White Paper
Getting Started with
BMC Helix Control-M
Key implementation steps for the
onboarding process and how to
rapidly achieve ROI
1
Table of Contents
03 Executive Summary
04 BMC Helix Control-M Architecture Overview
06 Accessing Applications Through Integrations and
Connection Profiles
12 Additional Resources
13 Conclusion
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Executive Summary
BMC Helix Control-M is a SaaS application and data
workflow orchestration platform that integrates,
automates, and orchestrates complex workflows in
production across highly heterogeneous technology
environments. It provides organizations with deep
operational workflow orchestration capabilities and the
convenience of SaaS to deliver speed, scale, security,
and governance in orchestrating production workflows.
BMC has Customer Success resources to support
onboarding and implementation processes, and BMC
Services and select partners offer solutions to help with
planning, implementation, and training.
3
BMC Helix Control-M
Architecture Overview
Helix Control-M uses a well-architected framework user-friendly web interfaces and APIs, and include
and is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) native support for many applications, databases,
to take advantage of Amazon’s performance and data and analytics environments, and workflow
features, including its availability zones that support types.
high business continuity. Interactions occur through
Customer A Customer B
AWS WAF
(Firewall)
Public net
API Gateway
CloudFront
Private Private
sub-net Load sub-net
Balancer
IDP
IDP
Permissions
Directory
Directory Directory
Directory
A
Amazon
SQS Tenant A Tenant B A
Amazon
A SQS
Private sub-net Private sub-net A
Customer A
Customer B
Amazon
RDS
Private sub-net
Figure 1. BMC Helix Control-M high-level architecture overview.
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Features and highlights of the architecture:
Helix Control-M supports multiple tenants.
Enterprises can create and tailor tenants for
• It is based on proven and widely used AWS
different roles, from sandboxes and other non-
technology
production environments to production for
• Agents talk without an entrant connection, and orchestrating and executing enterprise workloads.
in https using AWS SQS Each tenant can have its own administrator
and supports role-based access. Users can be
• It connects with the enterprise’s existing IDP or authenticated via the enterprise’s existing systems
directory for authentication and processes or through an internal user store.
• User interfaces are role-based and intuitive, using
web connectivity and APIs
• The unit of ownership and management is the
tenant, representing a complete and
autonomous instance of the service
5
Accessing Applications Through
Integrations and Connection
Profiles
Helix Control-M uses agents, integrations, and Agents are placed at key infrastructure points for
connection profiles to connect with all the systems access support and simplified troubleshooting.
and sources it needs for building, orchestrating, They should be configured to have access to all
and executing workloads. To better understand the applications and workflow elements that are
the relationships among agents, integrations, to be automated and require access to the Helix
connection profiles, and workflow jobs, here is an Control-M cloud infrastructure. Agents initiate
overview of the implementation sequence: outgoing connections to the Helix Control-M
platform and receive instructions via that channel,
1. Deploy agents all through secured communication.
2. Deploy integrations While agents are essential, enterprises have
flexibility over where their agents are deployed,
3. Create connection profiles both geographically and from a platform
perspective (for example, in a cloud, containers,
4. Create jobs virtual machines (VMs), and/or physical machines).
For optimal performance, agents:
The following sections describe what is involved in
each of these steps. • Should have access to all applications and
workflow elements that will be automated
Deploy agents
• Must have access to the Helix Control-M cloud
infrastructure
The architecture provides the framework for Helix
Control-M to orchestrate workflows, which can
• Are deployed using the performance guidelines
include interaction with data and applications
according to the intended use
across the enterprise, whether they reside on-
premises or in multiple clouds. Agents are the BMC can provide additional guidance for agent
key to connecting different applications and data deployment and share appropriate resources
sources. The platform uses agents to execute through the self-service learning library.
workflows in production, such as automating data
pipeline building and execution, alerting, database
cleaning, file transfers, report generation, and
numerous other activities and processes.
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Deploy integrations Docker, Kubernetes, UiPath for robotic process
automation (RPA), Boomi, SAP® S/4HANA, multiple
Integrations are deployed over the agent network Linux® environments, SQL Server, and much more.
and often do not need to be installed on the File transfers typically account for a significant
application server to access an application because portion of an organization’s total workflow volume.
access can take place through remote APIs. This Helix Control-M has many native integrations and
arrangement is advantageous because it enables other features to enable high-reliability file transfers
a single agent installation to control jobs across within cloud environments.
multiple applications and within network visibility.
BMC continuously reviews integration features, If a workflow requires integration with something
including authentication methods, and updates that isn’t natively supported, schedulers or
them regularly. developers can create the integration using the
Helix Control-M Application Integrator, a web-based
Through its native integrations, Helix Control-M tool that allows them to create custom integrations
connects to a wide variety of environments and that can be easily deployed to the Helix Control-M
applications, including numerous AWS, Azure, and environment. Or they can search the crowdsourced
Google Cloud Platform offerings, Apache Airflow, Application Integrator Hub to access integrations
Snowflake, Alteryx, Tableau, Talend, Qlik Sense and created and shared by the BMC community.
other analytics solutions, Hadoop components,
Figure 2. Sample screen from BMC Helix Control-M Application Integrator.
