NetIQ Aegis: Automated Workflow Magic Lecture - …€¦ · NetIQ Aegis: Automated Workflow Magic...

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NetIQ Aegis: Automated Workflow MagicLecture

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Reducing Your Event Management Work By Half

Jeremy LahnersProduct Manager – NetIQ [email protected]

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© 2011 NetIQ Corporation. All rights reserved.2

Agenda

• Overview of Aegis• Lab Details• Creating a Process• Triggers• Collecting Diagnostic Information• Adding Work Item Attributes• Making an Informed Decision• Putting a Process into Production• Using the Web Console


Overview of Aegis



Our Vision For IT Process Automation

In 2004, NetIQ had a vision for converging our systems & security management products to support consolidated incident & event handling.

But customers said, help us connect to our other tools as well. We’re the Noah’s Ark of tools – we have two of everything.

VP of Operations at a major Financial Institution

So we altered our plan to give customers greater control of the tools they’ve already invested in by creating a strategy for heterogeneous IT Process Automation (ITPA).



Introducing NetIQ® Aegis™The Control & Automation Platform for IT Processes

NetIQ Aegis is a software platform that models, automates, measures and improves run books and ITIL-based processes, bringing control and automation to IT Operations and Security teams

AegisITILProcess(macro)

Run Books(micro)

Automate

Model

Measure

Improve



An Example ofInefficient Process

Network Management

Service Desk

ManagedTechnologies

Best of BreedManagementTools

IT Functions

IT Management

0: Poor service quality detected

1: Admin Notified

2: Ticket Created

4: Establish bridge line

5: Notify other groups

6: Commence finger-pointing

7: Isolate potential cause

8: Notify change management

11: Validate remediation

12: Close ticket

9: No requested change?

10: Guilty admin rolls back

3: Service Desk Receives Ticket

13: Review with management

DatabaseManagement

Security Management

Application Management



Run Books TodayExample: Low Disk Space Response

6. Admin assesses file system usage• Search known temp file storage areas to

identify cleanup candidates

2. AppManager detects condition• AppManager generates an event

1. Available disk space falls below threshold

• Likely caused by temp file growth

7. Admin cleans culprit files• Copy some to archive & delete rest

8. Admin updates ticket• Identify files deleted and new disk space

status

NetIQ AppManager

Ticketing Tool

Admin

AppManager Agent

Archive Trash

3. NOC Operator creates ticket• Assigned to the Administrator of the affected

system4. Admin receives ticket notification

• Email from ticket tracking system5. Admin connects to affected

system• Requires data center privileges• May require obtaining physical access

9. NOC Operator closes ticket

NOC Operator

12

3

4

5

6

7

89

Manual Workload

Automated Workload



Run Books with AegisExample: Low Disk Space Response

3. Aegis requests disk usage analysis from AppManager• Identify top N culprits by folder, file type, age • Extra attention on known temp file storage

areas

4. Aegis sends email to admin requesting approval to clean up• Embed results of disk usage analysis & link

to Aegis web site

2. AppManager detects condition• AppManager generates an event

1. Available disk space falls below threshold

• Likely caused by temp file growth

5. Administrator approves partial cleanup through Aegis• Admin can select individual folders or file

types for deletion, archiving or user attention

6. Aegis commands AM to perform cleanup• Delete approved files and analyze new disk

space status7. Aegis sends confirmation email to

admin• Identify files deleted and new disk space

status

NetIQ AppManager

NetIQ AegisAdmin

AppManager Agent

Archive Trash

12

3

4

5

6

7

Manual Workload

Automated Workload

Result: 90% reduction of manual labor


Lab Details



Lab Details

• We will be creating a process to:– Alert an administrator about the event– Gather diagnostic information about the server affected– Allow the administrator to make a decision to remediate the

problem– Take corrective action if requested– Report results back to the administrator



Event Details

• Service down condition from AppManager



Usernames and Passwords

• Aegis– Username: Administrator– Password: password

• AppManager– Username: sa– Password: password


Creating a Process



Anatomy of the Configuration Console

Global/View Tasks

Navigation Menu



Process Creation Options

• Workflow template• Workflow Definition file• Empty Workflow



Anatomy of the Workflow Designer

ActivityLibraries

DesignGrid



Creating a Process


Lab 1: Creating a Process


Triggers



Triggers

• A trigger determines weather incoming events:– Initiate work items – Should be associated with already running work items

• A process stands idle until one or more incoming events match a trigger associated with the process

• You can specify multiple events and/or triggering event definitions

• You can also create triggering event definitions• Automatic triggers

– Respond to matching events based on trigger rules defined by the Process Author

• Manual triggers– Require intervention to initiate a work item



What is a Trigger?

Standard Events

AppManager.Event

AppManager.State Change Event

Aegis.Event

Remedy.Ticket

Triggering Event Definitions

Named: “Exchange Service Down”

Criteria:AppManager.Event with:• KS=NT_ServiceDown• Short Message =

*Exchange*• Severity=12

Named: “Poor Web Response Time”

Criteria:AppManager.Event with:• KS=Web-RT_URLCheck• Business Service

Role=Web Server

Triggers

Initiate On:• All of following within 2

minutes• Exchange Service

Down• Poor Web Response

Time, Where Event Detail Message contains “Outlook”

Append: • Any of following from same

business service as Initiate• Exchange Service

Down• Poor Web Response

Time



Creating a Trigger

• Triggers are created from the Start of Workflow activity

• Triggers allow



Lab 2: Overview

• Create a trigger to allow Aegis to automatically execute a process whenever a specific event occurs

• Result: Automated response to known events!


