Creating workflows

Key concepts

Workflow versions

The workflow version is a container of the logical elements, or Thinklets, that make up the automation. Each workflow can have multiple versions that you can activate and deactivate according to your needs.

The system applies the following rules to active versions:

A workflow version must be active for the system to trigger the workflow.
Only one workflow version can be active at any one time.

Thinklets

Thinklets are the building blocks of a workflow. Flow control Thinklets contain a Condition, Delay, and End block logic. There are also Thinklets that are specific to the functionality of the Nexthink web interface, such as Remote action, Campaign, and Service/API.

Designer and NEAL

You design your workflows in Designer view, which is a visual representation of the Thinklets you are using. NEAL, on the other hand, is a scripting language that is the underlying code behind the workflows. The code is automatically generated as you construct the logic in the designer. You can write the NEAL code directly, however, Nexthink recommends starting with the visual approach first. Refer to the Designer documentation for more information.

Creating a workflow

Create a new workflow in two ways:

Select Workflows from the main menu and click on the New button at the top of the navigation panel.
Select Workflows from the main menu, choose Manage workflows from the navigation panel and click on the New workflow button in the top-right corner of the Workflows administration page.

General

If you are editing an existing workflow, the page shows the following elements at the top of the page:

Enable workflow or Disable workflow: Click on this button to enable or disable the workflow.
Workflow overview: Click on this button to see the execution details of the workflow. Refer to the Getting started with Workflows documentation for more information.
Delete: Click on this button to remove the workflow from the system.

The General tab of the workflow configuration page contains the following fields:

Name: A meaningful name for the workflow. This name appears on the administration page and in any NQL queries you run in the Nexthink web interface.
NQL ID: An identifier for the workflow used when referencing the workflow in NQL queries. You can initially modify the suggested NQL ID, but once you save the workflow the NQL ID cannot be changed.
Description: A short description of the purpose and behavior of the workflow.

Trigger

Select the triggering mechanisms for this workflow:

Manual: Enable the workflow for manual execution in the Nexthink user interface.
- The workflow can be triggered against multiple targets at the same time: This additional setting is available to allow the execution on multiple selected targets. By default, only one selection is allowed at any one time.
API: Enable the workflow for execution with the Nexthink API. Refer to the Workflows API documentation for more information.
Schedule: Enable the workflow for recurring schedules.

Click the Save workflow button at the bottom of the page before you continue.

Versions

Click the Create new workflow version button to start designing your workflow.

If you are editing an existing workflow, the page lists all the versions of the workflow in a table.

Hover over the existing version of the workflow to reveal the action menu on the right side of the table.
Click on the action menu and select:
- Activate the workflow version.
- Edit the logic of the workflow.
- Delete the version from the system.

Currently, Workflows works with only one version.

Click the Save workflow button at the bottom of the page before you continue.

Refer to the Designer documentation for more information on how to design the workflow.

Schedule

Schedule the workflow and define workflow targets using NQL.

Click on the Add schedule button to open a scheduling modal. Enter the following information:

Name: Enter a unique name for the schedule.
NQL: Enter an NQL query for the workflow targets.
Recurrence: Configure the timing and recurrence of the schedule.
Workflow parameters: Use parameters to schedule the workflow. Define the parameters in the designer or with a NEAL script. Refer to the Designer documentation for more information.
Click Apply or Cancel to return to the main Schedule page.

Click on the Save workflow button at the bottom of the page before you continue.