- Release notes
September 2021
Much like the variety we see in the computing world nowadays, the automation landscape, in the tech sense, gets more versatile by the day, with an increasing range of technologies becoming suitable candidates for automation.
This comes with its fair share of challenges, which more often than not, require careful planning and very good control over the infrastructure that makes it all possible.
That said, let's start digging into what are the challenges administrators face when dealing with unattended automation across its whole spectrum and how UiPath addresses these challenges with a series of new features.
Compatibility considerations: OS & target framework
When creating a new automation project in Studio, developers are greeted by the first attribute that has a saying in the future whereabouts of the execution: the underlying target framework of the automation project and the compatible operating system.
The following table shows the UiPath Robot version required to execute processes according to their target frameworks and OS compatibility considerations.
|
Target framework |
Operating system |
Robot version |
|---|---|---|
|
.NET Framework 4.6.1 |
Windows - Legacy |
Any |
|
.NET 5.0+ |
Windows |
21.8+ |
|
.NET 5.0+ |
Cross-platform |
21.8+ |
Foreground vs background automation
Another important and decisive attribute of your automation projects, the UI requirement defines whether your projects need user interaction to unfold (foreground) or they can simply rely on background processes to get executed (background).
NT AUTHORITY\LOCAL SERVICE, which has no UI and cannot interact with a user session.
Streamlining the unattended setup
Now, here's the trick: you need credentials for executing foreground processes, you don't need them for executing background processes. That's why we've come up with a new capability aimed at trimming down the configuration effort for unattended background automation. How? By making credentials optional.
Simply put, from now on, you can configure unattended robots executing background processes without worrying about all that credential fuss.
You can opt-in or out of defining credentials for:
- Robot accounts - your go-to accounts for service unattended automation;
- User accounts - accounts dedicated to personal remote automation that run under the user's identity.
If you're planning to execute only background automations, the only thing required is to enable the Unattended Robot toggle and you're all set! To configure credentials for running foreground automations, select the Run foreground automations checkbox and fill in the necessary fields.
The following table shows the UiPath Robot version required to run foreground/background processes according to the robot credential considerations.
|
Process type |
Credential considerations |
Robot version |
|---|---|---|
|
Background |
Robot with credentials |
Any |
|
Foreground |
Robot with credentials |
Any |
|
Background |
Robot without credentials |
21.8+ |
|
Foreground |
Robot without credentials |
Invalid configuration. You need credentials to run foreground jobs. |
Infrastructure optimization using Orchestrator
Your unattended workload has unique infrastructure needs that can change over time. Matching the workload with the right resources is key to maximizing efficiency and minimizing waste.
We come to your aid in this respect with two new Orchestrator controls that enable you to distribute even the most diverse collection of jobs to specific machines. How to do it?
Well, it's rather simple, by specializing your machine templates, i.e. making the machine template and the associated machine infrastructure confined to executing a particular type of process. Use the following options when creating or editing your machine template:
|
Process type |
On the machine infrastructure employing that machine template you can execute:
|
|
Process compatibility |
On the machine infrastructure employing that machine template you can execute:
|
See the documentation for details.
Dynamic typing is a new option that allows you to control how Orchestrator interprets String values inside of CSV files used to upload queue items. This can prove particularly helpful for queues with schema definitions where you need Orchestrator to interpret numeric values as Integer or Boolean in order to match the schema definition.
- We’ve renamed the Disable concurrent execution field to Run only one job at a time to prevent any confusion as to what the option does.
- We changed the default value of the Login To Console robot setting to Yes. Learn more about robot settings.
- You can now delete individual package versions from the Package Versions window, the More Actions menu.
Until now, uncovering the resources required to launch a process meant you had to explore the automation project, either in Studio or using Orchestrator's package explorer. In an effort to ease you into your first run experience, we've come up with a new feature that reveals the resources required to launch a process.
Get your processes up & running in a jiffy by seeing the queues, assets, action catalogs, and storage buckets they rely on from the get-go. No more getting stuck!
All of the process dependencies are centralized in one Orchestrator view when adding or editing processes, with useful information about each required object.
What's even better about this is the fact that you can quickly create or link the needed resources without leaving the process context. Missing asset? Just create it on the spot. Much needed queue in a different folder? Just link it with the click of a button. It's that easy. Don't take our word for it. Try it yourselves.
