Automation-System Center 2012 – Orchestrator Best Practice Series-Runbook Export and Scrubbing Process

Hello Readers!  For this next post in the Best Practice Series for Orchestrator, I thought it would be useful to discuss some tips on scrubbing and exporting Runbooks to make them ready for moving between environments or ready for sharing with the community.

Why is this Post Useful?

Runbooks need to be prepped before for sharing with the community or even moved between environments. This post covers the basic best practice steps to ensure Runbooks are scrubbed and exported as clean as possible.  Failure to properly scrub your Runbooks could mean that data from one environment could follow with your Runbooks to other environments.  Internal information that you don’t necessarily want shared may remain behind, etc.  This will be short, sweet, to the point .

Note    If you want more on the subject, I highly recommend you check out Charles Joy’s post Automation–Orchestrator Architecture and Runbook Deployment Process where he discusses some great details around architecture as well as how you manage moving Runbooks between environments.

Runbook Scrubbing Process

1. Ensure variables that require environmental specific values are made generic and the description field provides documentation on the expected value.
   
2. Ensure any userIDs / passwords leveraged within activity (including Invoke activities) security tabs are leveraging variables. As a best practice no userIDs / passwords should be left in scrubbed Runbooks. If they are needed for the process, the requirement 
   should  be documented so it is clear what needs to be updated once imported.
   

Runbook Export Process

1. Runbooks (once scrubbed) should be exported without selecting Export global connections
   

   Very Important Note   If Export global connections is selected, all connection information (including those not required by the Runbooks being exported) will be included in the export. Configuration information that was previously configured but deleted will also be included in the export, even if the Integration Pack has been uninstalled from the environment.

2. It is important to note the connection information and ensure it is documented. This information will need to be referenced by the community / IT Pro during the import process. They will need to manually create the connection(s) referenced by the Runbook(s) in order to ensure proper functionality. This goes for any Integration Pack activities requiring configuration within the Options menu.

Properties for connections can be found within the Options menu within the Orchestrator Designer.

Note   Lastly, when importing the Runbook into your test environment, it is important to deselect Import Orchestrator encrypted data when importing Runbooks from another environment.

That’s all there is to it.  Pretty simple but full of some useful tidbits as you prep your Runbooks for sharing. For more information and tips/tricks for Orchestrator, be sure to watch for blog posts in the Automation Track!

Till next time, Happy Automating!

---

Go Social with Building Clouds! Building Clouds blog Private Cloud Architecture Facebook page Private Cloud Architecture Twitter account Building Clouds Twitter account Private Cloud Architecture LinkedIn Group Building Clouds Google+ Community Cloud TechNet forums TechNet Cloud and Datacenter Solutions Site Cloud and Datacenter Solutions on the TechNet Wiki

Comments

• Anonymous
  January 01, 2003
  Nice series so far.  Looking forward to more

• Anonymous
  January 01, 2003
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  January 01, 2003
  Thanks Ted for the feedback!  If there is anything specific you are interested in, please let us know.  More to come in this series as well as SMA specific stuff as we move into that area as an added bonus :).

• Anonymous
  January 29, 2014
  Voici une suite d’articles concernant les bonnes pratiques pour System Center Orchestrator 2012