Lab 2: Creating a Trigger


Collecting Diagnostic Information



AppManager Activities

• Allows you to interact with AppManager details:– Events– Jobs– Performance Data– Maintenance Mode– Deployment Tasks– Custom Properties



Lab 3: Overview

• Reach out to AppManager to get performance metrics on CPU and Memory utilization of server leading up to service down event

• Create charts in the Aegis console to present that information to an Administrator

• Result: A more informed decision making process!


Lab 3: Collecting Diagnostic Information


Adding Work Item Attributes



Work Item Attributes

• Work Item Attributes are similar to global variables and are available throughout the work item life

• Work Item Attributes can be defined by double-clicking on any blank area of the design grid



Defining a Work Item Attribute

• Name• Display Name• Type• Value• Description• Options



Lab 4 & 5: Overview

• Create custom work item attributes to store reusable, dynamic values

• Send an email to alert an Administrator of event occurrence

• Result: Easy to retrieve dynamic data during process execution and use common technology to drive response!


Lab 4: Adding Work Item AttributesLab 5: Notifying an Administrator


Making an Informed Decision



User Input Forms



User Input Forms – General



User Input Forms – Field Definitions



User Input Forms – Input Fields

– Check Box– Single Line Text– Multi-Line Text– Password– Integer– Decimal

– IPv4 IP address– IPv6 IP address– Date– Date/Time– Drop Down List (single

selection)– Table



User Input Form – Buttons



User Input Form – Preview



Lab 6, 7 & 8: Overview

• Allow an administrator to make an informed decision about remediating the problem

• Execute the steps necessary to remediate the condition

• Result: Administrators visit one console to interact with the entire process and allow the system to manage remediation!


Lab 6: Making a DecisionLab 7: Remediating the condition

Lab 8: Reporting Results to the Administrator


Conditional Connectors



Connector Properties

• Connector Properties allow you to specify the Name, From/To activities and (optionally) configure conditional expressions



Connectors & Conditional Connectors

– A connector is the link between two activities

– A conditional connector is a special connector that is only followed when certain conditions are met

Conditional Connector

Connector



Conditional Connectors

• Use conditional logic to determine:– Whether a process proceeds down a particular path– Execute a particular activity

• For example, a workflow handles multiple event types, but performs a vulnerability check only after resolving security events

• Type of event determines whether the workflow traverses the conditional connector



Lab 9: Overview

• Provide alternate workflow paths depending on conditions evaluated at process run-time

• Result: Multiple paths provide for alternative execution steps depending on results obtained through the course of the process!


Lab 9: Conditional Connectors


Putting a Process into Production



Process Revision Control Example



Process Revision Control

• Revision Control is handled similar to software versioning

– Revision number is incremented starting at 1– Version is incremented similar to a software version (1.0,

1.2, 2.1, etc.)

• The Description field is used to describe what changed between revisions (and is extremely helpful!)

• Processes have the following states:– Under Construction

– Checked in

– Checked out

– In Production– Out Of Production



Process Revision Control (continued)

• A Process can be put into production by: – Clicking the link in the “Workflow Revision View Tasks” menu– Right-clicking on the revision and choosing “Put Revision

into Production”

• Only one revision of a process can be “In Production” at any one time

– By putting a revision into production, any previous revisions that are in production are immediately taken out

• Once a revision has been “In Production” it can no longer be checked out/edited

– Use the “Clone Revision” feature



Process Revision Control - Workflow

• The “Workflow” tab allows the designer to change the Revision Description and to specify the Consumption Policy and Trigger Processing Order



Process Revision Control - Version

• The “Version” tab allows the designer to increment the major or minor


Using the Web Console



Web Console – Process View

RevisionsWorkItem ID

WorkItem Subject

Process Tree View

Search for a WorkItem



Web Console – Events View

Details Button Shows Event Details



Web Console – My Notifications View

Process View of Work Items Awaiting Input

Count of Work Items Waiting for Your Input



Work Item View – Work Item Properties

Custom Work Item Attribute (Read-only)



Work Item View - Comments

Add Comments to Show Progress



Work Item View – Workflow View

Green Lines Indicate the Path Traversed

Checkmarks Indicate the Activity Completed Successfully

User Icon Indicates Waiting for Input



Work Item View – Workflow ViewMouse Over a Completed Activity to Show Details

Activity Detail View



Work Item View – Related Events



Work Item View – Supporting Analysis



Lab 10: Overview

• Put the process into production and allow it to execute against live events

• Result: Success!


Lab 10: Executing the Process



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http://community.netiq.com/

This document could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein. These changes may be incorporated in new editions of this document. NetIQ Corporation may make improvements in or changes to the software described in this document at any time.

Copyright © 2011 NetIQ Corporation. All rights reserved.

ActiveAudit, ActiveView, Aegis, AppManager, Change Administrator, Change Guardian, Compliance Suite, the cube logo design, Directory and Resource Administrator, Directory Security Administrator, Domain Migration Administrator, Exchange Administrator, File Security Administrator, Group Policy Administrator, Group Policy Guardian, Group Policy Suite, IntelliPolicy, Knowledge Scripts, NetConnect, NetIQ, the NetIQ logo, PSAudit, PSDetect, PSPasswordManager, PSSecure, Secure Configuration Manager, Security Administration Suite, Security Manager, Server Consolidator, VigilEnt, and Vivinet are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetIQ Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States.


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