Run your first runbook

If you are using Runbook Automation for the first time, it is recommended to load example runbooks and then edit and publish a runbook. For more information, see Load and reset example runbooks and Edit a runbook.

  1. Click the navigation icon at the upper-left corner of the screen to go to the main navigation menu.

  2. In the main navigation menu, click Operate > Automations.

  3. Click Runbooks.

    The Library tab is displayed by default.

  4. Select a runbook and click the menu overflow icon (the three dots at the end of the row) and select Preview to find out what a runbook consists of:

    • Procedure:

      The Procedure section displays the runbook steps. For more information about the runbook elements, see Edit a runbook.

    • Information:

      The information tab provides descriptive details of the runbook and contains the following fields:

      • Description: shows a description of the runbook.
      • Runbook ID: ID of the runbook which can be used to identify the runbook using the Runbook Automation HTTP REST Interface.
      • Created by: the user who created the runbook.
      • Last modified at: the date and time the runbook was last modified.
      • Last modified by: the user who last modified the runbook.
      • Type: indicates the runbook type, that is manual, semi-automated, or fully automated.
      • Tags: categorization tags associated with the runbook.

    • Versions:

      Shows all draft, published, and archived versions of the runbook. You can also see the user that created each version and the creation date.

  5. Back on the main Runbooks page, select one of the runbooks and click Run.

  6. The Run runbook page opens, which consists of a procedure description on the left side of the window and a Details and Information section on the right. Details contains the following collapsible sections:

    • Parameters – displays a list of the parameters used.
    • Actions – displays a list of the actions used.

  7. In the parameters section you are requested to enter parameter values. Click the information icon to see a description and a reference to where this parameter is used within the runbook. Enter the parameter values, for example host1 for the parameter HOSTNAME and click Start runbook.

    Note:

    • In some cases, you might not know the parameter value when starting the Runbook. For example, the parameter could be determined by a runbook step during the runbook execution. In this scenario, as soon as the parameter value is known, go back to the parameter section and enter the parameter value. To apply the value click Update parameters. The Update parameters button is only displayed if the parameter value has been entered.
    • In any step of a runbook, you can select the parameter section of the runbook in the Details on the right of the window. You might need to first expand the section if it is collapsed. The parameter can then be changed to a new value. To apply the new value click Update parameters (the Update parameters button is only displayed if the parameter value has been changed). As soon as a parameter has been used by a Runbook step, it cannot be changed.

  8. Click Start runbook.

  9. Follow the instructions in the runbook and proceed to the next step by clicking Next step.

  10. If the step contains a command, use the Copy button within a command to copy the command to your clipboard. Open a command-line window and paste the command.

  11. If the step contains an action, click on the action and select Run to run the action. Note: If running the action is not appropriate in the particular situation, then you can also choose to proceed without selecting Run. If you select Run, the action output is displayed in a text box. If an action produces JSON output, the JSON document is automatically formatted for better readability. Select More info to see description, parameter values, and type information.

    If conditional branching has been configured for this action step, then the label of the Next step button is updated to include the target step number, and the related tooltip provides additional information. For more information, see Conditional branching.

    If the type of action is "Client-side", then the label of the Run button is replaced with Launch. Clicking this button launches the URL from the Client-side action in a new browser tab. You can review the resulting URL in the action output area and launch it again by clicking the displayed URL hyperlink.

  12. You can pause or cancel the runbook by clicking Pause or Cancel. Pause temporarily suspends the execution of the runbook. You can pick up later from where you left off. You can use Pause to handle long running actions, for example actions that take longer than 10 minutes. The actions that are in progress continue while you pause the runbook. If you cancel the runbook you are prompted to select a reason. This feedback is helpful to the author of the runbook.

  13. After you completed all steps, click Complete at the end of the runbook. Provide a rating, a comment (both optional), and a final assessment of the runbook. You are taken back to the Library page.

  14. The Activities tab provides the Runbook activities table. Here you can find all the runbooks that were executed with information such as Status, Start time, Version, Comments, and if the runbook is automated. Filters such as user, runbook status, runbook type and runbook name can be applied. For more information, see Activities.