Awx: RFE: more workflow prompting (individual templates, global overrides)

[seansabour]

ISSUE TYPE

• Bug Report

COMPONENT NAME

• API

SUMMARY

When creating a workflow with several templates that have prompt on launch enabled for extra-vars it will not prompt when starting your workflow.

ENVIRONMENT

• AWX version: 1.0.5
• AWX install method: docker on linux
• Ansible version: 2.5.0
• Operating System: Linux
• Web Browser: Firefox 59.0.2

STEPS TO REPRODUCE

1. Create 2 job templates with extra-variables prompt on launch enabled
2. Create a workflow template and add your newly created job templates
3. Launch your workflow template

EXPECTED RESULTS

A prompt for extra-variables

ACTUAL RESULTS

Workflow executed the template, but did not prompt me for extra-variables.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

[wenottingham]

This is intentional behavior currently; launch-time prompts for individual job templates are not automatically used when used in a workflow. To do this automatically would negate the ability for the workflow creator to set values and not allow overriding them; there would need to be a larger feature to configure individual prompts to be left to the user.

[amapi]

This use to work at least in 1.0.2.x So , juste a simple question, how to use a Workflow with surrvey prompted on lauch ? An Idea ?

[DawerRafi]

I think this enhancement makes sense. We currently have no way to create a complete workflow made up of smaller components, and launch them to different inventories given at launch time.

Currently we have to manually edit the workflow and set the inventory and credentials on each job if we have to change the inventory or credential.

Having prompt on launch could really make this easier.

[markizm]

+1

Also, looking for a solution that would prompt on launch to insert an inventory to any given workflow template.

[adrianrise]

+1
I think it would be interesting that Workflows would allow the jobs inside to prompt their content (inventory, surveys, credentials, etc) otherwise is bit limited in many cases.

[ahadrez]

+1

[laseelan]

+1

[RobertGwilliam]

I would emphasise the ability to prompt on launch for INVENTORY - This increases the power of workflows significantly.

[ghost]

+1 we need this.
I think it would be interesting that Workflows would allow the jobs inside to prompt their content (inventory, surveys, credentials, etc) otherwise is bit limited in many cases.

[chen-sun]

+1

[Stavros]

+1

[ghost]

100% agreed to previous users comments, my whole point drom the beginning.
If admin wants to disable or enable, he will. Dont try to be admin for
everyone. Give us capability and leave at users to use for their use cases.

On Mon, Dec 3, 2018 at 1:13 AM Testicule [e-mail] wrote:

"negate the ability for the workflow creator to set values and not allow
overriding them"
LOL. That's a good one.
Please, if you really believe that, then just take away the ability for
Job Templates to Prompt on Launch. Disable it completely in the next
release of AWX/Tower, and see how much people like that.

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[wenottingham]

There is a very clear usage case of:

• person X creates a template that prompts for X, Y, and Z
• person Y creates a workflow that supplies values for X, Y, and Z that are not to be overridden when that workflow is run

That's what the current design accomplishes.

Expanding it beyond that to forward some and/or all prompts to the later person the workflow is delegated to is not out of scope; it's just something that hasn't been done yet and is a larger section of work that needs scheduled. Especially when it comes to things like extra_vars and workflows-inside-workflows, there are a variety of edge cases that need considered. Note that specifically in the case of extra vars, some of this can be accomplished with a workflow-level survey and the usage of set_stats to pass workflow artifacts; care needs to be taken to avoid variable name collision.

[RenderQwerty]

@Testicule i feel your pain :( Hope they can get thinks done right

[514amir]

Also an issue for me, all my templates in the workflow have the same inventory and i want to be prompted for the limit so that I can apply the entire workflow to a single machine....

[SebastiaanvandenBerg]

I'm also affected by this bug/issue. when will there be a update?

[rlb2015]

I think there's a bug related as well. I have a workflow defined with 3 nodes. The inventory is set to the same on all templates and workflow. The three attached templates have inventory set to prompt, as well as limit prompted as well. Outside of the fact that it would be better to limit at the workflow definition or run, the current solution doesn't seem to work either.

