This post was written by Andrii Malinovskyi, one of the testers on our team. Thanks Andrii!
==============================================
Runbooks are imported from System Center Orchestrator using the Service Manager - Orchestrator Connector. When synchronization is complete, they will appear in the Library -> Runbooks view and corresponding status will be set for each Runbook showing whether it can be triggered or not. Here is a description of each status:
1. Active – Active is the default status of a Runbook that was successfully synchronized first time and was not changed since last synchronization. It can be triggered and used as part of a Service Manager Runbook Activity.
2. Invalid – Invalid is the status of a Runbook that has had the “contract” changed since last synchronization. Contract changed means that the parameter set for the Runbook was changed (e.g.: new parameter was added\removed or data type for the existing parameter was changed).
A Runbook with that status cannot be triggered. Such behavior is designed to prevent the Runbook from being incorrectly triggered. So, if the parameter set was changed in System Center Orchestrator, then most likely the Runbook needs to get different data from Service Manager. That means that the new Runbook Activity Work Item Template needs to be created, new mappings provided, etc.
3. Missing – Missing is the status of a Runbook that cannot be found by the Service Manager - Orchestrator Connector since last synchronization happened. That could be cause by (1) The Runbook was removed from System Center Orchestrator or (2) permissions were changed and the current Run As Account for the Service Manager - Orchestrator Connector does not have access to that Runbook.
4. Pending Delete – Runbooks will be marked with Pending Delete status if the Service Manager - Orchestrator Connector that brought that Runbooks was deleted.
Let’s take a look on possible status changes for Runbook:
Possible status transitions for Runbook:
|
Original status |
Destination status |
Action |
|
Active |
Connector was synchronized first time |
|
|
Active |
Missing |
Runbook was deleted from System Center Orchestrator or Read access to Runbook was removed for the connector’s Run As Account |
|
Active |
Invalid |
Runbook contract was changed since first synchronization |
|
Active |
Pending Delete |
Connector was deleted |
|
Invalid |
Active |
Parameter set was restored to the same as during initial synchronization |
|
Invalid |
Missing |
Runbook was deleted from System Center Orchestrator or Read access to Runbook was removed for the connector’s Run As Account |
|
Invalid |
Pending Delete |
Connector was deleted |
|
Missing |
Active |
Access to the Runbook was restored for the connector’s Run As Account |
|
Missing |
Invalid |
Runbook access was restored but contract was changed since first synchronization |
|
Missing |
Pending Delete |
Connector was deleted |
As shown above only “Pending Delete” status is the status that could not be reverted back to “Active” without importing Runbook with new connector.
What is the “Is Ready For Automation” Flag?
It’s a common question: When do I need to check the “Is Ready For Automation” option for Runbook Activity?
The answer will depend on what you are looking for. Let’s take a look at some common sample scenarios:
1. As an IT service provider you are going to provide a “Request Virtual Machine” request offering. So the environment is ready, Runbook has been imported via the Service Manager - Orchestrator Connector and you are going to create a Runbook Activity work item template which will be included as part of the Service Request template. In this case, you may check the “Is Ready For Automation” option. This will allow the Runbook Activity to be triggered when the Service Request is created and the Runbook Activity becomes In Progress.
2. You have the same scenario as in the previous step, but you don’t want the VMs to be created right after service request will be submitted and the Runbook Activity becomes In Progress. There could be several reasons for that (e.g.: VMM infrastructure is not ready yet, or you need to add more capacity, etc.), but nevertheless you don’t show that to the consumer of your service and want to let them request service from self-portal during this time. In this case you may leave the “Is Ready For Automation” option unchecked. You may also uncheck this option for an existing activity within a Service Request template. This will allow Service Requests to be submitted and Runbooks will not be triggered unless you go to the Runbook Activity instance and check that option manually in Work Items->Activity Management->Runbook Automation Activities.
3. If you would like to take a look at a Runbook Activity before it is triggered and review \ change some input parameters you can leave the “Is Ready For Automation” option unchecked.
So, as you can see, there are several cases when this option could be used and each time you need to take a look at the particular results you want to accomplish with the Runbook Activity and the “Is Ready For Automation” option and make a decision whether it should to be selected or not.