Azure Automation continues to evolve as a robust platform to address the dynamic needs of modern enterprises. In alignment with our commitment to provide business continuity and enhance security of our customers, we are pleased to announce a series of powerful releases. These enhancements are aimed at enabling you to retain and manage PowerShell and Python scripts on the platform over a long-term, thereby reinforcing Azure Automation’s position as a trusted service.
What's new?
- General Availability of PowerShell 7.4 and Python 3.10 runtime versions.
- Runtime Environment (GA), offering seamless modernization of outdated scripts to supported runtime versions.
- Support for Azure CLI commands in PowerShell runbooks (GA).
These new capabilities bring tangible benefits that help you to operate more securely, efficiently, and at scale.
Key Benefits
🔄Stay Current
Run your automation on the latest, supported runtime versions and improve security, performance, and compatibility with the broader Azure ecosystem.
⚡ Faster Runbook Upgrades with Runtime Environment
Runtime Environment feature makes it easy to upgrade your existing runbooks to newer language versions without rewriting them. You can test and validate scripts in a controlled environment before switching to production, hence minimizing downtime and reducing operational risk. You can keep pace with the release cycles of PowerShell and Python while maintaining business continuity.
⏪ Rollback capability
Using Runtime environment, you can quickly revert to a previous language version in case a runbook upgrade introduces issues or unexpected behavior. This gives you the confidence to modernize your scripts while maintaining a safety net.
🎛️ Granular Control Over Execution Environment
You now have fine-grained control over the script execution environment and can easily configure the runtime language, its version, and dependent modules using Runtime environment. This flexibility allows you to tailor each environment to its specific requirements and ensure predictable, consistent execution every time.
🗂️ Efficient Code Organization
Runtime environment eliminates the pain point of managing conflicting module versions in the same Automation account. You no longer need to create multiple Automation accounts just to isolate runbooks that require different module versions. This simplifies governance and significantly reduces administrative overhead.
🌐 Expanded Automation Capabilities with Azure CLI
You can now seamlessly integrate Azure CLI commands into your PowerShell runbooks, unlocking scenarios that previously required separate tooling. This gives you the best of both worlds and more flexibility to automate management of Azure resources.
🌎 Cross-Platform Orchestration
Azure Automation is not limited to Azure - you can orchestrate workflows across on-premises, Azure, and other public clouds. This makes Azure Automation the best-in-class platform for infrastructure management in an adaptive cloud.
Resources:
Azure Automation runbook types | Microsoft Learn
Upgrade runbook to latest language version
Create PowerShell runbooks with Azure CLI commands
Note:
PowerShell 7.1 and 7.2 and Python 2.7 and 3.8 runtime versions are announced retired by parent platforms PowerShell and Python respectively. We strongly recommend upgrading outdated runbooks to latest supported language versions using Runtime environment.
For any questions or feedback, please reach out to askazureautomation@microsoft.com
Microsoft