In the visualizer, when clicking on the node, you can click on the PROMPT button, and enter in values for all prompted items of the attached template. I did this for the first node, setting the limit. The second node gave an error "Failed to parse variables. Attempted to parse yaml. Parser did not return an object." after entering a value for the prompted limit, same for the fourth node...

I tried setting default values in the limit option, and the limit set in the first node did not pass to the second or third nodes. If I change the order of the nodes around, only the first node accepts a limit being set via prompt. So there's not even a workaround without going to fixed limits in the tasks.

Workflows seem of limited value if you have to create a special inventory to limit the run...

[RobertGwilliam]

The issues I had are resolved (3.4.3).
I use API/cli to scrape survey details from JTs, constructing uber survey for a new WF that calls each JT. I create a dummy template (by necessity) to allow the new WF to actually add, and this WF can then be used from TOWER, where the required inventory (and survey vars) can be selected on launch. I also create additional WF with no survey, but populate the survey vars directly into WF with a target inventory, so I can run the WF as a post job from vmware/VRa after creating new vhosts (for example) with no user input required at all. It's exactly what I needed when I raised this issue.
Just saying...
Thanks

[itblaked]

There's definitely plenty of benefits to enabling inheritence of job template fields from workflows, I'm keen on this. However I'd like to emphasise the benefit of being able to apply host limit at the workflow level so they can be inherited by child job templates and therefore creating a central management point across the workflow of many nodes. Much more sensible approach than other workarounds. :+1:

[Sreenadh8]

+1....

We need this feature.. currently, the workflow which is created can not be used for other environments...each time we need to modify manually such as Limit, inventory, credentials though 'prompt on launch' enabled inside a job template... hope we will get an fix soon...

[naren-ambati]

Any ETA on this feature? as many people blocked on this workflow credentials prompt thingy.

[ahadrez]

+1

[ryanpetrello]

Wanted to add a note here that we recently added support for WF prompting for --limit:

https://github.com/ansible/awx/pull/4369

[itblaked]

Wanted to add a note here that we recently added support for WF prompting for --limit:

4369

Thankyou! @ryanpetrello

[tp199314]

+1 for credential support in workflow templates :)

[johannes-cabal]

@ryanpetrello currently I'm seeing that workflow limits are not being honored.

For example, I have 2 templates:

• Foo
• Bar

If I have no limit set on say "foo", but I set the limit at the workflow level, it still gathers facts on all hosts in that inventory source.

I haven't tested the prompt on launch to see if it's passed any differently, but defining specific host patterns don't seem to work really well.

[wenottingham]

For a limit set at the workflow to apply to a child job template, that job template must allow for prompting limit on launch.

[nwerker]

+1 for global overrides, for example for credentials and also instance groups on the workflow launch

This would make workflows so much more versatile!

[benjaminhon]

@ryanpetrello currently I'm seeing that workflow limits are not being honored.

For example, I have 2 templates:

• Foo
• Bar

If I have no limit set on say "foo", but I set the limit at the workflow level, it still gathers facts on all hosts in that inventory source.

I haven't tested the prompt on launch to see if it's passed any differently, but defining specific host patterns don't seem to work really well.

I notice the same behaviour, its a bit misleading

[gpiucco]

+1 for credentials. makes workflows more re-usable and improves security posture by not having to share credentials

[rmeichsner]

+1

[marqelme]

+1

[rcarrata]

+1

[AnndaGH]

+1

[rroethof]

I too am running into this issue

For a webstack with sql cluster, i want to reuse the haproxy and keepalived template
These templates should be called with their own limits, i.e.

Run workflow
-> install haproxy with limit group webloadbalancers (and its respective extra vars)
-> install keepalived with limit group webloadbalancers (and its respective extra vars)
-> install haproxy with limit group sqlloadbalancers (and its respective extra vars)
-> install keepalived with limit group sqlloadbalancers (and its respective extra vars)
-> install nginx with limit group webhosts (and its respective extra vars)
-> install php-fpm, etc with limit group webhosts (and its respective extra vars)
-> install mariadb with limit group sqlhosts (and its respective extra vars)
-> install galera addon with limit group sqlhosts (and its respective extra vars)

at this moment, i can only limit the whole stack and then i.e. keepalived will be installed on every machine.