IT Automation
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Leon Adato, head geek at SolarWinds tells us how to optimise automation
and why failure to respect the process could spell disaster.
W
hen used correctly,
IT automation is a
simple and effective
means of significantly
increasing both the
productivity of your data centre,
and the consistency of its output.
Automation and all of its
wonderful time saving benefits
are well documented, but it is also
important to recognise and respect
the skill level that is required for its
successful application.
36 | October 2017
It is crucial for the
implementer to have a
fundamental understanding
of the task or workload that is
being automated. If this is not
the case, then the operational
efficiencies that can be realised
by IT automation will be
compromised, issues will arise
during the automation process,
and the results that you were
hoping to achieve will become a
distant dream.
The grounds for
automation
Within the data centre, automation
should be applied to systematic
tasks that require consistency and
regularity. In layman’s terms, a
series of basic steps that should be
followed to fulfil a single task. Such
workflows can cover management
actions, such as provisioning or
reclaiming virtual resources, and
include setting up profiles and
configurations in a one-to-many