Microsoft® System Center · Designing Orchestrator Runbooks by Ziembicki, David -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Microsoft® System Center: Designing Orchestrator Runbooks A Note Regarding Supplemental Files Introduction

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1. Introducing System Center 2012

System Center Virtual Machine Manager System Center Operations Manager System Center Service Manager System Center Data Protection Manager System Center Configuration Manager System Center Orchestrator

2. System Center Orchestrator

Runbook Designer

Connections and runbook hierarchy Menu and command bar Runbook design surface Activity list Logging

Integration packs Runbook Tester Orchestration console Orchestrator Integration Toolkit

3. Orchestrator architecture and deployment

Architecture

System architecture

Runbook Management server Runbook server Orchestrator database Runbook Designer Runbook Tester Orchestration console Orchestrator web service Deployment Manager

Data bus Architectural diagram

High availability considerations

Management server Orchestration database Orchestrator web service Orchestration console Runbook servers Runbooks

Orchestrator 2012 architecture patterns

Single-server Orchestrator 2012 infrastructure High availability Orchestrator 2012 infrastructure

Orchestration database Runbook servers Orchestrator web service

High availability and multisite Orchestrator 2012 infrastructure

4. Modular runbook design and development

What is a runbook? Creating runbooks

Runbook Designer Runbook properties Runbook permissions Using runbook activities

Standard activities Monitoring activities Customized activities Common activity properties

Controlling runbook workflow execution

Starting point Links Loops Invokes Orchestrator data bus Return data activities

Extend functionality with integration packs

Microsoft-provided integration packs Third-party integration packs Community-developed integration packs

Modular runbook design

Modular management architecture

Automation layer Management layer Orchestration layer

Runbook design fundamentals

Error handling Logging Runbook activity pattern

Modular runbook architecture

Component runbooks Control runbooks Initiation Runbooks

Developing a systematic approach to IT process automation

Runbook requirements gathering Process mapping and optimization Documenting runbook functional specifications Runbook authoring and development Runbook testing Runbook versioning and management

Naming Folder structure

Component Runbooks Control Runbooks Initiation Runbooks Sample of Orchestrator structure

Runbook versioning

Component Runbooks Control Runbooks Initiation Runbooks Storing Version information

Microsoft Team Foundation Server integration

Runbook deployment and monitoring

5. Orchestrator runbook best practices and patterns

Runbook design best practices

Flow control Publishing data Logging execution data Looping Sequential vs. parallel activity execution Setting job concurrency

Using Windows PowerShell in Orchestrator

Windows PowerShell remoting

Subscribe to Published Data

Set trace and status variables to defaults

Validate inputs Establish PS remote session Execute script in remote session Use try/catch/finally Append useful data to the Trace variable Add any required Windows PowerShell modules Use throw for common errors Perform core task logic Set ErrorState and ErrorMessage Return results Prep data for Orchestrator Publishing Close remote session Putting it all together

Returning arrays

Runbook patterns

Component runbook pattern

Rules Error handling Validation of input parameters

Range validation (1-12): Enum validation (blue, red): Email address validation: Date validation: IP address validation:

Control runbook pattern

Rules Error handling Validation of input parameters Connectivity runbook

Initiation runbooks

Rules Error handling Service requests initiation runbooks

File-based runbook variables

Local runbook variables

Shared runbook variables File-based state pattern

Working with XML in Windows PowerShell

Creating the File Non-Exclusive Read/Write Exclusive Read/Write File Open Pattern for File Locks Delete File

Local state pattern Shared state and routing/engine patterns

6. Modular runbook example

Requirements VM provisioning input XML file Component runbooks

Component runbook detail: GetVMHostRating

Initialize Data Get VM Host Rating Return Data

Link and Conditional Logic Component runbook summary Component runbook detail: CreateNewVM

Initialize Data Create New VM Return Data Links and Conditional Logic

Control runbooks

Control runbook detail: Monitor VM Provisioning Control runbook: VM Provisioning Engine Remaining control runbooks

Initiation runbook

Initiation runbook: Initiate VM Provisioning

7. Calling and executing Orchestrator runbooks

Orchestration console Orchestrator REST API

Microsoft Visual Studio Windows PowerShell

System Center Service Manager service catalog

Create an initiation runbook Create an Orchestrator connector Create a runbook automation activity template Create a service request template Create a request offering Create a service offering

A. Windows PowerShell source code for core component runbooks

Get Runbook Path Get Relative Folder

B. Steps to set up VMM to SM integration

Management packs Create an Operations Manager CI Connector

C. About the authors Copyright

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