Runbooks

Runbooks in Ctrlplane are a specialized type of deployment designed to automate common tasks and workflows that are not necessarily tied to specific environments. Think of runbooks as your automated playbooks for operational procedures, incident response, maintenance tasks, and other recurring activities.

Key Characteristics

• Environment Agnostic: Unlike deployments, runbooks do not directly interact with environments. They focus on executing specific tasks or workflows independently.
• Flexible Triggers: Runbooks can be triggered in multiple ways:
  • Manually: Through the Ctrlplane UI or API.
  • API: Programmatically from external systems or scripts.
  • Scheduled: On a predefined schedule (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly).
• Reusable Workflows: Runbooks can encapsulate complex workflows, making them easy to reuse and share across different contexts.

Use Cases

Runbooks are ideal for a variety of scenarios, including:

• Incident Response: Automate troubleshooting steps, data collection, and communication during incidents.
• Maintenance Tasks: Schedule routine tasks like backups, log rotations, and system health checks.
• Operational Procedures: Automate repetitive manual tasks like user provisioning, database maintenance, or infrastructure updates.
• Testing and Validation: Trigger automated tests and validation suites on demand or on a schedule.

How Runbooks Work

• Creation: Runbooks are created similarly to deployments, defining the workflows to be executed.
• Trigger Configuration: You configure the triggers for each runbook, specifying whether it should be triggered manually, via API, or on a schedule.
• Workflow Execution: When a runbook is triggered, Ctrlplane executes the associated workflows, performing the defined actions.

Key Points

• Runbooks are versatile tools for automating a wide range of tasks.
• Runbooks are not tied to specific environments, giving you more flexibility in their use.
• Runbooks can be triggered manually, via API, or on a schedule.