Authoring Automation Runbooks

 

Updated: May 13, 2016

Applies To: Windows Azure Pack for Windows Server, System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator

Runbooks in Service Management Automation and Microsoft Azure Automation are Windows PowerShell workflows. They provide the ability to automate administrative processes for managing and deploying cloud servers or any other function that a Windows PowerShell script can perform.

There is no difference in the runbooks between the two systems, and the same runbook can run on either with identical functionality. When the term Automation is used in this guide, it refers to both Service Management Automation and Microsoft Azure Automation.

The additional services provided by Automation for working with Windows PowerShell Workflows include the following:

  • Centralized storage and management of runbooks.

  • Scalable architecture for scheduling and running runbooks.

  • Global resources that are centrally managed and available to all runbooks.

  • User interface for authoring and testing runbooks.

  • Set of cmdlets for managing and starting runbooks.

Runbook Authoring Topics

The following topics provide information on creating and working with Automation runbooks.

See Also

Service Management Automation
Runbook Operations