What does ‘True Automation’ look like to you?

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Bright_Arm8782@reddit

Rather than patching we have a job that builds the base images for our instances when amazon release them each month.

We automatically redeploy the instances each day, updated images just go out in the next cycle.

I started before this sort of thing was possible, and I love living in the future.

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vermyx@reddit

Automation falls within two categories:

Saves time vs manual process that is done multiple times (reports, creating users, etc )
Saves data from being inputted at multiple stages that avoids garbage data (user name and spelling across multiple systems, data input, etc)

If it does neither it isn't a good candidate.

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awit7317@reddit

Sometimes you just need to make a process that works the same late friday as it does Monday morning. Because people.

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denverpilot@reddit

Wouldn’t that be better called “standardization” (of methodology used… as in “policy is we all use this script…”)?

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awit7317@reddit

Indeed. And yet we seem to have a curious psychology whereby sysadmins rail against policy but will run a script because it makes their life easier.

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denverpilot@reddit

Everybody wants to think they're the main character...

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vermyx@reddit

Thats why i do it. I can make all the checklists i want but if it has 50 million steps one WILL be missed. If it has two steps it is much harder to screw up

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Hotshot55@reddit

Automation should be doing both of those things.

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vermyx@reddit

Reports usually only do the first and they should be automated. This is why i said either.

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Rhythm_Killer@reddit

Never do manually in a day what you could spend 3 months automating

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phalangepatella@reddit

Did it take 12 hours to write and saved 12 minutes once?

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NightH4nter@reddit

yes, but you also documented the procedure with code

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hihcadore@reddit

You mean do you retool it every month and make it like 200 lines longer? Yes

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E-werd@reddit

You know it's working well when it's been so long since you last touched it that you have to figure out how it works again.

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E-werd@reddit

Yeah, that's about right. It doesn't matter how many times I've done it, I'm going in fresh regardless.

User: "Remember last week when ABC happened and you did XYZ to fix it?"

Me: Nope, not at all.

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Bitwise_Gamgee@reddit

I'll tell you how our network monitoring works and that should give you a good idea:

On the infrasturcture end, we have a monitoring tool that parses the ARP logs off the switches, these are used to generate switch-port to wall-plate maps of what assets are deployed where. These are Python scripts.
On the log server, we have a couple bespoke C apps that query many APIs and ETL all that data into the log database. This is all fed into the ELK stack.

Since we're a fintech, Infrastructure as Code is pretty common. We have a few other NDA'd technologies in place, but those are quite proprietary. For us admins, unless something breaks, we have a fair amount of latitude about how we spend our time.

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pdp10@reddit

You should look at adding IPv6 NDP in addition to IPv4 ARP. The gateway or switch is the best nexus to collect/control this due to SLAAC anyway, so you're quite far ahead of the curve.
Our same ETL was originally all Perl, but had to be converted into C++ and then straight C for performance reasons.
Nice username.

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Bitwise_Gamgee@reddit

The IPv6 data is actually on the to-do list, this was more a "start where you are" project. Thanks for the reminder!

The PDP shall live in infamy :)

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Secret_Account07@reddit

The type of automation I like is- do my job for me and only notify me of problems

Not only are less human mistakes made this way, but things are more standardized. We automated our server patching and only get notified about failed patching . I use to manually deploy patches all day across thousands of servers. Now I’m only working on a few dozen a month that fail. This is automation I like. Let me focus on things that need a human brain.

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Zortrax_br@reddit

Automation is the process to automate a procedure or task that need to be run/done often.
Examples:
Code deployment
AD higienization
Account creation
Patch instalation

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pdp10@reddit

This could be anything from a script that runs on a cron job, to a full IaaC automation pipeline.

Yes?

We have automation to decommission hosts by netbooting them, running wipe and decommission routines, record results in CMDB, and power down for removal from rack. Come to think of it, I should add a feature to change the LCDs on some models of servers to "decommissioned".
We have automation to power up seldom-used lab servers with IPMI (later Redfish) and perform a sequence of automated tests, or do OS updates and tests.
Our codebases have CI/CD automation to inhibit regressions, and speed up everything else.
A traditional automation is to have your routers and switches save out their configs to a centralized TFTP or HTTP host, from whence the configs get inserted into Git repos where diffs and change-tracking are automatic.
Monitoring, metrics, continuous infrastructure integration tests and unit tests, mean that the engineers should most often know about regressions/issues before any user reports them.

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Bartghamilton@reddit

Crazy that I still need to point it out in 2024, but HR hires/fires/changes should not require IT to manual work. There are so many options to automate but it’s amazing how many companies still have IT manually creating users, rushing to disable terms, etc.

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swissthoemu@reddit

We deeveloped a power app. Everything runs automatically.

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outofspaceandtime@reddit

This presumes that there is a HR ERP system in place that HR wants to use… May I present to you the smb range of companies where money is tight and people prefer folders for case files.

Seriously, it’s taken me a year before HR said in surprise: “Oh, I didn’t know you needed to be informed when people leave.”

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vermyx@reddit

Although in theory I agree, in practice I don't. I was involved in one of these conversations, and one of the payroll systems we used to use required the user to be active to be paid meaning that they had to be active in the payroll system until their final check. Payroll systems can be just as bad as healthcare systems when it comes to interfacing and having clean data. I understand the manual disabling so this is why I essentially just run the same script that gets the termination notice. User creation and user termination should be automated as much as possible, but there are business reasons for not opting to automate with the payroll system. The one we have currently wants to charge mid 5 figures for getting information vis REST per year, but they do not charge for creating emailed reports. Guess which path I chose.

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Patrickrobin@reddit

It's like automating a repetitive task daily with an MDM tool like Scalefusion.

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RavenWolf1@reddit

For me True automation happens when AGI/ASI takes over from all humanity's work.

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uncertain_expert@reddit

I work in the Industrial Automation field - PLCs and motors and pumps and conveyors. That’s Automation to me - machines controlled by specialised computers affecting the physical world.

It just so happens that those situations also need reliable servers and desktop PCs to record and display data, which is why I am subbed to /r/Sysadmin.

It annoys me so much that job adverts for ’Automation Engineer’ are now seeking people who can write a script in PowerShell.

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stupv@reddit

User completes templated request on portal/itsm tool, tool interfaces directly with other systems to automate request completion, no staff member has to be involved unless something goes wrong or lead times need to be expedited

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lelio98@reddit

Someone is hired/fired and I don’t know, or need to care.

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smc0881@reddit

when I was a sysadmin it was system checks, account creation, and things like that. Working in DFIR now it's automating EDR deployment, collecting triage, and sending that data for Splunk ingestion. Come back in an hour and solve my cases and then profit.

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NecessaryMaximum2033@reddit

Automation, to me, is about streamlining repetitive and routine tasks. It includes things like generating weekly reports for executives who lack direct system access, compliance scripts that check and correct endpoint configurations, and setting up automated approval workflows based on user inputs. It also involves sending automatic SLA violation alerts and integrating siloed systems to improve business processes and boost efficiency.

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TecheunTatorTots@reddit

Can I put that in my resume?

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NecessaryMaximum2033@reddit

I don't see why not. It's smtn I blurted out without putting much thought into it. Could be polished more.

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TecheunTatorTots@reddit

It definitely looks like something ChatGPT would spit out. I'm sure it'd look great on a cover letter, lol.

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NecessaryMaximum2033@reddit

Do we still need those? Been gainfully employed since 2018 but I see the horrors of the job market.

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TecheunTatorTots@reddit

I mean, it's pretty fucked out there right now. Hopefully, it turns around at some point. I, too, have a job right now, but I'm looking for something better. I've put out hundreds of apps and haven't gotten any bites. Seems like the market is sorta oversaturated at the moment. Also, just about every sys admin job near me is for government contractors, and the all want existing top secret clearances. None of them are willing to sponsor one, either.

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knightofargh@reddit

Deployment with no intervention and configuration management after deployment to allow central configuration. Tools need to be flexible enough to recognize AND update IaC stuff if a modification is made on the server side. Not everything can be done through a pipeline as much as developers and cloud people want it to be so. Pipelines need to be able to import configurations even if it’s only used to make it so M&A sucks less.

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