Workflows#

The concept of a workflow is typically used in automation platforms to make an operational task reproducible; it is the logic or code required to execute the task. Workflows might perform node upgrades, validate connectivity in a virtual network, or perform a simple ping test.

In Nokia Event-Driven Automation (EDA), workflows are container images that take some input, perform some work, and provide some output. Like other Nokia EDA resources, the input and output schemas for EDA workflows are defined as Kubernetes CRDs. These workflow definitions and associated container images are packaged in Nokia EDA apps.

Nokia EDA workflows support:

• Runtime stages - reports the workflow's steps and their current state
• Workflow completion status
• Waiting for user input
• Subflows - a workflow can trigger child workflows
• Artifacts - a workflow may return artifacts, such as tech support files
• Log streaming - workflow container logs are retrievable via the Nokia EDA UI and API

Workflow state#

The success of a workflow run is represented by two parameters, state and passed.

State represents a workflow's lifecycle and has the following possible values:

• Waiting to start: FlowEngine is preparing the workflow run
• Running: the workflow is in progress
• Waiting for input: the workflow requires user input
• Subflow waiting for input: a subflow requires user input
• Terminated: the workflow stopped prematurely, typically by user intervention
• Failed: the workflow finished with an error
• Completed: the workflow finished without an error

Passed is a boolean value representing the domain-specific result of a finished workflow. Examples:

• If a Ping workflow executed all it's Internet Control Management Protocol (ICMP) requests, but did not received ICMP responses, the workflow state would be Completed and passed False.
• If the Ping workflow could not execute the ICMP requests, the workflow would return an error and would be state Failed and passed False.

FlowEngine#

Nokia EDA FlowEngine is the controller behind the instantiation, status reporting, and interaction with workflows.

When creating a new workflow, the FlowEngine:

• Validates the resources input against the schema.
• Publishes a Kubernetes Job, which runs the container image associated with the workflow.
• Assigns a Flow ID to the workflow.
• Updates the status of the flow based on gRPC interactions from the workflow container.

Flow IDs are incremental. If FlowEngine restarts, previously executed or currently running flows are lost and a new Flow ID restarts at 1.

Workflows in the Nokia EDA UI#

Workflow Definitions #

The Workflow Definitions page shows all available workflow definitions provided from Nokia EDA apps. From the Main navigation panel, click Workflows under the SYSTEM group. Then, select Workflow Definitions from the drop-down list.

The following table summarizes some of the workflow definitions shipped with the Nokia EDA apps.

Table: Workflow definitions

Workflow runs #

The Runs page lists the in-progress and historical workflow runs.

From the Main navigation panel, click Workflows under the SYSTEM group. Then, select Runs from the drop-down list. Rows are highlighted for any workflow which is failed or waiting for user input.

From the Runs page, you can:

• Provide additional input for a workflow, if user input is required
• Create and run a new workflow
• Cancel a running workflow
• Display the Summary page for a workflow

Double-click a workflow to display details for that workflow.

Subflows are nested under their parent workflow. Click the chevron icon near the parent workflow ID to show or hide the child workflows.

Workflow Summary page #

The Summary page provides details about a workflow execution. From the Runs page, click a workflow to display its summary.

The following example is for a NetworkTopology workflow.

The Summary panel provides the state of the workflow.

• State of the workflow, which can be one of the following:
• Waiting to start
• Running
• Waiting for input
• Subflow waiting for input
• Terminated
• Failed
• Completed

For finished workflows (state Completed, Failed, or Terminated), the summary will also display the passed value as either "Failed" or "Passed".

Workflow results#

The Results tab displays the workflow run's input ("specification") and and output ("status"). The specification and status schema is unique to each workflow definition.

In the following example, a NetworkTopology workflow completed successfully. The results show the overall result, the total number of resources processed, the operation duration, and a breakdown of created resources by type (nodes, links, interfaces, and simulation resources). The code panel shows the underlying NetworkTopology resource definition.

Workflow logs#

The Logs view displays logs from the workflow container. Below the Summary panel, select the Log tab. The logs are used for troubleshooting and debugging purposes.

Table: Workflow log columns

Workflow artifacts#

The execution of some workflows produces artifacts that you can download. If a file is available for download, the download button is visible from the Summary panel. Click it to download the artifact and save the file locally.

Running workflows #

You can create a workflow using one of the following procedures:

• Running a workflow from the Workflow Definitions page
• Running a workflow from the Workflow Runs page
• Triggering a workflow from the resource action menu

Running a workflow from the Workflow Definitions page #

You can run a workflow by creating a new instance of the selected workflow definition.

