Adding content to a rollout project

Add definitions or software packages to a rollout project by either dragging and dropping the content, or copying and pasting it. If you add content to a specific step, the content will start processing at the step where you put it. If you add content to the project, it will start processing in the first step in the project.

Content can be in more than one rollout project at a time, and it can be in more than one step of a project at a time. For example, if an administrator doesn't notice that a definition has already progressed to step 6 and he adds it to step 1, the actions for both step 6 and step 1 are applied to the definition.

However, if you try to add a definition or package to a step where it already exists, the project detects it and ignores the duplicate. If you want to reapply the actions in a step to content (usually for testing purposes), right-click the step and select Process now. In the dialog box that appears, enable the Re-apply actions even if they are already applied option and click OK. The project processor will process just that step of the project and apply the actions to all the content in the step.

To see a summary of the current state or action history for a definition or package, find the content in the Rollout projects tool, right-click it, and select Properties. The Gantt chart page displays any differences between the expected duration (how long content spent in a step) and the actual duration. To configure the expected duration for a step, select the step, click Properties, and edit the Expected step duration on the Exit criteria page.

Adding patch definitions automatically

For Patch and Compliance, you can also add content to a rollout project automatically using a definition filter. When definitions are downloaded, the content matching the definition filter is automatically added to the specified rollout projects.

To automatically add downloaded definitions to a rollout project

1.Make sure you have already created a Patch rollout project.

2.From the Patch and Compliance tool, click the Download updates button in the toolbar. If you haven't already, select the definitions that you want to download, and configure other download settings as desired.

3.On the Updates tab, click the Definition download settings button.

4.In the Definition download settings dialog, click New.

5.Configure the rule to match the content that you want added to the rollout project.

6.On the Rollout projects tab, enable the Add definition to projects check box and click the Add button. Select the rollout project you want to add the content to.

When content is downloaded, all content that matches the filter is added to the rollout project. If the rollout project is in an active state, the next time the project processor runs, the content will have the actions for the first step applied.

Deferring content

When you copy or drag content into a project, you have an option to wait before processing the content. A dialog asks if you want to defer the actions until a specified date and time. When actions are deferred, the content does not progress through the project steps and no actions are applied to the content until after the deferral time has passed. The deferral is only applied to the content you just added. It is not a project setting.

If you decide you do not want the deferral prompt each time you add content, make sure the Prompt to defer actions when dropping/pasting vulnerabilities or packages into a rollout project option is not selected when you click OK. You will still be able to defer content or enable the option again.

To defer content after it has been added to a project, find the definition in the Rollout projects tool, right-click it, and select Defer start.