Workflow Automation 1.1 feature overview

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Workflow Automation 1.1 feature overview
NetApp Confidential - Internal Use Only
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Agenda

• Workflow Automation (WFA) Overview
• What is WFA?
• Why use WFA?
• WFA Capabilities
• Workflow Automation 1.1 Feature overview

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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

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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

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What Can You Do With WFA?

• 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

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

• Parallel Execution of Workflows
• Resource Reservation
• Looping in Workflows
• Workflow Approval
• Authorization for Workflows
• Visualization Enhancements
• Cluster Mode Support

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Workflow Automation 1.1 Features , Contd

• Visualization Enhancements
• Cluster Mode Support
• Cache, Dictionary, Commands, Filters Finders
  Sample Workflows
• Perl support for writing commands
• SNMP Alerts
• Upgrade contents
• Migration process support
• Qualify ONTAP versions and platforms
• Online Help/contextual help

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Pre-defined Workflow Automation Content

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

• 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

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Workflow Automation 1.1 features in details
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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.

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WFA 1.1 Parallel Execution
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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

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WFA 1.1 Looping Dynamic iterations
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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

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WFA 1.1 Approval Support for conditional
execution
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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)

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WFA 1.1 Categories
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Enhanced Visualization

• Orchestrator like view for workflow execution
• Graphical representation with color coded
  progression.
• Enables more visualized user friendly views for
  workflow progression.

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WFA 1.1 Enhanced Visualization
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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 doesnt 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.

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WFA 1.1 Cluster Mode Support
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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

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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

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