Microsoft System Center Introduction to Microsoft Automation Solutions

Mitch Tulloch · Rob Costello · Richard Maunsell

Dec 2014 · Microsoft Press

About this ebook

This book provides you with an introduction to the Microsoft automation solutions: Azure Automation and Service Management Automation. Throughout the chapters, the text explores these tools and how they can be used to meet the automation needs of your Microsoft Azure cloud solutions or your enterprise datacenter environments. We provide considerations on the features of each solution, and how they can be architected to fit your needs. Next, the text explores the interfaces you will use to interact with the solutions, including the web-based portals, Windows PowerShell command-line interaction, and programmatic access via the web services. The text then covers how you implement and manage automation using runbooks, assets, and Integration Modules, along with how you can use a source control system to manage runbook content. Finally, some examples of automation scenarios are discussed, providing you with samples that can be used to speed development in your own solution.

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About the author

Rod Costello is a Senior Consultant for Microsoft Consulting Services in Australia, with over 15 years of experience in the IT industry. He provides strategy and architecture leadership to Public Sector and Enterprise customers, as well as specializing in a wide range of on¿-premises and cloud¿-based Microsoft infrastructure technologies, including the Microsoft Azure platform and System Center suite. Rob leads large technical teams delivering complex programs of work and maintains a passion for delivering high¿-quality solutions to his customers.

Throughout his career, Rob has developed a love of automation technologies and seeks to use automation wherever possible to add value to his customer outcomes.

Richard Maunsell has been working with Microsoft technologies for the last 17 years. During this period, he has gained a deep insight into most aspects of Microsoft infrastructure products, deployment, and management. In recent years, this has evolved into automation of complex IT operations with various Microsoft toolsets and integration with other IT systems.

Mitch Tulloch is a well-known expert on Windows Server administration and virtualization. He has published hundreds of articles on a wide variety of technology sites and has written, contributed to, or been series editor for over 50 books. His free ebooks Introducing Windows Server 2012(Microsoft Press, 2012) and Introducing Windows Server 2012 R2 (Microsoft Press, 2013) have together been downloaded over a million and a quarter times! For a complete list of free ebooks from Microsoft Press, visit the Microsoft Virtual Academy at http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/ebooks.

Mitch has repeatedly received the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for his outstanding contributions to supporting the global IT community. He is a ten-time MVP in the technology area of Windows Server Software Packaging, Deployment & Servicing. You can find his MVP Profile page at http://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/mvp/Mitch%20Tulloch-21182.

Mitch is also Senior Editor of WServerNews, a weekly newsletter focused on system administration and security issues for the Windows Server platform. With almost 100,000 IT pro subscribers worldwide, WServerNews is the largest and oldest-running Windows Server—focused newsletter in the world. Visit http://www.wservernews.com and subscribe to WServerNews today!

Mitch runs an IT content development business based in Winnipeg, Canada, that produces white papers and other collateral for the business decision maker (BDM) and technical decision maker (TDM) audiences. His published content ranges from white papers about Microsoft cloud technologies to reviews of third-party products designed for the Windows Server platform. Before starting his own business in 1998, Mitch worked as a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) for Productivity Point.

For more information about Mitch, visit his website at http://www.mtit.com or follow Mitch on Twitter @mitchtulloch.