Lifecycle Operations on Edge Application Instances

Updated
 

1. Introduction

Like any other application, software, or operating system, you can activate, deactivate, reactivate, purge & update, and delete the Edge Application Instances for better compatibility, increased security, and availability of the latest features with different devices or applications enhanced features resulting in enhanced user experience.
Let's now see how to perform different operations on the Edge Application Instance(s).
 

2. Operations Using ZEDEDA GUI

After you log in to the ZEDEDA Platform, you can perform the following operations from various options as mentioned:
 

Option A: Dashboard

You can view the 'Edge App Instances' list using this option. After you log in to ZEDEDA GUI, the landing page shows a widget, 'Quick Links,' (on the bottom right), where you can click the 'Update Edge App Instances' action.
 

Option B: Edge Application Instances List View

After you log in to ZEDEDA GUI, click on the 'Edge App Instances' link on the left panel, which will take you to the Edge App Instances list view screen. The top panel shows (collapsed by default) dashboard summary widgets, and the bottom panel shows a table of the list of the Edge Application Instances.
Note: You can perform the operations like Activate, Reactivate, Deactivate, Purge & Update, and Delete on a single Edge Application or multiple Edge Applications.
 
  • Step 1 > Click on the check boxes of the Edge Applications list on which the required operation needs to be performed.
  • Step 2 > Click on More (More_icon.png) icon on the top right corner to see the dropdown list of operations.​
 
Let's go through the dropdown list operations:

a) Activate

The Activate function is used to activate the Edge Application Instance manually and when an Edge Application Instance is deployed but not automatically activated.
You can activate the Edge Application Instance using the following steps:
  • Step 1 > From the dropdown, select 'Activate.'
  • Step 2 > A toast notification appears.

 

Once the activate request is processed, the 'Admin Status' of the selected Edge Application Instance(s) will change to 'Active.'
 

b) Reactivate

You can reactivate the Edge Application Instance(s) using the following steps:
  • Step 1 > From the dropdown, select 'Reactivate.'
  • Step 2 > Click the 'Reactivate' button on the modal dialogue.
  • Step 3 > After you click the 'Reactivate' button, a toast notification appears.
 

c) Deactivate

It stops the Edge App Instance from running in the Edge device and cannot be accessed until reactivated. Deactivating the Edge Application Instance can stop the entire application deployed on an Edge Device. This does not just stop containers but the entire Edge Application Instance.

You can deactivate the Edge Application Instance using the following steps:
  • Step 1 > From the dropdown, select 'Deactivate.'
  • Step 2 > Click the 'Deactivate' button on the modal dialogue.
  • Step 3 > After you click the 'Deactivate' button, a toast notification appears.
 

d) Purge & Update

You can go ahead and return to the initial state whenever you want to start afresh in the same instance. You can purge and update the Edge Application Instance using the following steps: 

  • Step 1 > Click on More (More_icon.png) icon on the top right corner.
  • Step 2 > From the dropdown, select 'Purge & Update.'
  • Step 3 > Click the 'Update' button on the modal dialogue.
  • Step 4 > After you click the 'Update' button, a toast notification appears.

 

e) Delete

If you no longer require the application instance, you could delete it using the following steps:
  • Step 1 > From the dropdown, select 'Delete.'
  • Step 2 > Click the 'Delete' button on the modal dialogue.
  • Step 3 > After you click the 'Delete' button, a toast message appears.
​
Note: A job will be created to track the activity for the 'Delete' operation performed on multiple Edge Application Instances. The jobs indicator appears on the left navigation, indicating that the requested job has been started.​

 

Option C: Edge Application Instances Detail View

To go to the Edge App Instances Detail view, click on the 'Edge App Instances' link on the left panel, which will take you to the Edge App Instances list view screen. Click on one of the Edge App Instances to take you to the Edge App Instances Detail view of that Edge Application Instance.
 

a) Remote Console

You can go ahead with this operation to manage your Edge Application Instance in command line mode. The remote console is web-based access to the application instance and is accessible only when VNC access is enabled. Edge Node, along with the Edge Application Instance, is online.
  • Step 1 > Click on More (More_icon.png) icon on the top right corner.

