{"id":17122,"date":"2022-09-29T16:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T20:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherweb.com\/blog\/?p=17122"},"modified":"2022-09-29T16:12:37","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T20:12:37","slug":"azure-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sherweb.com\/blog\/cloud-server\/azure-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"Make your life easier with Azure Automation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Managing cloud infrastructure<\/a> requires the completion of many mind-numbing menial tasks, but there\u2019s good news: advancements in automation are making service delivery quicker, easier and a lot more efficient.<\/p>\n

When it comes to cloud infrastructure, Microsoft Azure<\/a> is a clear choice. Azure invests more than\u00a0$1 billion annually\u00a0on cybersecurity research and development, and has\u00a0more certifications<\/a> than any other cloud provider. Not to mention, Azure is highly successful at what it sets out to do: help organizations operate applications on the cloud on a global scale, using the frameworks and tools that best support their unique business goals.<\/p>\n

All this being said, the time and resources required to migrate to Azure and maintain operations in the day-to-day can be overwhelming. This is where Azure Automation comes in. Automating the migration and operation of Azure is crucial for managed service providers (MSPs)<\/a> and their clients who want to survive (nay, thrive!) in the cloud environment.
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What is Azure Automation?<\/h2>\n

Azure Automation offers a framework for creating and scheduling workflows (AKA runbooks<\/a>), for the purpose of simplifying and streamlining the tedious and repetitive tasks Azure cloud administrators are typically saddled with.<\/p>\n

To accomplish this, Azure Automation provides cloud-based automation, operating system updates and configuration services which support consistent and reliable management across Azure and<\/em> non-Azure environments. This includes the following capabilities:<\/p>\n

Process Automation<\/h3>\n

Process Automation automates your most recurrent and time-consuming management tasks\u2014 which also tend to be those most vulnerable to human error. When you take advantage of this service, you automatically free up time to focus more on the work that actually adds business value. Not to mention, reducing errors and increasing efficiency are both key to keeping your operational costs low. Azure Process Automation supports the integration of Azure services as well as other third-party systems used in the management of your end-to-end processes.<\/p>\n

Configuration Management<\/h3>\n

Configuration Management is supported by two pillars: Change Tracking and Inventory<\/a> and Azure Automation State Configuration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first pillar combines functions and allows you to track changes in Linux and Windows VMs and server infrastructures\u2014across services, daemons, software, registry and files\u2014making it a lot easier to pinpoint operational and environmental software issues alike. Additionally, Inventory support lets you query in-guest resources for a deeper look into installed applications and other configuration items.<\/p>\n

The second pillar\u00a0allows you to write, manage and compile PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC)\u00a0configurations\u00a0for nodes located in any datacenter, be it in the cloud or on-premises. This feature, designed for enterprise environments in particular, lets you manage DSC resources in Azure Automation while applying configurations to virtual machines or<\/em> physical machines from a DSC pull server in the Azure cloud. Not ready to manage machine configuration via the cloud? Use this feature as a report-only endpoint, pushing configurations through DSC and viewing reporting details in Azure Automation.<\/p>\n

Update Management<\/h3>\n

Update Management offers a deeper view into the intricacies of update compliance across Azure and other clouds as well as on-premises, allowing you to schedule deployments which automatically set into motion the installation of updates\u2014within a well-defined maintenance window, of course. Need to exclude a specific machine from an update? No problem. Simply use Update Management functionality to exclude it from any given deployment.
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Common scenarios for automation<\/h2>\n

Common scenarios requiring Azure Automation support include:<\/p>\n