Automate cloud operations with Azure automation (1)

Azure Automation is an automated workflow engine on Azure that helps users streamline, integrate, and automate operational work on Azure, based on PowerShell, such as:

• Save costs by implementing a timed switch virtual machine
• Implement scheduled creation Delete Hdinsight cluster perform big data computing tasks
• To periodically back up a database on a virtual machine
• Regularly archive or delete useless log files
• Automate deployment or update applications
• Wait a minute

Microsoft actually has 3 Runbook-based workflow engines that are used to accomplish different automated tasks:

• Azure Automation is used to automate tasks in the cloud azure environment and is also based on PowerShell
• The service Management Automation in Windows Azure pack is primarily a private cloud-oriented automation engine, and he is a PowerShell- based Automation engine like Azure automation. and use a runbook of the same format, but the SMA does not support graphical runbooks
• The System Center R2 Orchestrator Workflow Management engine manages a variety of resources in the user datacenter, but he uses runbooks in different formats as Azure automation and SMA

There are some basic concepts in azure automation that you need to know before you start:

Runbook: In fact, inside Azure Automation is a collection of automated tasks, such as a daily scheduled log backup and shutdown of a virtual machine, and the actions of these log backups and shutdowns constitute a Runbook. You can write your own runbook from scratch, but, in fact, Microsoft offers a very many out-of-the-box runbooks that you can use directly:

Https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/site/search?f%5B0%5D.Type=RootCategory&f%5B0%5D. value=windowsazure&f%5b1%5d. type=subcategory&f%5b1%5d. value=windowsazure_automation&f%5b1%5d. Text=automation

Automation accounts: accounts created in Azure to manage runbooks can have multiple runbooks under an Automation account.

Azure Automation DSC: PowerShell's desired state configuration is a management platform that sequentially manages your virtual machines using declarative PowerShell deployments, while Azure Automation's DSC is an azure cloud-based POWERHSLL DSC solution that allows you to configure your server to be applied to the cloud via the DSC pull server

In this article, the automation for Azure mainly covers the following three things:

• Creation and configuration of Runbooks
• How Azure Automation is certified: OrgID and password
• How Azure Automation is certified: Certificates
• Real case: Timed on/off virtual machine

Creation and configuration of Runbooks

1. Go to the Azure management interface, click New, you can create a new runbook in the application services---Automation->runbook, select New Automation Management account at the beginning, enter the name of the Automation management account, select the region you want to deploy, click Create:

2. When you create a new Runbook, you can also choose from the library, which currently has a very high number of sample scripts built in, and can be used with minor modifications:

3. Once created, select your new Automation account under automation and go to the service interface to see:

   Dashboards: shows how your automation resources are used and dispatched, and how things work

   Runbook: is a runbook under your current automation account that can be created, edited and modified

   Assets: You can define some common data, such as subscription names, vouchers, and so on, and multiple different runbooks can share

   Zoom: You can define your automated service plan, free almost 500 minutes a month for free, basic plus no time limit, is paid

Automate cloud operations with Azure automation (1)