1. Workflow Automation 1.1 feature overview
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2. Agenda Workflow Automation (WFA) Overview What is WFA? Why use WFA?
WFA Capabilities
Workflow Automation 1.1 Feature overview

3. What is Workflow Automation?
A framework
Create automated tasks in a consistent way
“Orchestrator Lite”
An operations portal
Click to perform common tasks
Provide self-service if you like
A point of integration
Provide web services for use by higher-order systems

4. The Motivation for Automation
Identified Gaps
Processes are mostly manual, with many steps and ad-hoc decisions
Customers look to automate processes using their own unique settings
Many storage processes include non-storage (non-ONTAP) components
Storage teams do not have programming skill sets
Many operators are not storage experts
Goals
Create an extendable storage automation platform
Allow easy creation of custom workflows
Make workflow execution simple and accessible
(naming standards, options, best practices)
(VM, tickets, storage switches, etc.)
complexity into simple defined
workflows that can be executed by 3rd parties
with limited knowledge
Vendor based products often can’t cater for every use case

5. What Can You Do With WFA?
Automation of operational storage tasks for repeatable automatic execution
Create volumes, qtrees, shares, etc.
Dynamically allocate resources according to a plan
Make calls to other services and systems (e.g. VMware)
Define templates which can be implemented as policies.
Integrate with OnCommand Provisioning and Protection manager - “Storage Catalog” if required
Customization effort is the limit

6. Workflow Automation 1.1 feature list
WFA 1.1 release has the following list of new features. We will walk through each of these features in this presentation
Parallel Execution of Workflows
Resource Reservation
Looping in Workflows
Workflow Approval
Authorization for Workflows
Visualization Enhancements
Cluster Mode Support
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7. Workflow Automation 1.1 Features , Contd…
Visualization Enhancements
Cluster Mode Support
Cache, Dictionary, Commands, Filters Finders & Sample Workflows
Perl support for writing commands
SNMP Alerts
Upgrade contents
Migration process support
Qualify ONTAP versions and platforms
Online Help/contextual help
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8. Pre-defined Workflow Automation Content
The Workflow Automation installation comes with a feature rich set of pre-defined components.
Example Workflows:
Examples of the most common workflows. Only minor edits required for a ‘custom fit’
Certified Building Blocks:
Tested and Supported components used to create workflows
Identified by a
Intent:
Provide samples & examples as part of the product
Enable automation as part of the WFA installation
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9. Workflow Automation 1.1 features in details
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10. Parallel workflow execution
Execute more than one workflow at a time
Supports related and unrelated workflows
Resource Reservation
Facilitates separation between workflow planning and actual execution
Ensures planned resources availability for actual execution
Accounts for multiple scheduled workflows to complete successfully.
Consistent previews with what is actually provisioned.
Starting 1.1 release, we support execution of two workflows in parallel even if they are unrelated .. This is an enhancement that will support ondemand and scheduled plans execution for specific workloads
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11. WFA 1.1 : Parallel Execution

12. NetApp Confidential - Internal Use Only
Looping in Workflow
Main goal is to provide flexibility for implementing complicated scenario's
Repeat a row execution for “n” number of times
Example scenario: Create a vol & 6 qtrees from “qtree01 to qtree06”
Dynamic number of iterations
Example scenario: Create a number of LUNs according to a total size needed and a max size per LUN
With Looping feature , a storage architect or an expert will have the capability to implement complicated scenarios in a relatively simple way that is not hardcoded into the commands.
Loop variables is basically a list which allows defining variables that can be manipulated during the loop iterations .. The list contains the following fields for every variable:
Name – the variable’s name
Initial value – the value that this variable will be initialized with.
Expression – an mvel expression that will be evaluated after every iteration of the loop.
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13. WFA 1.1 : Looping & Dynamic iterations

14. Approval process for workflows
This feature will allow incremental workflow execution based on certain conditions. Examples of these conditions would be :
Time passes
Response from an higher order system , say an Orchestrator software
Upon validation from the first section of the workflow
This feature will enable
Resume execution after
Failure/Abort/Cancel
Commenting/approval notes an execution.
Re scheduled execution
This provides control to Architect or an Operator to set specific approval points before completing a action . By enabling this feature , Commands in a workflow can be set to “Wait for Approval” before execution. When the workflow execution engine reaches such a command, the execution halts and enters a “Waiting for Approval” status.
Architect can insert Approval Point into the workflow. They affect only the execution plan by changing the steps order and insert “Waiting for Approval” marks.
There is no limitation to the number of Approval Points
This allows the Operator to resume paused, aborted, cancelled or failed executions.
Workflow Execution status history is persisted and available to the Operator with key information such as time of change, user, and comments. Operator can see when and why execution was paused or resumed etc.
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15. WFA 1.1 : Approval Support for conditional execution

16. Authorization for workflows
Provides RBAC like capabilities
To support Authorization for workflows, categories will be added.
Enables self service model where specific operators are assigned to relevant categories
Only Architect or Admin will be able to:
Define categories
Assign workflow to categories (0 or more)
Define if a category is used to enables/disable access control or not (RBAC)
Assign operators to categories. (Only relevant when a category is used for RBAC)
In general, Authorization provides more control and facilitates Role based access like capabilities for environments which are self service based ( completely automated ) .. In order to support Authorization for workflows we will use the categories ..
Operators access to workflows will be limited according to the categories definition ..
Categories can be defined for 2 purposes ..
Firstly, To effect the way workflows are grouped in the execution portal
Second, In case a category is used for RBAC, the categories will also be used to limit execution and viewing rights of Operators
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17. WFA 1.1 : Categories

18. Enhanced Visualization
Orchestrator like view for workflow execution
Graphical representation with color coded progression.
Enables more visualized user friendly views for workflow progression.
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19. WFA 1.1 : Enhanced Visualization

20. Cluster Mode ( C Mode) Support
Cluster Mode support in WFA includes
Cache – Acquiring cache/inventory data on c-mode specific objects such as vserver etc.
Dictionary – Defining dictionary objects needed for c-mode command-mapping and finders.
Commands – Defining c-mode specific commands such as “create vserver” and “volume move” as well as redefining 7-mode commands so they can work in a c-mode cluster.
Cluster Mode ( C Mode) implementation assures
The new c-mode content doesn’t break existing 7-mode workflows.
C-Mode and 7-Mode workflows can co-exist in a single WFA installation.
A single workflow is able to use both 7-mode and c-mode commands.
WFA 1.1 provides a new and separate set of definitions (dictionary-entries, cache-tables, commands etc) for cluster mode support ..
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21. WFA 1.1 : Cluster Mode Support

22. WFA 1.1 support – Perl , SNMP & Online Help
Perl support for writing commands
Validation for User Inputs
SNMP Alerts
Migration process support
Qualify ONTAP versions and platforms
Online Help/contextual help
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23. Where to go for more information?
The WFA community site provides a wealth of information about the product including:
Product brief
Presentations
Product demos
Documentation
Sample workflows
For more information contact the following:
Prakash Subramanian – Product Manager
Kevin Hill – MEI Solutions Architect
Yaron Haimsohn - MEI Solutions Architect
Vishwas H V – TME
Dave Boon - MEI Solutions Architect
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