This blog post explores the concept of runbooksand how they can be leveraged to streamline incident management. It dives into the various types of runbooks, including procedural, executable, and automated runbooks. The blog emphasizes the benefits of automated runbooks, outlining how they can automate repetitive tasks across servers, such as virtual machine management, log management, and configuration management.
Several popular runbook automation tools are explored, including Azure Automation, Rundeck, Ansible, and Squadcast Runbooks. The blog highlights key considerations when creating runbooks, including understanding your application, gathering requirements, and utilizing integration packs. It also details best practices for writing runbooks, including creating flowcharts and diagrams, and storing runbooks in a central location.
The blog concludes by differentiating between runbooks and SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), and playbooks. It emphasizes that by strategically combining automation and process management, you can ensure your runbooks are up-to-date and readily available to address incidents efficiently.