Welcome to the world of Automatron – a framework designed to help you automate the monitoring and management of your infrastructure systems. This blog post will walk you through how to create self-healing infrastructure using Automatron, making your life easier and your systems more robust.

What is Automatron?

Automatron is an innovative framework that detects system events and takes actions to correct them automatically. Imagine having a digital assistant that not only monitors your work environment but also resolves issues before they become significant problems. Whether it’s sending an alert email or restarting services across multiple hosts, Automatron handles a variety of tasks with ease.

Key Features of Automatron

• Automatically detects and adds new systems to monitor
• Executes monitoring over SSH and is completely agent-less
• Policy-based Runbooks for monitoring rather than server-specific configurations
• Supports Nagios compliant health check scripts
• Allows execution of arbitrary shell commands for checks and actions
• Runbook flexibility with Jinja2 templating support
• Pluggable architecture that simplifies customization

Understanding Runbooks

The core functionality of Automatron revolves around Runbooks. Think of Runbooks as the instruction manuals for your automated system. They specify health checks and the corresponding actions to take when an issue is detected. The magic of Automatron lies in its ability to perform these actions without human intervention.

Creating Your First Runbook

Let’s start by creating a straightforward Runbook that checks whether NGINX is running and restarts it if it isn’t. Below is an example of a basic Runbook:

yaml+jinja
name: Check NGINX
schedule: *2 * * * *
checks:
  nginx_is_running:
    execute_from: target
    type: cmd
    cmd: service nginx status
actions:
  restart_nginx:
    execute_from: target
    trigger: 2
    frequency: 300
    call_on:
      - WARNING
      - CRITICAL
      - UNKNOWN
    type: cmd
    cmd: service nginx restart

This Runbook checks the status of NGINX every two minutes. If it detects that NGINX is down after two unsuccessful checks, it will automatically restart it. The delay of 5 minutes between actions allows sufficient time for NGINX to restart properly.

Enhancing Your Runbook with Jinja2

Now let’s create a more complex Runbook using Jinja2 templating and Automatron’s Facts. This will allow us to customize the schedule based on server characteristics:

yaml+jinja
name: Check NGINX
% if prod in facts[hostname] %
schedule: second: *20
% else %
schedule: *2 * * * *
% endif %
checks:
  nginx_is_running:
    execute_from: target
    type: cmd
    cmd: service nginx status
actions:
  restart_nginx:
    execute_from: target
    trigger: 2
    frequency: 300
    call_on:
      - WARNING
      - CRITICAL
      - UNKNOWN
    type: cmd
    cmd: service nginx restart
  remove_from_dns:
    execute_from: remote
    trigger: 0
    frequency: 0
    call_on:
      - WARNING
      - CRITICAL
      - UNKNOWN
    type: plugin
    plugin: cloudflaredns.py
    args: remove test@example.com apikey123 example.com --content facts[network][eth0][v4][0]

In this enhanced version, if the target server’s hostname contains “prod,” the check will run every 20 seconds. Otherwise, it will run every 2 minutes, providing flexibility for different environments. Additionally, a new action will remove the server’s DNS entry if it encounters issues, demonstrating the powerful automation capabilities of Automatron.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

While Automatron simplifies many processes, users may encounter some common issues when setting up their Runbooks. Here are some tips to troubleshoot problems:

• Ensure that you have the correct permissions to execute commands on the target servers over SSH.
• Check for syntax errors in your YAML configurations; improper indentation or spacing can lead to runtime errors.
• Consult the logs to identify what went wrong during your automated actions.
• Test your commands manually in the terminal to verify they work as expected before implementing them in Runbooks.

For more insights, updates, or to collaborate on AI development projects, stay connected with fxis.ai.

Conclusion

With Automatron, you can create a reliable self-healing infrastructure that minimizes downtime and automates routine tasks effortlessly. By defining your own Runbooks, you can ensure that your systems stay up and running, leaving you with more time to focus on important projects.

At fxis.ai, we believe that such advancements are crucial for the future of AI, as they enable more comprehensive and effective solutions. Our team is continually exploring new methodologies to push the envelope in artificial intelligence, ensuring that our clients benefit from the latest technological innovations.

Get Started Now!

Begin your journey with Automatron today and watch your infrastructure become self-healing! Happy automating!