Note:

  1. The More (More_icon.png) icon appears with the dropdown and the same operations on the following tabs: Status, Basic Info, Adapters, Events, and Logs.
  2. Apart from the 'Remote Console' operation, the remaining operations mentioned in the Edge Application Instances list view are the same for the detailed view.
  • Step 2 > From the dropdown, select 'Remote Console.'
  • Step 3 > Once you click on the 'Remote Console,' you will be navigated to another browser tab, where you will see a message indicating an attempt to connect to the remote console.
 
  • Step 4 > You will now land on the 'Remote Console' window of that particular Edge Application Instance. You can continue using the command line for any further actions to be carried out.
​
EAM_6_Screen_22.png
 

Warning Messages for Remote Console Operation:

Warning 1:
There can be only one active remote console session at any given time. If you try to open another remote console session for the same Edge Application Instance, an appropriate toast message appears.
​
Warning 2:
The Edge Application Instance is not enabled. So, the appropriate toast message appears.
 

b) Edit

Once your Edge Application Instance runs on the respective Edge Node, you can edit a few fields in the 'Basic Info' tab. You can see the edits as mentioned in the following steps:
  • Step 1 > Click on the 'Basic Info' tab.
  • Step 2 > Click on the Edit () icon.
 
 
  • Step 3 > Editable fields will appear as explained in the table below. Edit the field(s) accordingly.
  • Step 4 > Click on the 'Save' button.
 
 
Editable Field Name Description
Title(*) User-defined and can be changed.
Description The detailed explanation of what the Edge App Instance is all about, its purpose, etc.
Enable Logs Access Check the checkbox to access the logs from the 'Logs' tab.
 
  • Step 5 > After you click on the 'Save' button, a toast message appears.
 
 

3. Operations using ZEDEDA CLI

To log in to the ZEDEDA Platform through ZEDEDA CLI, see here.
 

3.1. Start

You can start/activate the Edge Application Instance using the following command:
zcli> zcli edge-app-instance start <name>
 

3.2. Stop

You can stop/deactivate the Edge Application Instance using the following command:
zcli> zcli edge-app-instance stop <name>
 

3.3. Update

You can update the Edge Application Instance using the following command:
zcli> zcli edge-app-instance update <name> [--edge-app=<edge-app-name>] [--edge-node=<edge-node>] [--title=<title>] [--network-instance=<network-instance>...] [(--adapter-name=<name> --adapter-type=<type>)...]
Options:
  • --edge-app=<edge-app-name>—(mandatory)Name of the Edge App
  • --edge-node=<edge-node>—(mandatory)Name of the Edge Node
  • --title=<title>—App instance title
  • --network=<network>... | --network-instance=<network-instance>...—Depending on the type of app instance created, you may have to give the following details. You can attach a network instance to your app as below:
    • --network=environment name:network name:IP Address
    • --network-instance=environment name:network instance name:IP Address
  • --adapter-name=<name> --adapter-type=<type>...—Depending on the type of app instance created, you may have to give the following details.
    • --adapter-name=environment name:adaptor name
    • --adapter-type=This depends on the adapter name specified in the adapter-name option.

The following table shows the details:

 

# Adapter name Adapter type
1 Eth or ethernet 1
2 USB 2
3 COM 3
4 Audio 4
5 WLAN 5
6 WWAN 6
7 HDMI 7
8 Other 255
 

3.4. Delete

You can delete the Edge Application Instance using the following command:
zcli> zcli edge-app-instance delete <name> [-f]
 
Note: -f is to forcefully make the delete request to the ZedControl, without prompting the user.
 

3.5. Restart

You can restart the Edge Application Instance using the following command:
zcli> zcli edge-app-instance restart <name>
 

3.6. Refresh

You can refresh the Edge Application Instance using the following command:
zcli> zcli edge-app-instance refresh <name> [--purge]
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