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Orchestrator User Guide
Automation CloudAutomation Cloud Public SectorAutomation SuiteStandalone
Last updated Nov 20, 2024

Running Unattended Automations Using Cloud Robots - VM

Prerequisites

Important:
All cloud robot VMs contain a hypervisor agent (hvagent or UiPath VM Agent), which ensures the running of VMs. You can find it in your CSP installation folder. Add this agent to your allow-list, so that your security agents do not remove/block it.

Video walkthrough

Watch the video for a guided walkthrough from creating a new tenant in your UiPath organization and allocating robot units to it, to running a job on a Cloud Robot-VM.

Step 1. Creating the Cloud Robot Pool

You must create a new machine template of the type Cloud Robots - VM.

Machine templates allow you to configure properties that will apply to all Cloud Robots - VM machines created from it. Then, whenever you need machines, we create as many machines as needed that are exactly like the template.

  1. Go to Tenant > Machines.
  2. In the top-right, click Add Machines and select Cloud Robots - VM.

    The Add Cloud Robots - VM page opens.



  3. Under General details, fill in the Name field and, optionally, fill in the Description field for the machine template.
  4. Under Machine management details, select the management type for your machine pool:
    • Manual - allows you to create and delete machines, use remote desktop, add custom software, or implement custom configurations on your machines. The changes you make persist into future logins.

    • Automatic - we create and delete machines for you. You can log in remotely on these machines only after their creation, which is triggered when a job starts. The changes you make are discontinued at logout.

      Note:
      • Once the machine pool is created, machine management details or the VPN Gateway IP range become definitive and you cannot edit them. Particularly, you need to configure the VPN Gateway at pool creation time, because that sets the address space of the pool, which cannot be changed while the pool is in use.

      • You cannot use remote desktop protocol (RDP) on machines provisioned from Automatic pools. This is because the VM of an automatic pool gets created when a job is assigned to it. Instead, you can create custom images from a manual-pool VM and upload it as a custom image for your manual or automatic pool. Afterwards, once a VM is created in an automatic pool, you can reset the admin credentials and then RDP into it.

  5. Click Next to move to the next step. The VM & Runtime details page is displayed.
  6. Under Virtual machine (VM) details > Pool Environment, select if you want to run your robots in a Production or a Test/NonProduction environment. Different RU consumption rates apply depending on your selection. See Robot units for more details.
  7. From the VM size list, choose the type of machine that has the technical specifications you need. For more information, see What machine size should I choose?
  8. Under Machine image:
    1. Select the machine operating system:

      • Windows Server machines, which use Windows Server 2019 as the operating system.

    2. Select the machine image type:

      • Standard if you want to use a standard VM.

      • Customized if you want to use one of your existing customized machines.

    3. From the dropdown, select the Image name.
  9. Select a Machine availability profile for your pool. This shuts down machines that have been idle for more than the selected duration:
    • Balanced – the default profile. Your machines shut down after being idle for more than 30 minutes.
    • Fast – your machines shut down after being idle for more than 60 minutes. Adds 500 RUs to the balanced cost profile.
    • Always – your machines are not being shut down, regardless of their idle duration. Adds 1,000 RUs to the balanced cost profile.
    Note:

    • Your selection immediately updates the robot units consumption, so make sure you have enough robot units to run the selected profile.

    • The machine availability profile applies to all machines in the pool, regardless of their size.

    • If the Accept jobs option is turned off, the machine shuts down after 12 hours, regardless of what you selected as a machine availability profile.

    The Runtime license: Robot units (RUs) section displays the RU consumption for each machine created in the pool. Make sure you have enough robot units assigned to your tenant, otherwise you cannot create machines.
    Note: Manually managed machines precede automatically managed pools in terms of RU consumption: if there are not enough robot units for all machines, the available RUs are allocated to manually managed machines.
  10. (For Automatic pools) Under Runtime details, input the Max number of VMs you want us to create on your behalf. This impacts the number of robot units required to create the automatic pool.
  11. In the Automation Cloud Runtime(s) per machine field, input the number of jobs you want to simultaneously execute on a single VM in the pool.

    • One runtime is included in the initial cost of the machine. If you opt for more than one runtime (that is, you want multiple jobs to be executed at the same time on your machine), then the following fees apply, depending on the pool environment:

      • Production: 5,000 RUs/runtime

      • Test: 2,000 RUs/runtime

    For example, you want to execute three jobs simultaneously on a Standard machine in Production:

    (1) Standard machine in Production (one runtime included): 6,000 RUs

    (2) Two additional runtimes: 5,000 RUs/runtime * 2 = 10,000 RUs

    The total RU cost for this configuration is (1) + (2) = 16,000 RUs/VM

    Note:

    Only background processes can be executed on multiple runtimes.

