Never forget:
If you haven’t standardised your IT-Environment, you can’t automate it.
Last week I had to automate some networking-tasks using Cisco UCS Director.
I knew it better, but I wanted to be kind and began to implement the desired UCSD-Workflow covering all individual aspects of the already deployed environment.
- Took me one hour of work to realize that it was hopeless.
- Ifs, Thens, Elses… I learned a new word in this context: „dowdy“ 😉
Nobody likes overengineered workflows
So, Automation is at least a two step process:
- Standardise everything you want to touch during automation workflows
- dispose all existing bells and whistles
- automate popular tasks
- Don’t waste your time automating rare corner cases.
What and how to standardize?
A quick brainstorming:
- System Architecture / Logical Structure: Block-Building, Device-classes
- Topology: Use the same interfaces to connect the same entities.
- Numbering: Find a logical structure
- Naming: Might be descriptive only – needs to be consistent, too