2. StrikrSystemsLLP
Automation
●
What is ?
– A mindset of out-sourcing repetitive work to software
algorithms.
●
Why ?
– Computers are good at repetitive work
– Algorithms can crunch lots of numbers, make lots of
connections etc.
– Reduce errors
– Drive standardization
– Declarative configuration
5. StrikrSystemsLLP
You can help
●
Answer queries and
be flexible to change
●
Share inventory
●
Share ‘raw’ logs
●
Share ‘ssh’ access
●
Share ‘SOP’ doc
●
Be explicit
●
Align us with a
member of your team
to observe the activity
●
Highlight the step(s)
that require judgment
●
Highlight dependency
on another tower
IT begins with your vision !
6. StrikrSystemsLLP
How we approach
●
We unravel
– what you said
– what you claimed is working
– What your team actually does
– What is the actual requirement
●
We investigate
– If an existing product / tool / script in your existing setup
address(es) your requirement (eg. OEM vs menu based)
– If your choice of protocol or model of communication is useful
for automation or useful for manual work (eg. SSH vs shared
dir.)
– If the manual interaction can be performed using TCL/Expect
(eg. NPIV port data from SAN switch).
7. StrikrSystemsLLP
How we approach
●
We explore the existing Setup
– Try to run your scripts
– Try to understand the nature of data
– Try to identify exceptions, blockers
●
We identify what aspect can be Standardized
●
We identify that data can be Source of truth.
– IP address, WWPN, MAC address
●
We review Data Science aspects of the problem
●
We come up with a Schedule that takes into
account dependencies
8. StrikrSystemsLLP
How we design
Var_1 … Var_n
Path info
username
…
Linear step
. . .
Step 2
..
Check if
. . .
Step 5
..
A | B | cut
Write to log
Write to specific directory
…
Send mail
Module 1
Config .in
.CSV
.in .conf
Module 2
Module n
Runner Controller
...
10.94.106.122
Web App
Portal
Job queue
Structure of your existing scripts Framework driven, modular + Portal
At present Moving to
Datum
.ip .CSV
.prop .CSV
9. StrikrSystemsLLP
How we design ?
●
Typical implementation
is to
– Grep field 1
– Grep field 2
– Grep field 3
●
If you want 4th field,
you grep again.
●
We design a data
structure that is
populated with ‘lparstat’
output exactly once.
●
Three times key access
in the structure
●
At Scale and very Fast
Example
You want to capture three LPAR fields on an AIX system
10. StrikrSystemsLLP
How we design ?
●
Typical implementation
is to write a script with
details of each node.
●
Run the script on one
node
●
Collect properties,
compare in excel if reqd
●
Design “hub-spoke” model
where each node is on a
spoke.
●
Using your inventory a node
is identified
●
Script is maintained at a
portal and executed live on
each node
●
Pair-wise node comparison
Example
You want to compare two nodes at a time for some properties based on some criteria
and then then update a property on one node.
11. StrikrSystemsLLP
What we avoid
●
Resume driven design
– Let’s design it this way since it looks good on my
resume
●
Fancybl Framework
– Framework doesn’t work on AIX
– You have blocked WinRM port, no framework
– SSL, SSH is out dated on the system
●
MS-Excel
– Web-based access to data, beats outdated data in
spread-sheet any day.
12. StrikrSystemsLLP
What we deliver ?
●
Single artifact usable across the organization
●
Service accessible as SaaS from within your org
●
Transparent upgrades, patches with no disruption
to user of the service
●
Scripts that execute on the command line are
packaged with ‘conf’ and ‘mod’.
●
We share intermediate output of processing where
data science algo is used for verification.
http://ip.add.re.ss/
13. StrikrSystemsLLP
What we deliver ?
●
Integration with other services (eg. mail, sms) is
via a service specific module
●
Data with ‘real-time’ focus instead of ‘crontab’.
●
Solution usually spans multiple data sources and/
or data boundaries.
14. StrikrSystemsLLP
How we work ?
●
Engineering
– Your inventory becomes datum
– Categorize all use-cases in-terms of
●
Read only (eg. gen report, get status)
●
Write only (eg. update a field)
– All credentials go in a vault
– User documentation is published in a Wiki
– Project issue(s) is tracked using Bugzilla
– Version control for Source code
– Artifact deployed to ip.add.re.ss over HTTP
– Test cases and Test data is maintained in a private directory
15. StrikrSystemsLLP
What about ?
●
user-interaction ?
– No user-interaction in intermediate steps
– If you have multiple touch points for user, then the
workflow is stretched and little value for automation
●
Report in Excel format ?
– Where feasible, ‘export as excel’ feature is supported
●
My existing scripts ?
– We will Re-engineer the logic in existing shell scripts
– Implement pre- and post- conditions for each path of
execution
16. StrikrSystemsLLP
What about ?
●
Remedy integration ?
– Please enable REST API on Remedy 9.x
– We will come up with something disruptive for you
●
Crontab integration ?
– Crontab is a host-centric implementation
– Job failure is common.
●
You have a specific concern ?
– Let’s setup a meeting and discuss.
17. StrikrSystemsLLP
Thanks for your time
Thanks for viewing Strikr case on
making automation work for you.
Engineering
Ragini Jain
Saifi Khan
94 80 87 33 52
hello@strikr.in
