Updating EPM Automate Just Got Easier

Introduction

One of the challenges with EPM Automate has been eliminated this month.  Although it was a minor issue, the need to update EPM Automate regularly was something that had to be considered monthly.  Administrators of PBCS do not always have access to the on-premise footprint, like a Windows VM, that runs the automation.  Even more frequently, access to the production VM is only available to IT staff, so updating that environment is more strict, and has to be scheduled.  That schedule doesn’t always sync up to the changes in PBCS.

Update Command

As of the 02.18 release, a new command is available.  The “update” command will automatically download, and silently install, the newest version of the EPM Automate utility.  Once logged in, execute the following command.

epmautomate upgrade

If you are a frequent visitor, you know I am a fan of PowerShell.  All the automation I do with EPM Automate in the Windows environment utilizes this free scripting tool.  This command has been added to all my new projects so there is no manual effort in keeping the utility current.  This also eliminates any issues that pop up due to incompatibility issues with PBCS.

In my reusable scripts, this new function has been added.

function EPMA_Upgrade{
  $CmdLine = "upgrade"
  $ReturnCode = Start-Process "$EPMAutomate_Path\epmautomate.bat" $CmdLine -Wait -passthru -WindowStylee $ShowDosWindow
  LogResult "EPM Automate has been updated" $ReturnCode.ExitCode
}

During a nightly process, the function is referenced.  If the request fails, the administrators are emails.

$ReturnResult = EPMA_Upgrade
if( $ReturnResult -eq 1){Send_Email_Error;Exit}

Summary

This is a welcome addition.  Now, administrators and application owners don’t have to worry about using new features or keeping EPM Automate in sync with the active version of PBCS.  As the great, Forrest Gump would say – “One Less Thing.”