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Create connection profiles Non-technical screens guide users through the
connection profile creation process, as shown in
Connection profiles are used to define access Figure 4.
methods and security credentials for a specific
application. They contain the server location and
port, the authentication method, and every other
detail specific to that connection, such as the
default folder. Connection profiles are centralized
and can be handled either by the same teams
that handle the job definitions or by a dedicated
security team. Teams can create connection profiles
for their specific applications, however many
are already supported. Figure 3 shows a sample
connection profile for Apache Airflow.
Figure 3. Sample connection profile for Apache Airflow.
Figure 4. Connection profile development screen.
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Helix Control-M has a drop-down menu of connection profiles for many popular targets and functions,
including all types of Hadoop, Apache elements (Oozie, Sqoop, Tajo, and Hive), databases (DB2, Sybase,
PostgreSQL, MSSQL, Oracle, and JDBC), SAP®, Informatica, and Helix Control-M Application Integrator.
Connection profiles are reusable and can be referenced by multiple jobs. You can also use JSON and Helix
Control-M Automation API to manage connection profiles.
Create jobs
Once Helix Control-M is provisioned, the agents and required integrations are installed, and users are
authenticated, it is ready to run workflows. Organizations can convert their existing jobs and workflows to
Helix Control-M and create new ones. Logical resources are defined and associated with specific jobs to
control application use and limitations, such as license quantities.
Application and data workflow orchestration must be organized to be effective. To this end, we propose
grouping objects into folders and sub-folders as a hierarchy of tasks and processes that work together to
realize a common goal.
Figure 5. Screen of a workflow folder.
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Processes that belong to the same department or in producing and repairing a specific workflow.
share a business area can be grouped separately
into applications and sub-applications. User roles Helix Control-M includes the use of BMC’s
also allow filtering application visibility. conversion tools for converting third-party
workloads and other jobs to the Helix Control-M
environment. There are also automated conversion
and self-service conversion tools available.
Operations staff, developers, and business users
can all create their own workflows using a variety
of Helix Control-M tools and self-service features.
Figure 6. Application grouping screen.
Regardless of whether workflows are created or
converted, access and rights for all workflows are
Each definition can link to additional documentation role-based, supported by previously established
to share knowledge about workflows and the user registration and authentication methods, and
processes for handling them, for example, what to administrators retain overall control of workflows
do in case of error or identifying the teams involved and their execution.
Figure 7. Screen from the
BMC Helix Control-M self-
service conversion tool.
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Users do not create objects in a vacuum. Helix Control-M has tools to enhance the workflow lifecycle.
These include site standards that help development teams reduce errors and maintain hygiene and good
collaboration, plus service dashboards for business users so they can see workflow progressions and risks in
a simplified view that doesn’t show the entire complexity.
There are automatic alerts to request intervention when unusual or potentially risky conditions develop
(Figure 8). The report-generating functionality can automatically format historical information and filter it
to highlight important facts and developments.
Figure 8. Sample alert screen.
It is typical today for organizations to use management frameworks. Figure 9 gives a
containerized applications. To coordinate activities simplified view of the platform interacting with a
that include these applications, Helix Control-M Kubernetes cluster to run a workflow.
integrates into Kubernetes or other container
The Helix Control-M agent can be installed inside or
outside the Kubernetes cluster. Placing the agent
inside provides benefits for security actions with
easier access to APIs, but it will also submit the
agent to the rules for the Kubernetes workloads
(for moving, restarting, state persistence, etc.).
Helix Control-M offers several methods for
developing and monitoring production workflows
so that different roles (e.g., developers, data and
cloud teams, operations staff, and business users)
can work in the way that makes the most sense
for them. Helix Control-M access is available for
users through site standards, Jobs-as-Code, and
continuous integration and continuous deployment
(CI/CD), for developers through its Python client,
and for business users through a variety of self-
service features. The choice of interfaces provides
support for even the most innovative automation
scenarios.
Figure 9. Sample workflow for a Kubernetes cluster.
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Additional Resources
In addition to providing Customer Success resources
to help prepare for and execute the Helix Control-M
implementation, BMC has a rich library of content
available on demand. These include:
• Helix Control-M documentation
• A detailed Getting Started guide with step-by-step
instructions for many planning, setup, monitoring,
reporting, and other activities
• Developer resources, including APIs, infrastructure-
as-code snippets, integrations and other materials
via the Helix Control-M Application Integrator Hub
• A Resources page with dozens of videos, e-books,
analyst reports, white papers, tech notes,
infographics, blogs, and other resources about
specific Helix Control-M topics
• A Support page that guides visitors to the most
appropriate support channels
• A Community site where customers and BMC
specialists participate in discussions, ask questions,
review blog posts, and share documents, product
enhancement ideas, and much more
Educational and support assets are continually being
expanded and updated, so check the links frequently.
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Conclusion
BMC Helix Control-M is a true SaaS product, to organizational needs. Additional functions
but customers retain the majority of control will show their benefits and become must-haves
over how it is used, how it is accessed, and over time. BMC does not mandate a specific
organizational style for deployment (for example,
much more.
with a central team versus distributed specialists)
Deploying Helix Control-M in the organization but provides a lot of flexibility so customers can
is the first step, and how the deployment is select their deployment model and change it later.
conducted can significantly contribute to the Organizations can complete implementations
benefits it delivers. Even though the wealth of in a few weeks to deliver modern, SaaS-based
functions and systems in the service are extensive, orchestration, visibility, and control over
it’s important to set a plan and progress according production workflows across the enterprise.
For more information
Learn more about BMC Helix Control-M, access a free trial, and contact us for additional support.
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