On-Demand Runbook Example

This simple example illustrates the use of on-demand runbooks An automated workflow that executes a series of steps or tasks in response to a triggered event, such as the detection of anomalous behavior generating an incident, a lifecycle event, or a manually executed runbook.. It's likely that your purposes will require you to define larger, more sophisticated runbooks than this, but this one provides a starting point to familiarize you with the fundamentals.

This on-demand runbook starts with an Input node Individual components that make up a runbook automation, each performing a specific function such as data queries, transformations, logic, integrations, or visualizations. that uses a device An entity type representing network devices or hardware components deployed in the customer environment that are monitored for performance and anomalies. as its starting entity Things deployed in the customer environment that are needed to run the business, such as applications, devices, interfaces, and locations.. The Devices (Traffic) data query node queries that device input for Throughput and Traffic data, which it forwards to a Decision Branch node. The Decision Branch node evaluates the data it receives; if Throughput is greater than 10 Mbps, a table for high throughput values will be shown. If the Decision Branch node receives a runtime variable named "test", a table for low throughput values will be shown instead.

Taking each node in turn and examining its properties:

• The Input node specifies "Device" as the primary entity; this is the entity type for which the runbook is executed.

  Note: There is a runtime variable named "simpleVar" (defined previously) that is carried with the device data.

  

• The Devices (Traffic) data query node queries for device data from on-demand input; that is, from the Input node. Collect Metrics A measurement or data point that is monitored and analyzed to detect anomalies and generate incidents. is enabled, and the Throughput and Traffic metrics are specified explicitly for collection.
  

• The Decision Branch node evaluates two conditions to produce output A document containing data sets generated by the execution of a runbook, including output of queries and reports from point products, as well as output of analysis or other runbook nodes.: if the value of the Throughput metric is greater than 10 Mbps and if the value of the "simpleVar" runtime variable is "test".
  

• The High Throughput Table node outputs three columns: Name & Details, Throughput, and Traffic.
  

• The Low Throughput Table node also outputs three columns: Name & Details, Throughput, and Traffic. 
  

Execute the runbook from the On-Demand runbooks page to see the resulting analysis. For example: