Overview

IBM® BigFix Lifecycle Server Automation provides you with the capability to automate provisioning workflows. You can automate a sequence of Fixlets, Tasks, and Baselines across different endpoints, such as servers or computers. Server Automation exploits the agility and scalability of IBM BigFix to deliver powerful functionality in a lean and efficient manner, with minimal impact on your network.

Server Automation enables you to automate workflows by running automation tasks in a simple sequence or in parallel across multiple endpoints. You do this by creating an Automation Plan that contains a separate step for each action that you want to run across the endpoints. Your Automation Plan can run in a simple straight sequence, where each step is processed one after the other, or you can include parallel processing in the plan. For example, you can create an Automation Plan to sequence actions that deploy an operating system on a set of virtual servers, then install a database on one of those virtual servers while concurrently installing middleware applications on the other virtual servers. You can create sequenced automation that is based on conditions, for example, you might want the Automation Plan to begin only if the virtual servers are powered on successfully.

To sequence your automation flows, you create an Automation Plan. Each Automation Plan contains a number of steps. Each step is a Fixlet, Task, or Baseline and represents an action to be deployed across multiple endpoints, such as the deployment of a Fixlet to install patches on endpoints.

Some key Server Automation use cases are as follows:

Patch sequencing for endpoints: You can automate patching across multiple endpoints, for example, you can patch servers.

Running Baselines from a site: You can easily run all of the Baselines contained in a site against a set of endpoints.

Automate patching of Microsoft® Windows® clusters: You can also automate patching of applications running on Microsoft® Windows® clusters. For example, you can use Server Automation Fixlets in an Automation Plan to automate the patching of clusters on which Microsoft SQL Server is installed.

Middleware application installations and deployments: You can install, remove, and upgrade middleware applications across multiple endpoints in a single Automation Plan. You can target different endpoints in different steps in the Automation Plan. Some examples are multi tier application deployments.

Virtual server management: You can manage your virtual servers and include virtual server management actions in your Automation Plans.

Example: sequencing automation across endpoints

This example shows a typical automation flow over a number of servers in a data center. You can automate the process with an Automation Plan. The Automation Plan contains a number of steps, with each step representing a single action, such as the installation of software or the restarting of a system.

Using Server Automation, you can create an Automation Plan to run actions in sequence and in parallel, without requiring manual intervention. To automate the scenario, you create an Automation Plan to run the actions in the following table in the sequence shown.

Table 1. Creating an Automation Plan
Requirement	Action
1. Deploy an operating system on two different computers.	Add a step to your Automation Plan to deploy the operating system. You can use the `Deploy an operating system to one or more computers (133)` Server Automation Task to do this.
2. Install DB2® on one of the operating systems that are deployed in step 1.	Add a second step to your Automation Plan to install DB2. There is a Server Automation Task available to install DB2. Make this step dependent on step 1.
3. Install WebSphere® Application Server on one of the other operating systems that are deployed in step 1.	Add a third step to install WebSphere Application Server. There is a Server Automation Task available to install WebSphere Application Server. Make this step dependent on step 1. This step runs in parallel with step 2.
4. Create a database on the computer on which you installed DB2.	Add a step to your Automation Plan to create the database for the DB2 installation in step 2. There is a Server Automation Task available to create the database. You make this step dependent on step 2.
5. Run a baseline on the computer on which WebSphere Application Server was installed in step 3.	Add a fifth step to your Automation Plan to include the baseline that you want to use to patch the computer. You then make this step dependent on step 3. This step runs in parallel with step 4.
6. Process the action.	Run the Automation Plan to perform the actions. The Automation Plan Engine processes the Automation Plan running some of the steps in parallel.