Before you can run a deployment, you must define at least
one environment that associates components with an agent on the target
host. This initial environment is typically uncontrolled and often
used to create snapshots.
Before you begin
- Ensure that you have at least one base resource to contain the
new environment. See Resources.
- If you are provisioning an environment from a cloud system, make
sure that you have a blueprint that maps the components to the cloud
resources. See Creating application blueprints.
- If you are provisioning an environment from IBM® UrbanCode Deploy with Patterns,
connect to the design server as described in Integrating with IBM UrbanCode Deploy with Patterns.
About this task
There are three basic ways to create an environment:
- You install or provision servers manually, install agents on those
servers, and add the agents to the environment manually.
- You create a blueprint in IBM UrbanCode Deploy and
create the environment using that blueprint. The server provisions
that blueprint on the related cloud system and installs agents automatically.
See Creating application blueprints.
- You create a blueprint in IBM UrbanCode Deploy with Patterns and
create the environment with that blueprint. In this case, IBM UrbanCode Deploy with Patterns deploys
components to the environment automatically.
Procedure
- Open the Create New Environment window
by clicking and then enter the following
information:

- Name and Description.
The name is used as part of the deployment process and typically corresponds
to the target environment. For example, if you are deploying to an
integration environment, "SIT" might appropriate.
- In the Teams section, specify the teams
and roles that have access to the environment.
- If you are provisioning an environment on a cloud system, in the Blueprint list,
select the blueprint. You can select a blueprint on the IBM UrbanCode Deploy or
on a IBM UrbanCode Deploy with Patterns server
if you are connected.
- If you selected a blueprint on the IBM UrbanCode Deploy server,
specify the resource to contain the new environment in the Base
Resource field. This base resource is a container for
the resources in the environment. The base resource is used only for
organizational purposes. This field does not appear for blueprints
in IBM UrbanCode Deploy with Patterns.
- To ensure that components cannot be deployed to the environment
without first being approved, select the Require Approvals check
box. If this check box is selected, IBM UrbanCode Deploy enforces
an approval process before the component can be deployed to the environment.
Initial deployments are typically done in uncontrolled environments.
After the deployment is successful, you can configure an approvals
process as the application moves along the development pipeline. If
you are setting up more than one environment, consider creating an
approvals process for at least one of them.
- In the Exempt Processes list, specify processes
that do not require approvals.
- If the Lock Snapshots check box is selected,
snapshots added to this environment are locked (for the selected environment)
to prevent changes.
- The Color picker enables you to apply a
visual identifier to the environment. The selected color appears in
the UI.
- The Inherit Cleanup Settings check box
determines how many component versions are kept in CodeStation, and
how long they are kept. If checked, the application uses the values
that are specified on the System Settings pane.
If cleared, the Days to Keep Versions (initially
set to -1, keep indefinitely) and Number of Versions to
Keep (initially set to -1, keep all) fields are displayed,
which enable you to define custom values. The default value is checked.
- If you are not creating the environment from a cloud system,
click Save.
- If you are creating an environment from a blueprint on IBM UrbanCode Deploy with Patterns,
click Next and specify the information about
the blueprint:
- In the Blueprint field, make
sure that your blueprint is listed.
- In the Blueprint Version field,
select the version of the blueprint to use. The default
version for blueprints is 1.0.
- Optional: In the Configuration list,
select the configuration file to use.
- If you selected a configuration file, in the Configuration
Version list, select the version of the configuration
file. The default version is 1.0.
The Create New Environment window
shows the properties in the blueprint and configuration file, along
with the default values for those properties. You can accept the defaults
or customize the values, as shown in the following figure.
- To provision the environment, click Create.
- If you are creating an environment that is based on a blueprint
on the IBM UrbanCode Deploy server,
click Save. In this case, the Environment
Blueprint Properties window opens, as shown in the following
figure. From this window, you can customize the properties for each
virtual node, such as the starting user names and passwords.

- In the Cloud Connection field,
make sure that the connection to your cloud system is listed. This
list shows connections that you have access to, based on the security
settings for those connections.
- In the Choose Location field,
specify where to store the virtual nodes and how to allocate IP addresses
to those nodes. Select Cloud Group to
store the virtual nodes on one of the hypervisors in a cloud group.
Select Environment Profile to provision the
virtual nodes according to an environment profile. For more information
on cloud groups and environment profiles, see the documentation for
your cloud system.
Note: If you need to specify both the environment
profile and the IP group, first specify the environment profile on
this page. Then, on the properties page for each node, specify the
IP group for each node.
Note: For IBM PureApplication® System,
you must use an environment profile; cloud groups are not supported.
- If you selected Cloud Group,
select a cloud group in the Cloud Group field.
- If you selected Environment Profile,
select an environment profile in the Environment Profile field.
- Under Set property values for nodes to be
created for this environment, you can customize the properties
for the cloud resources. To customize these properties,
click the node. A window opens that shows the properties for the node,
including virtual image properties such as memory, number of CPUs,
and starting passwords. The window also shows the properties for each
script package on the node.
Note: In some cases, you must specify certain
required properties. In this case, when you click Save,
a popup window lists the required properties that are not specified.
- To provision the environment, click Save.
Results
The new environment appears in the
Environments pane.
If
you created the environment from a blueprint that is on that is on
a IBM UrbanCode Deploy with Patterns server,
the design server and engine provision the environment and the application
environment appears on the IBM UrbanCode Deploy server.
If
you created the environment from a blueprint that is on the
IBM UrbanCode Deploy server,
the server runs the following tasks:
- The server requests the resources from the cloud system
- The cloud system runs script packages on the cloud resources,
including installing an agent on each node
- The server creates an environment that is based on the blueprint
- The server connects the agents to that environment
The server does not run any processes on the environment automatically.
You can run processes as usual after the environment is ready. You
can see the cloud resources by opening the console for your cloud
system.
Note: If you create an environment from a blueprint that
is on the IBM UrbanCode Deploy server
and then change the component mappings in the blueprint, the environment
changes to match the blueprint.
When
you are ready to remove the environment and the virtual resources,
select the environment and then click , as shown in the following
figure.
If the
environment includes cloud resources, you can specify whether to delete
those resources or to leave them in the cloud. Select or clear the
Delete
Cloud Instances check box, as shown in the following figure:
What to do next
If you did not use a blueprint, add resources and components
to the environment. See
Mapping resources and components to environments.