Resources - FAQs
Getting Started
Q: How can my organization use StreamStep?
A: StreamStep is available as either customer-installed software or as a hosted service, that is, Software as a Service (SaaS). This enables your organization to be up and running with StreamStep in a few hours.
Q: How long does it take to set up StreamStep after installation?
A: Most customers can start using StreamStep immediately with just a few minutes of setup. With the SmartRelease Domain Package for Release Management, typical customer setup times range from a few hours to a couple of days, depending on the complexity of the environment and release activities. Customers can upload existing CSV environment information into StreamStep to accelerate the set-up process.
Product Questions
Q: What are the system requirements for StreamStep?
A: StreamStep is a web application that runs on most major browsers.
- Firefox 2.0 or greater (3.0 recommended)
- Safari 3.1 or greater (4.0 recommended)
- Internet Explorer 7.0 or greater
Q: Which database system does StreamStep require?
A: StreamStep requires MySQL or PostGreSQL.
- MySQL (5.0 recommended)
- PostGreSQL 8.0
Q: How does StreamStep handle automation?
A: StreamStep provides automation through SSH or BMC BladeLogic. In the case of SSH, StreamStep runs your scripts on each server using SSH. For BMC BladeLogic users, StreamStep leverages the capabilities of the BladeLogic Data Center Automation Solution, including Role Based Access Control (RBAC) and BladeLogic application server and agents, to drive automation on a wide range of server platforms.
Q: If we want to automate using StreamStep, can we re-use our existing scripts?
A: Yes, most customers can reuse their existing packaging and deployment scripts with minimal changes. Scripts can be set up to run via StreamStep processes in just a few minutes.
Q: How is StreamStep different from workflow solutions?
A: Workflow solutions work well for known and repeatable activities that don’t vary much over time. However, many IT processes, such as application release and IT migrations, are highly variable and often change from run to run. Few companies have adopted workflow for these processes because the frequent process changes require an extensive development and testing effort. In contrast, StreamStep allows customers to coordinate manual and automated activities while enabling flexibility and rapid variation - within constraints.
Q: How is SmartRelease different from build automation solutions like BuildForge or CruiseControl?
A: Build automation solutions are targeted to the individuals who are tasked with building the code. SmartRelease enables release managers or release coordinators to create and to execute an end-to-end packaging and deployment process. This comprehensive process could include invoking a build automation solution like Hudson, as well as packaging, deploying and smoke testing the application in a pre-production environment.
Q: How is StreamStep different from my development or change-ticketing solution, including BMC Remedy Release Manager, Mingle, RallyDev, IBM Rational ClearQuest, Borland StarTeam and Atlassian JIRA?
A: These solutions are variations on ticketing systems, which track enhancements, bugs or change requests (CRs) for the development process. Each batch of CRs blows out into a release checklist that has to be managed. Currently, there is no automation around the release checklist; most organizations use Microsoft Excel and conference calls to coordinate release- and migration-related activities.
