Method and System for Automation Tool Set for Server Maintenance Actions

Abstract

Embodiments of a system, methods, and other techniques and configurations for automation of computing system maintenance activities such as reboots, software installations, re-configuration, or other actions are generally described herein. In an example, an automation tool set is designed to integrate with an organization Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and other orchestration or information technology (IT) management tools to perform such maintenance actions. The automation tool set may enable and manage various forms of a workflow for maintenance actions, including a workflow designed to validate all necessary pre- and post-reboot checks, perform logging, event tracking, exception handling, notifications, incidents creation, trend analysis, customized reporting dashboards, and system adaptation. In further examples, the automation tool set may expose user interfaces, reports, and other management interfaces for control and monitoring of the workflows.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer system comprising:
 at least one processor; and   memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computer system to perform operations, the operations comprising:   identifying a maintenance action to be performed on a target computing device, wherein the maintenance action comprises a reboot of an operating system of the target computing device;   determining operational states of a plurality of services that are available to restart operating on the target computing device prior to the reboot;   initiating the maintenance action on the target computing device, including the reboot; and   verifying after reboot the operational states of the plurality of services that are available to restart.   
     
     
         2 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the maintenance action is specified in a maintenance action specification stored in a repository. 
     
     
         3 . The computer system of  claim 2 , further comprising obtaining an approval condition to proceed with initiating the maintenance action, further wherein the step of automatically initiating the maintenance action occurs upon obtaining the approval condition. 
     
     
         4 . The computer system of  claim 3 , wherein the approval condition is specified by an administrator. 
     
     
         5 . The computer system of  claim 4 , wherein the repository further tracks the approval condition, the operations further comprising:
 obtaining an approval command from the administrator, received via a user interface, to proceed with performance of the maintenance action.   
     
     
         6 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the reboot restarts the operating system of the target computing device after installation of a software update on the operating system of the target computing device. 
     
     
         7 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the maintenance action is performed as part of a maintenance workflow enacted by an automation tool set, wherein workflow specifications for the maintenance workflow are provided in a repository, and wherein the maintenance workflow includes event tracking for the maintenance action, exception handling for the maintenance action, and notification regarding a status of the maintenance action. 
     
     
         8 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein verifying the operational states of the plurality of services after the reboot comprises determining a failure of the maintenance action with at least one service of the target computing device and performing remediation on the at least one service. 
     
     
         9 . The computer system of  claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
 generating data to output a status report of the maintenance action indicating the operational states of the plurality of services after performance of the maintenance action.   
     
     
         10 . A method comprising:
 identifying, on a first computing device, a maintenance action to be performed on a target computing device, wherein the maintenance action comprises a reboot of an operating system of the target computing device, and wherein the maintenance action to be performed is specified in maintenance action specifications;   determining, on the first computing device, operational states of a plurality of services that are available to restart operating on the target computing device prior to the reboot;   initiating, from the first computing device, the maintenance action on the target computing device, including the reboot; and   verifying, on the first computing device, the operational states of the plurality of services that are available to restart after reboot.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the maintenance action is specified in a maintenance action specification stored in a repository. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising obtaining an approval condition to proceed with initiating the maintenance action, further wherein the step of initiating, from the first computing device, the maintenance action occurs upon obtaining the approval condition. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the approval condition is specified by an administrator. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the reboot restarts the operating system of the target computing device after installation of a software update on the operating system of the target computing device. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the maintenance action is performed as part of a maintenance workflow enacted by an automation tool set, wherein workflow specifications for the maintenance workflow are provided in a repository, and wherein the maintenance workflow includes event tracking for the maintenance action, exception handling for the maintenance action, and notification regarding a status of the maintenance action. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein verifying the operational states of the plurality of services after the reboot comprises determining a failure of the maintenance action with at least one service of the target computing device and performing remediation on the at least one service. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 populating configuration management information regarding the target computing device, obtained from multiple configuration data sources, in a centralized repository, wherein the maintenance action is customized to the target computing device based on the configuration management information, and wherein the maintenance action specifications includes the configuration management information;   wherein the multiple configuration data sources include at least one of: a configuration management database (CMDB), a System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), a System Center Service Manager (SCSM), an Active Directory server, a System Center Operations Manager (SCOM), or a System Center Orchestrator (SCORCH) runbook.   
     
     
         18 . A method performed by an automation tool set comprising programming operating on at least one computer system, the method comprising:
 identifying, using the automation tool set, a plurality of servers requiring maintenance including a reboot operation, wherein each of the plurality of servers operate a plurality of services;   verifying, using the automation tool set, an operational state for a plurality of services that are available to restart on the plurality of servers;   initiating, using the automation tool set, the reboot operation for the plurality of servers after the verifying step; and   after rebooting the plurality of servers, determining, using the automation tool set, the operational states of the plurality of services that are available to restart on each of the plurality of servers.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 performing, based on a detection of a failure operational state in the determining step, a remedial action to restart a particular service on a particular server.