  12. Click Next to configure the pool.
  13. (Optional) To set a delayed update of UiPath software on your machines, switch on the Software update settings toggle. The following options are displayed:
    OptionDescription

    Instant auto-update (recommended)

    This is the default and recommended option. UiPath software on your machines, such as UiPath Robot, Studio, or Assistant, is updated to the latest Enterprise version within two weeks.

    The update applies to all machines in the pool.

    Delayed auto-update

    Select this option to update UiPath software on your machines to the version preceding the latest one.

    A delayed auto-update depends on the software version present at the time of adding a machine in the pool. For example, if a machine was added when version 2023.4 was latest, the delayed auto-update installs the 2022.10 software version. After 2023.10 is released, the delayed auto-update installs the 2023.4 sofware version.

    The update applies to all machines in the pool.

    Note:

    This option is designed to create a buffer period for adjusting your automations before transitioning to the latest Enterprise version. It does not update UiPath software to the latest version, but to the one preceding it.

    Important: The Delayed auto-update option does not downgrade Robot versions newer than the suggested one.
    Warning:

    Versions with security fixes are automatically installed, regardless of the chosen software update option.

  14. (Optional, for Manual pools) If you want to set a periodic timeframe for installing push updates on VMs that belong to this template, switch on the Enable maintenance window toggle.

    The Maintenance Window section is displayed. Here, you can set a span of time when all machines that belong to this template go into maintenance mode and can receive push updates, such a Windows security updates. For more information, see About the Maintenance Window in the FAQs section below.

    1. From the Timezone list, select the timezone to use for scheduling the maintenance window.
    2. Under Recurrence, select the frequency for the maintenance window and then fill in the fields for the selected option.
    3. Under Additional options, select how long you want the window to last.The window starts as indicated under Recurrence and ends after the amount of time you select here.
    4. If you want to make sure that maintenance is performed as scheduled, select the checkbox Kill running processes when window begins.
    (Optional) If you have a VPN gateway already set up for this tenant and you want to allow machines that belong to this template to access company resources that are behind a firewall:
  15. Switch on the Enable VPN Integration toggle.

    The VPN gateway section is displayed and it automatically populates the Gateway field.

  16. In the Address space for VNet field, add the reserved IP addresses you received from your network administrator, in CIDR notation with a mask that can vary between /16 and /27.
  17. [Preview] To allow VMs in your pool to automatically join domains, check the Create as domain joined machine pool box.
    Note:

    This option is available only at pool creation time and only if you enable the VPN integration.

    Once the machine pool is created, you cannot edit the name of the domain the VMs in the pool join.

    However, you can update the user credentials the VM pool uses to join the domain.

    1. Select the domain type:

      • On-prem AD - the pool automatically joins an Active Directory Domain Service domain (AD DS) via the VPN gateway

      • Azure AD DS - the pool automatically joins an Azure Active Directory Domain Services domain via the VPN gateway

    2. Enter a name for your domain.
    3. Enter the username of the user that has permissions to join the domain.
    4. Enter the password for the user provided in the previous step.
  18. Click Finish to create the template.

On the Machines page, a success message is displayed along the top and you can see your new template in the list.

VMs added in a domain-joined machine pool are automatically joined to the domain. Domain credentials are verified during the VM creation. Once joined, a success message is displayed along the top on the Machines page.

Step 2. Adding VMs in Manual pools

After you have configured the manually managed cloud robot pool, you can add machines to it.

  1. Go to Tenant > Machines.
  2. At the right of the pool row, click More Actions and select Add or Manage VMs:


    The Manage Cloud Robot - VM page opens.

  3. In the top right, click Add Virtual Machine.

    The Add Virtual Machine page opens.

    Note:

    If, at the bottom, the Cost is displayed in red font, this means there are insufficient robot units (RUs) available in the tenant and you cannot create a new machine.

    If you are an organization administrator in Automation Cloud, you can click Add more robot units to the tenant balance to go to Admin > Tenants and allocate the needed RUs to this tenant.

    Otherwise reach out to your organization administrator to request additional RUs.

  4. (Optional) Fill in the Alias field with a name to help you distinguish the machine. If you have enough RUs, the Add more VMs option becomes available, allowing you to add multiple machines in the pool and provision them.

    4.1. (Optional) Click Add more VMs to add as many VMs as you need.

    4.2. If you reconsider the number of VMs, you can remove the ones you do not need by clicking the bin icon in the alias name field.

    Note: The RU cost is immediately updated to reflect the number of VMs. If the cost exceeds your RU balance, the Add more VMs option becomes unavailable.


  5. Fill in the username and password fields with the administrator credentials used to connect to the VM(s). Every VM in the pool shares the same credentials.
  6. Click Provision. A pop-up box asks you to confirm the number of machines to provision.

Back on the Manage Cloud Robot - VM page, a success message is displayed at the top of the page, and the machines appear in the list with the Provisioning status.

It may take a few minutes to complete provisioning. All machine options are unavailable until the machine is provisioned.

After provisioning is complete, the machine status changes to Running.

