enter a number of blackouts after which you want to stop.
  6. Click Submit.

The blackout is now displayed in the Deployment Timeline, where you can view, edit, or delete it. The blackout start and end dates are indicated with a black icon, where the letter A stands for application environment.

Caution: If any deployments to the application environment were previously scheduled within the blackout range, they will fail.

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Schedule global environment blackouts

You can schedule a single blackout or a series of regular blackouts for a global environment.

If you need to create and run processes for specific applications during a blackout, you can exclude those applications from the blackout schedule.

To set a global environment blackout:

  1. Navigate to Deployment > Timeline.

  2. Click Schedule and select Global Environment Blackout. The Schedule Global Environment Blackout dialog box opens.

  3. Under Environment, select the appropriate environment and click Next.
  4. Under Schedule, specify the following properties:
    • (Optional) Blackout name.
    • The time zone to which Deployment Automation binds the schedule.
    • The date and time range of the blackout, according to the time zone.

  5. (Optional) To schedule regular blackouts, select Recurring and define the recurring pattern.

    Pattern Description
    Duration Specify how long you want the blackout to last in hours and minutes.
    Repeat every Specify how often you want to run the blackout in days, weeks, months, or years.

    For example, to repeat blackouts daily, enter 1 and select Day from the list of patterns.
    Repeat on For the Week pattern, select the exact days of the week, from Sunday to Saturday, on which you want to run the blackout.
    Monthly options

    For the Month pattern, select one of the following:

    • On the exact day of the month. Schedule the blackout for a specific calendar day. In the Day field, enter the day of the month. For example, to black out on the 10th of the month, enter 10.
    • Relative date. Run the blackout on a relative day of the month. In the Repeat On field, set the pattern, for example, last Monday of the month or third Wednesday of the month.
    Ends

    Specify when to stop the blackouts:

    • Never. Select this option to continue the cycle indefinitely.
    • On. Select a calendar date on which to stop the blackouts.
    • After. Enter a number of blackouts after which you want to stop.

  6. (Optional) To exclude applications from the blackout, select one or more applications from the Application Exceptions list.

    To select all active applications, click Select All. You can search for applications and then click Select All to select only the search results.

    Caution: Ensure that no previously scheduled deployments to the global environment fall within the blackout range. If there are any, exclude the relevant applications from the blackout, as otherwise you cannot set the blackout schedule.

  7. Click Submit.

The blackout is now displayed in the Deployment Timeline, where you can view, edit, or delete it. The blackout start and end dates are indicated with a black icon, where the letter G stands for global environment.

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Schedule resource blackouts

You can schedule blackouts for specific deployment targets in an environment or for agents that manage them.

To set a resource blackout:

  1. Navigate to Deployment > Timeline.

  2. Click Schedule and select Resource Blackout. The Schedule Resource Blackout dialog box opens.

  3. Under Resource, select the appropriate resource and click Next.

  4. Under Schedule, specify the following properties:
    • (Optional) Blackout name.
    • The time zone to which Deployment Automation binds the schedule.
    • The date and time range of the blackout, according to the time zone.

  5. (Optional) To schedule regular blackouts, select Recurring and define the recurring pattern.

    Pattern Description
    Duration Specify how long you want the blackout to last in hours and minutes.
    Repeat every Specify how often you want to run the blackout in days, weeks, months, or years.

    For example, to repeat blackouts daily, enter 1 and select Day from the list of patterns.
    Repeat on For the Week pattern, select the exact days of the week, from Sunday to Saturday, on which you want to run the blackout.
    Monthly options

    For the Month pattern, select one of the following:

    • On the exact day of the month. Schedule the blackout for a specific calendar day. In the Day field, enter the day of the month. For example, to black out on the 10th of the month, enter 10.
    • Relative date. Run the blackout on a relative day of the month. In the Repeat On field, set the pattern, for example, last Monday of the month or third Wednesday of the month.
    Ends

    Specify when to stop the blackouts:

    • Never. Select this option to continue the cycle indefinitely.
    • On. Select a calendar date on which to stop the blackouts.
    • After. Enter a number of blackouts after which you want to stop.
  6. Click Submit.

The blackout is now displayed in the Deployment Timeline, where you can view, edit, or delete it. The blackout start and end dates are indicated with a black icon, where the letter R stands for resource.

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Change or delete blackouts

You can modify a single blackout or an entire series. To cancel blackouts, delete them from the Timeline.

To change scheduled blackouts:

  1. Navigate to Deployment > Timeline.

  2. In the Timeline, select the blackout you want to change and click Edit next to it.
  3. For recurring blackouts, choose how many blackouts you want to edit:
    • To change a single blackout in a series, click Single Entry.
    • To change a series of blackouts, click Entire Series.
  4. In the Edit Blackout dialog box, modify your blackout settings.
  5. Click Save.

To delete blackouts:

  1. Navigate to Deployment > Timeline.

  2. In the Timeline, select the blackout you want to remove and click Delete next to it. The Confirmation dialog box opens.

  3. For a single blackout, click Yes to confirm your action.

    For recurring blackouts, choose how many blackouts you want to remove:

    • To delete a single blackout in a series, click Single Entry.
    • To delete a series of blackouts, click Entire Series.

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