Procedure

Running a workflow from the Workflow Runs page #

You can create a new workflow by selecting the type of workflow that you want or by duplicating an existing workflow and updating the prepopulated specifications.

Procedure

Triggering a workflow from the resource action menu #

You can run a workflow from the Row action menu of target resources. Workflows are nested by UI category; if a workflow has no UI set, it remains at the top level under Workflows.

Workflow definitions define some types of resources as subjects. These workflows are listed in the action menu of the relevant resources. For example, the Ping workflow accepts a node as subject and can be triggered from the node action menu:

Some workflows allow you to select multiple resources in the same workflow. For example, for the Deploy Image workflow, you can identify multiple Node resources. You cannot include resources from multiple namespaces in the same workflow input. The bulk workflow actions function is disabled when the UI page is set to All Namespaces.

The following example executes the Ping workflow.

Procedure

Using workflows with edactl #

You can use the edactl command to provide input so a workflow can proceed or to query Nokia EDA about workflows.

Workflow status#

Use the following edactl commands to get a workflow's status:

• To view all workflows, use the following command:

  edactl workflow get -A
  

  For example:

  edactl workflow get -A
  ID NAMESPACE NAME TYPE STATUS 
  1 eda-system bulkapps-eda.nokia.com app-installer COMPLETED 
  2 eda-system bulkapps-eda.nokia.com app-installer FAILED
  

• To view details of a specific workflow, use the following command:

  edactl workflow get <id>
  

  For example:

  edactl workflow get 1 
  ID: 1 
  Namespace: eda-system 
  Name: bulkapps-eda.nokia.com 
  Status: COMPLETED 
  Workflow Steps: 
  ↓ init 
  ↓ Fetching 
  ↓ Verifying 
  ↓ Committing 
  ↓ Applying 
  ↓ Installed
  

Workflow logs#

Use the following edactl commands to get workflow logs:

• To view logs for a workflow, use the following command:

  edactl workflow logs <id>
  

  For example: edactl workflow logs 20

• To tail log output of a running workflow, use the following command:

  edactl workflow logs <id> --follow 
  

Workflow artifacts#

Use the following edactl commands to get workflow artifacts:

• To list files associated with a specific workflow, use the following command:

  edactl workflow artifacts <id>
  

  For example:

  edactl workflow artifacts 2
  Artifacts available for the workflow:
        tech-support-20250207_050610-mv1nd01-spine-1.zip
  root in on eda-toolbox-6f6c686487-xdks4 /eda
  

• To download all files associated with the workflow in the present working directory, use the following command:

  edactl workflow artifacts <id> download
  

  For example:

  edactl workflow artifacts 2 download
  Downloading artifacts to: /eda
  

• To download all the files associated with the workflow in the /tmp/ directory, use the following command:

  edactl workflow artifacts <id> download --to /tmp/
  

  For example:

  edactl workflow artifacts 2 download --to /tmp/
  Downloading artifacts to: /tmp
  tech-support-20250207_050610-mv1nd01-spine-1.zip 100% [===============] (5.9/5.9 MB, 98 MB/s)  
  

• To download a single file associated with the workflow in the /tmp/ directory, use the following commands:

  edactl workflow artifacts <id> download --to /tmp/ --from <file name>
  

  or

  edactl workflow artifacts 2 download --from <file name>
  

  For example:

  edactl workflow artifacts 2 download --from tech-support-20250207_050610-mv1nd01-spine-1.zip --to /tmp/ Downloading artifacts to: /tmp tech-support-20250207_050610-mv1nd01-spine-1.zip 100% [===============] (5.9/5.9 MB, 104 MB/s) root in on eda-toolbox-6f6c686487-xdks4 /eda 
  

Providing input to workflows#

Some workflows may require user input to allow the workflow to proceed. You can use the following commands to handle workflows that require user input:

• To find workflows awaiting input, use the following command and look for status 'WAITING_FOR_INPUT':

  edactl workflow get -A -a
  

• To acknowledge a workflow and allow it to continue, use the following command:

  edactl workflow ack <id>
  

  For example, to acknowledge the workflow whose ID is 10:

  edactl workflow ack 10
  

• To terminate a workflow, use the following command:

  edactl workflow nack <id>
  

  For example, to terminate the workflow whose ID is 20:

  edactl workflow nack 20