NetApp OnCommand Workflow Automation
Automate Storage Processes

Get one-click self-service and cloud service delivery with OnCommand Workflow Automation.

Improve productivity in your organization by automating repeatable manual storage-management processes. Use OnCommand Workflow Automation to construct, customize, publish, and activate a broad range of storage workflows.

You can:

• Provision, clone, migrate, or decommission storage for databases or file systems.
• Set up a new virtualization environment, including a storage switch or datastore.
• Set up virtual or cloud storage for an application as part of an end-to-end orchestration process.
• Set up FlexPod for virtual desktops.
• Perform storage cloning.
• Conduct a centralized NetApp SnapManager software activation.
• Enable self-service, storage as a service, and more with faster delivery of new standard and custom storage services.
• Deploy Software Defined Storage (SDS) for your Software Defined Data Center (SDDC).

OnCommand Workflow Automation enables one-click automation and deployment of applications, including VMware, Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, Citrix, and others. Reduce the cost of your storage management while enabling the use of best practices—choose OnCommand Workflow Automation.

OnCommand Workflow Automation is a software solution that offers "one-click" automation for key storage processes. You can automate storage management tasks such as storage provisioning, migration, decommissioning, and cloning. You can use WFA to build workflows that do exactly what your processes require. It provides a robust workflow design interface and a rich set of predefined content to simplify the workflow development process. There is also a significant amount of content available for download from the NetApp OnCommand Workflow Automation Community site, which can be customized to meet your requirements.

Workflow Automation comes with predefined, supported base building blocks, including the ability to customize and extend the system to suit specific needs. It also features a web service API to allow WFA workflows to be triggered from virtually any enterprise orchestration application. Workflows are made available through a web services interface for use by vCO and vCAC by using representational state transfer (REST) protocol requests. The workflow package described in this document provides integration between WFA, vCO, and vCAC, allowing for WFA workflows to be called by vCO or vCAC.

Workflow Automation relies on OnCommand Unified Manager (OCUM) to maintain status information about the storage infrastructure—available storage controllers, the presence and state of aggregates, volumes, and so on— and the allocation of storage into resource pools. Workflow Automation collects this data from OCUM and stores it in a local cache on a regular basis. Workflow Automation can also collect and make use of data from vCenter and VMware vCloud Director.

At its core, OnCommand Workflow Automation is a software solution that helps automation of storage management tasks such as provisioning, migration, decommissioning, and cloning storage. You can use WFA to build workflows to complete tasks specified by your processes.

A workflow is a repetitive and procedural task that consists of sequential steps, including the following types of tasks:

• Provisioning, migrating, or decommissioning storage for databases or file systems
• Setting up a new virtualization environment, including storage switches and datastores
• Setting up storage for an application as part of an end-to-end orchestration process

Storage architects can define workflows to follow best practices and meet organizational requirements, such as the following:

Using Required Naming Conventions

• Setting unique options for storage objects
• Selecting resources
• Integrating internal configuration management database (CMDB) and ticketing applications

OnCommand Workflow Automation Features

WFA includes the following features:

• Designer portal to build workflows. The designer portal includes several building blocks such as commands, templates, finders, filters, and functions that are used to create workflows. The designer enables workflows to include advanced capabilities such as automated resource selection, row repetition (looping), and approval points.
• Execution portal to execute workflows, verify status of workflow execution, and access logs.
• Administration portal for tasks such as setting up WFA, connecting to data sources, and configuring user credentials.
• Web services interfaces to invoke workflows from external portals and data center orchestration software.