Workflow Automation 1.1 feature overview

1NetApp Confidential - Internal Use Only

Workflow Automation 1.1 feature overview

Agenda

Workflow Automation (WFA) Overview

What is WFA?

Why use WFA?

WFA Capabilities

Workflow Automation 1.1 Feature overview

What is Workflow Automation?

A framework

– Create automated tasks in a consistent way

– “Orchestrator Lite”

An operations portal

– Click to perform common tasks

– Provide self-service if you like

A point of integration

– Provide web services for use by higher-order systems

3

The Motivation for Automation

Identified Gaps– Processes are mostly manual, with many steps and ad-hoc

decisions– Customers look to automate processes using their own unique settings– Many storage processes include non-storage (non-ONTAP) components– Storage teams do not have programming skill sets– Many operators are not storage experts

Goals– Create an extendable storage automation platform – Allow easy creation of custom workflows– Make workflow execution simple and accessible

What Can You Do With WFA?

5

Automation of operational storage tasks for repeatable automatic execution

– Create volumes, qtrees, shares, etc.

– Dynamically allocate resources according to a plan

– Make calls to other services and systems (e.g. VMware)

Define templates which can be implemented as policies.

Integrate with OnCommand Provisioning and Protection manager - “Storage Catalog” if required

Customization effort is the limit

Workflow Automation 1.1 feature list

Parallel Execution of WorkflowsResource ReservationLooping in WorkflowsWorkflow ApprovalAuthorization for WorkflowsVisualization EnhancementsCluster Mode Support

NetApp Confidential - Internal Use Only

WFA 1.1 release has the following list of new features. We will walk through each of these features in this presentation

Workflow Automation 1.1 Features , Contd…

Visualization EnhancementsCluster Mode Support

– Cache, Dictionary, Commands, Filters Finders & Sample Workflows

Perl support for writing commandsSNMP AlertsUpgrade contentsMigration process supportQualify ONTAP versions and platformsOnline Help/contextual help


Example Workflows:– Examples of the most common workflows. Only

minor edits required for a ‘custom fit’

Certified Building Blocks:– Tested and Supported components used to create

workflows

– Identified by a

Intent:– Provide samples & examples as part of the product

– Enable automation as part of the WFA installation

Pre-defined Workflow Automation Content

The Workflow Automation installation comes with a feature rich set of pre-defined components.



Workflow Automation 1.1 features in details

Parallel workflow execution

Execute more than one workflow at a time Supports related and unrelated workflows Resource Reservation

– Facilitates separation between workflow planning and actual execution

– Ensures planned resources availability for actual execution

– Accounts for multiple scheduled workflows to complete successfully.

– Consistent previews with what is actually provisioned.


WFA 1.1 : Parallel Execution

Parallel Execution

Looping in Workflow

Main goal is to provide flexibility for implementing complicated scenario's

Repeat a row execution for “n” number of times Example scenario: Create a vol & 6 qtrees from

“qtree01 to qtree06”

Dynamic number of iterations Example scenario: Create a number of LUNs

according to a total size needed and a max size per LUN


Approval process for workflows

This feature will allow incremental workflow execution based on certain conditions. Examples of these conditions would be :

Time passes Response from an higher order system , say an

Orchestrator software Upon validation from the first section of the workflow

This feature will enable– Resume execution after

Failure/Abort/Cancel

– Commenting/approval notes an execution.

– Re scheduled execution


WFA 1.1 : Approval Support for conditional execution

Authorization for workflows

Provides RBAC like capabilities To support Authorization for workflows, categories will

be added. Enables self service model where specific operators

are assigned to relevant categories Only Architect or Admin will be able to:

– Define categories

– Assign workflow to categories (0 or more)

– Define if a category is used to enables/disable access control or not (RBAC)

– Assign operators to categories. (Only relevant when a category is used for RBAC)


WFA 1.1 : Categories

Enhanced Visualization

Orchestrator like view for workflow execution

Graphical representation with color coded

progression.

Enables more visualized user friendly views

for workflow progression.


WFA 1.1 : Enhanced Visualization

Cluster Mode ( C Mode) Support

Cluster Mode support in WFA includes

– Cache – Acquiring cache/inventory data on c-mode specific objects such as vserver etc.

– Dictionary – Defining dictionary objects needed for c-mode command-mapping and finders.

– Commands – Defining c-mode specific commands such as “create vserver” and “volume move” as well as redefining 7-mode commands so they can work in a c-mode cluster.

Cluster Mode ( C Mode) implementation assures

– The new c-mode content doesn’t break existing 7-mode workflows.

– C-Mode and 7-Mode workflows can co-exist in a single WFA installation.

– A single workflow is able to use both 7-mode and c-mode commands.


WFA 1.1 : Cluster Mode Support

WFA 1.1 support – Perl , SNMP & Online Help

Perl support for writing commands Validation for User Inputs SNMP Alerts Migration process support Qualify ONTAP versions and

platforms Online Help/contextual help


Where to go for more information?

The WFA community site provides a wealth of information about the product including:

– Product brief

– Presentations

– Product demos

– Documentation

– Sample workflows For more information contact the following:

– Prakash Subramanian – Product Manager

– Kevin Hill – MEI Solutions Architect

– Yaron Haimsohn - MEI Solutions Architect

– Vishwas H V – TME

– Dave Boon - MEI Solutions Architect


http://communities.netapp.com/community/interfaces_and_tools/wfa

Workflow Automation 1.1 feature overview

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