Deploying Unattended Robots - Enterprise License

Unattended robots are used in automating tasks that do not require human supervision, they usually run in virtual environments on dedicated machines and the automations are controlled from Orchestrator.

An unattended automation can be started manually from Orchestrator when needed, but can also be scheduled if the task has to start at a specific interval (daily, hourly, weekly) or at a specific time and date (end of week).

This document guides you through the process of running your first unattended automation using the Enterprise Licensed Version of UiPath, starting with building the automation, setting up the environment and running the unattended process.

To run an unattended automation, the following steps need to be taken:

1. Create the automation and publish it to Orchestrator

To provide a real life example, let's suppose we need to make a backup of log files on a server every day at 9 AM. For that, we need to copy the log file from that day to another folder. In this example, we copy a file called "Logs.txt" from the "Logs" folder to the "Old Logs" folder, overwriting the backup each time.

1. Create a new process, add the Copy File activity, configure the fields/paths to the files, and select the Overwrite option so that the newly copied file can replace the previous file every day.

   
   

   

   
   
2. Publish the process to Orchestrator.
3. Click the Publish button to the right of the Studio ribbon,
4. In the Publish properties tab, enter a name for the package.
5. In the Publish options tab, for the Publish to option, select Orchestrator Tenant Processes Feed, the location where unattended robots can access the automation.

6. Click Publish.

   For more information, see About Publishing Automation Projects in the Studio Guide.

   
   

   

   
   
7. In Orchestrator, create the process that the unattended robot uses for running the automation.
8. Access your Automation Cloud instance at https://cloud.uipath.com, and select your Orchestrator tenant.
9. In Orchestrator, select the Shared Folder > Processes, and then click the Plus button on the right side to open the Add Process page.

10. Select the package and click Create to add the process to the Shared Folder.

    
    

    

    
    
    Note: Keep in mind that you are working with two entities in this process. The first entity is you, the developer who creates and publishes the process. The second one is the Unattended User that runs the automation and the Robot on the Unattended Machine.

2. Set-up the Windows Machine to run the Unattended Robot.

Set up a Windows Machine that runs the Unattended Robot, ideally this would be a cloud virtual machine. Make sure that its screen saver functionality is disabled and matches the Hardware and Software Technical Requirements.

For example, you can host your virtual machine on Azure, see the Windows VMs Overview document for details on how to set up a Windows Virtual Machine in Azure.

Other environments such as AWS, VM Ware or Citrix are supported as well if they match the Hardware and Software Technical Requirements.

3.Create the Unattended Robot in Orchestrator

The Unattended Robot has two components the Robot User and the Machine it runs on. The robot user is the identity of the Robot that provides permissions and is used to trigger jobs towards the Robot, while the Machine is the one executing the automation.

Machine Templates offer an easier way of deploying machines, as a single machine key can be used by multiple Robots to connect to Orchestrator.

1. Create the Robot User.

   • From Automation Cloud, go to Admin > Users and Groups > Invite Users to invite the user to your Organization in order to create an unattended robot for it. A dummy e-mail address can be used for this step.

     
     

     

     
     

2. Add the User to the Shared Folder.

   At this point, the user created in your Organization exists only as an identity with no roles or permissions assigned. Therefore, we need to add it to the Shared Folder to gain access to processes published there and give it the Robot role:
3. In Orchestrator, select the Shared Folder > Users, and then click the Assign User or Group button on the right side.
4. Select the user, then the Robot role, and click Assign.
5. Create the unattended robot that runs the automations:
6. Go back to the Shared Folder and select More actions > Edit.
7. Select Unattended Robot, enable the toggle to Automatically create an unattended robot for this user, fill in the Windows credentials, and click Update.

The Windows credentials are used by the Robot for permissions and authorization on the unattended machine while running automations. When the Enterprise (.MSI) version is deployed, those credentials are used to create Windows Sessions on the unattended machine for running automations.

Note: The credentials you set when creating the Robot in Orchestrator have to match the Windows Account credentials used on the Unattended Robot's machine. Open command prompt and use the whoami command on the unattended machine to get this information. Those credentials are used to create Windows Sessions on the unattended machine for running automations.