Step 3. Customizing VMs in Manual pools

While the machine is running, you can connect to it through Windows Remote Desktop and customize its configuration.

  1. Go to Tenant > Machines.
  2. At the right of the pool row, click More Actions and select Add or Manage VMs.
  3. On the Manage Cloud Robot - VM page, check that the Machine Status column shows Running for the machine.

    If the machine is stopped, select it, and then click the Start VMs button at the top of the VM grid. Wait a few minutes until the status changes to Running.

    docs image
  4. (Optional) If the Accept Jobs column shows Enabled for the machine, select the machine, and then click the Disable Jobs button at the top of the VM grid. Wait a few moments for the status to change to Disabled.

    We recommend doing this to prevent our auto-scaling engine from shutting down the machine while you are connected to it. This can happen if the machine becomes idle, even if your are connected to it.

    docs image
  5. Check that the Remote Desktop column shows Enabled for the machine.

    If disabled, at the right of the row, click More Actions and select Enable Remote Desktop. Wait until the Remote Desktop value changes to Enabled.

  6. In the Remote Desktop column, click the info icon to see the IP address for the machine and copy it.

    In this step, you can edit the IP address used to access the remote desktop. By inputting a different value than the existing one, you can access your remote desktop only from the newly saved IP address.

    Note:

    The Access IP is the IPv4 address of the machines used to access the VM.

    The Public IP is the IPv4 address of the VM machine.

    Note:

    Orchestrator recognizes only IPv4 address types.If an IPv6 address type is detected, an error message is displayed, and a pop-up window prompts you to enter the corresponding IPv4 address. One way to find out what your what your IPv4 address is is to check it on this website.

    docs image
  7. Connect to the machine using Windows Remote Desktop as follows:
    • use the machine's IP address
    Note:

    If the Public IP address is null, the VM may be off. In this case, restart the VM and refresh the VM list.

    docs image
    • use the admin credentials you defined for the machine; if you do not remember the credentials, you can reset them.
  8. Now you can customize the machine as needed, by installing or updating software, or by changing its configuration.
    Note:

    • The machines we provide have UiPath Studio and Robot software and the supported web browsers preinstalled.

    • Do not modify UiPath software on the machine because these changes may cause problems.

    Important:
    We recommend not changing the hostname of the VM (specifically, the %COMPUTERNAME% variable), otherwise it might lead to failovers.
  9. (Optional) When you finish the configuration, log out of the machine and then disable remote desktop for the machine from Orchestrator.
    Note: Remote desktop is automatically disabled on the machine after 24 hours.
  10. If you disabled jobs for the machine earlier, re-enable them on the Manage Cloud Robot - VM page by selecting the machine, and then clicking the Enable jobs button at the top of the VM grid.
    docs image

If you want to use this customized machine for a machine template, you can create a customized image.

You can then use the customized image instead of a standard machine image, when:

  • creating new cloud robot pools

  • creating new cloud robot pools or new VMs in the same pool

You can update the VM image by editing the pool and changing the machine image option. The updated machine image applies only to newly provisioned VMs.

Step 4. Preparing Cloud Robots for Use

To be able to run automations with your new cloud robots, some setup is required in Orchestrator:

Step 4a. Accept Jobs on the Machine

A newly-provisioned machine in a manual pool is not set to accept jobs by default. After any configuration you want to perform is complete and the machine is ready for use, you must manually set it to accept jobs.

To allow a machine to be used for running jobs:

  1. Go to Tenant > Machines.
  2. At the right of the pool row, click More Actions and select Add or Manage VMs.
  3. On the Manage Cloud Robot - VM page, select the machine, and then click the Enable jobs button at the top of the VM grid.

A success message is displayed along the top and the Accept Jobs column shows Enabling.

After a few moments, when the status changes to Enabled, the machine can be used to run jobs in the folders where the pool is assigned.

Note:

  • When the Accept Jobs option is disabled, the auto-scaling engine takes control and can shut down or start machines automatically.

  • When the Accept Jobs option is enabled, the selected machine availability profile takes control.

Step 4b. Add the pool to folders

Add the Cloud Robots - VM machine template to folders which contain unattended automations that you want to run using cloud robots.

Step 4c. Use cloud robots to run jobs

Now you and your users can start to run unattended automations using cloud robots.

To run a job using cloud robots: Start a job as you normally would, but for the Runtime license select Cloud Robot - VM.

  • Some fields which do not apply when the runtime is Cloud Robot - VM are not available or cannot be edited. Configure job execution using the available options.
  • In the case of cloud robots, selecting the Keep Account/Machine allocation on job resumption checkbox means the job resumes on a machine that was created from the same template, not necessarily the exact same machine.

If your automations require certain applications, thus needing to be run on a specific customized VM, you must provide the Account and Machine where those applications are installed. Not making any selection determines the job to run on one of the available machines in the machine pool that is allocated to the folder.

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