Automation 2.0

• Cloud Architect @ Itnetx Switzerland

• Focused on Fabric / IAS / Automation

• Microsoft MVP for Cloud and Datacenter Management

• Blogging on www.miru.ch

• Tweeting as: @drmiru

About_Me

• Understand automation solutions from System Center

and Microsoft Azure

• Learn how the solutions work together

• Sneak peak on the roadmap for System Center

Orchestrator and Azure Automation

Session Objectives

Central execution

Line of business processes

System deployment

Maintenance tasks

Self Service

Use cases for IT process automation«…Automate things or get automated….»

• 32Bit-engine

• Graphical process authoring

• Integration Packs for 3rd

party systems

• oData Web Service API

System Center Orchestrator 2012 R2

Limited Powershell support

IP development requires dev knowledge

Scalability

Parallel execution

No pausing / resuming of runbooks

SC Orchestrator 2012 Challenges

What is SMA?

• A feature shipped with SC Orchestrator 2012 R2

• Scalable, 64bit automation engine based on Powershell

Workflows

• No drag n' drop GUI (yet)

• Basic administration via Windows Azure Pack

SMA Architecture

WAP Admin Portal

REST APIWeb Service

WorkerWorkerWorker

SMA DB

SCOM

SCSM

SCCM

SCVMM

SCORCH

3rd Party

• On premise collection of public Microsoft Azure features

• HTML 5 Portal with REST APIs

• Admin / Tenant cloud like experience

• Self Service

What is WAP (Windows Azure Pack) ?

• Part of Powershell / WinRM since version 3.0

• Common Powershell syntax

• Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) execution

• Supports checkpoints / resuming

• Selective parallel / sequential execution OOB

Powershell Workflow

Powershell Workflow Anatomy

Runbook Input

Get Variables, Credentials

Logic / Work

Inline Script

Helper Objects that help to keep the runbook portable and

clear of hardcoded values

Assets

• Variables

• Credentials

• Connections

• Modules

• Creates a separate Powershell workspace (sandbox)

• Used to execute code not available as native WF activity

• Used for Remoting inside WF

• No WF checkpoints inside

Inline Script

Runbook nesting• Invoke Inline: starting a Runbook by name

• Parent and all nested compiled into one job

• Output of all Runbooks will be ‘rolled up’

• Synchronous execution

• Start-SmaRunbook: starting using PS cmdlet• Starts a second job

• Output is specific to each job

• Asynchronous execution

Returning Data• InlineScript

$data = inlinescript { script content }

• Inline runbook$data = invoked-runbook

• Started runbook

returns Job ID which can be used with Get-SMAJob

-> only simple objects!

Which to choose?SC Orchestrator SMA

Better together ?

• Powershell skills exist

• If deploying private cloud with WAP

• No IP for your 3rd party systems exist

• Need for parallel execution, long running, suspendable /

restartable jobs

• If no SC Orchestrator investments / know how exist

When to go for SMA?

Combine where needed

Leverage Powershell Modules• SMA PS Module

Start-SMARunbook

• Orchestrator PS ModuleStart-OrchestratorRunbook

Azure

Monitoring

Systems

Change

Control

Systems

Anything

Automation

Azure Automation

• Automate Azure operational tasks

• Enhance ASR with pre/post processing runbooks

• Automate on premise / hybrid processes

Azure Automation Scenarios

Orchestrator Roadmap

System Center

2012 / SP1

• Orchestrator for traditional datacenter Automation

• Heterogeneous support with Integration Packs

System Center

2012 R2

• Updated Orchestrator with additional integration packs and customer feedback

• Released Service Management Automation for the Azure Pack

Azure

Automation

• Released Automation in Azure (Generally available now)

• Multi-tenant solution for Azure operational tasks

vNext

• Single Automation solution for cloud and datacenter automation

• Graphical authoring

• Consistent solution delivered in Azure and on premises

• Convert non-PowerShell-based runbooks to PowerShell Workflow runbooks. Convert integration packs to

PowerShell modules

Coming up…One Automation Solution for Azure and On PremisesUser Interface

• Web portal

• Access Permissions (RBAC)

Authoring

• Graphical Authoring

• PowerShell Authoring

• Visualize end-to-end orchestration

• Gallery

• Service Administrator can create runbooks to automate all aspects of cloud infrastructure, plan delivery,

and maintenance activities

• Databus

Runbook Engine

• Highly available

• PowerShell Workflow based engine

Integration

• PowerShell Module based integration

• Use existing PowerShell modules for Microsoft and 3rd party systems

• Create PowerShell modules for additional resources/systems

Tools

• Tools to convert SCO Integration Packs and runbooks

Graphical Authoring

• Rich graphical authoring

• Progress visualization

• Data bus

• Wizard driven

• Integration Packs -> Modules

• Runbooks -> PS Workflows

Migration

• Use modular runbook constructs

• Use write-verbose | write-progress as much as you can

• Use assets to keep runbooks reusable and elastic

• Use credential assets instead of privileged service account

Notes from the field

• SMA Whitepaperhttps://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Service-Management-fcd75828

• Building Clouds Bloghttp://blogs.technet.com/b/privatecloud/

• Orchestrator Engineering Bloghttp://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/

• Runbook authoring guidelineshttp://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/26616.quick-tips-and-tricks-for-runbook-writing.aspx

• Authoring SMA Runboooks using ISEhttp://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/archive/2014/03/27/authoring-sma-runbooks-in-the-powershell-ise.aspx

How to get started with SMA….

• System Center provides powerful automation solutions today for the datacenter and Azure Pack

• Azure Automation enables you to move workloads to Azure and automate operational tasks

• System Center Orchestrator & Azure Automation will unify technology for both datacenter, private and public cloud automation.

Key Takeaways

Q+A

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not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft,

and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information

provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES

NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE

INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.