4. Create the unattended machines template.

After the unattended robot user is created, add a new Machine Template with one unattended runtimes license:

1. In Orchestrator, select the Shared Folder > Machines, and then click the Manage Machine Templates button on the right side.
2. Click the Plus button on the right side to open the Add Machine page.
3. Enter a template name, for example Unattended Machines, assign one unattended runtimes license, and click Provision.

4. Copy the newly generated machine key for later use.

   
   

   

   
   

4. Install the UiPath Studio Enterprise (.MSI) on the Unattended machine

The UiPathStudio.msi installer is used for installing Studio, the UiPath Assistant or the legacy Robot on your machine. Using the .MSI installer, the Robot is deployed in Service-Mode meaning that it is available to all users on the machine. For running the installer administrator rights are needed.

The UiPathStudio.msi installer installer can be downloaded from the Resource Center or directly from the Automation Cloud Home Page.

Robot and Studio are installed by default in the following location - C:\Program Files (x86)\UiPath\Studio. You can change the install location by making use of command line arguments.

Installer Interface

Starting with release v2020.10.4, a new installer interface is available for the .MSI version which provides a more straight-forward experience for installing the UiPath Products.

After launching the .MSI installer, you are prompted to choose what you want to install:

• Studio, Assistant and Robot - recommended for developing and running automations
• Assistant and Robot - recommended for troubleshooting attended automations

• Robot - stand alone Robot used for running unattended automations and the UiPath Assistant for troubleshooting

  Note: Choosing the first or second option installs the Robot in User Mode by default and can be changed to Service Mode via the Advanced Menu. Choosing the third option installs the Robot in Service Mode.
  
  

  

  
  

After selecting the preferred installation option, read and accept the Terms of use. Please note that by accepting the aforementioned terms of use, you implicitly accept the terms of use of UiPath activity packages and their dependencies.

5. Connecting the Robot to Orchestrator

Note: If during the installation process you choose to only install the Robot, the connection to Orchestrator can only be configured From the Command Line Interface (admin rights are needed) or from the UiPath Assistant . Otherwise, you can connect your Robot either from Studio or from the UiPath Assistant.

From Studio

After the installation is completed, you are presented with the Connect to Orchestrator screen, which by default asks you to use the Use Machine Key as it's the recommended configuration for unattended robots. The machine name is taken automatically, all you have to do is type the Orchestrator URL plus the machine key you saved earlier.

Note: Using the .MSI installer, when connecting the Robot to Orchestrator, the entire machine connects, not just the user that's currently logged on the machine.

From the UiPath Assistant

1. Open UiPath Assistant
2. On the Preferences menu, select Preferences. The Preferences window is displayed.
3. Navigate to Orchestrator Settings.
4. In the Orchestrator URL field, enter Orchestrator’s web address.
5. In the Machine Key field, enter the key you copied earlier.

Click here for details about the different machine entities in Orchestrator and when to use each.

1. Click Connect. The status should show Connected, Licensed
   
   

   

   
   
   Note: When setting up the machine using the Enterprise Installer (.MSI), you can sign out of the machine as the Robot is able to create its own Windows Session using the credentials provided in Step 3.

6. Test the Automation

In order to test the automation on the Unattended Robot, go to the Automations -> Processes section of the Shared Folder in Orchestrator and look for the process deployed in step 1.

You can see the details of the process and, on the right side, you have the Start Job button.

When clicked, you are presented with the Start Job interface, choose the user and the machine configured earlier then click on Start.

This starts the selected unattended process on the selected machine and can be monitored in the Jobs section of the Shared Folder in Orchestrator.

7. Schedule the automation

For the example we provided in this guide, we can schedule it to run on a daily basis at 9 AM. This is configured from the Trigger Section of the Shared Folder in Orchestrator.

Setting the schedule as per the screenshot above triggers the Logs.Backup process to run on the unattended machine on behalf of the selected user every day at 9 AM UTC.