The scenario-based automation tool for your infrastructure
Architectures deployed in the cloud are rarely static. They change and adapt depending on circumstances, and business needs. As a result, industrialising these scaling changes has become a necessity, to maintain quality and efficiency throughout the entire application lifecycle. With Workflow Management, you can automate backups, power machines on and off in certain time windows, and even resize a cluster during traffic spikes.
Automated backup
Backups are of vital importance, and are undoubtedly one of the first factors that should be taken into account when we consider automating an infrastructure. OVHcloud has simplified the setup of backup scenarios, by making them directly accessible via the OVHcloud Control Panel.
Task scheduler
The system can work as a task scheduler, similarly to how cron works as a job scheduler in Linux. Once the workflow (or scenario) has been defined, the service will manage its execution. Whether it is a basic API call that can be completed in a few seconds, or a logistical chain of tasks that requires several hours to complete, Workflow Management will take care of it.
Triggers for condition-based scenarios
You can define scenarios to be launched, as well as the conditions for execution, on the basis of the “if this, then that” principle. The trigger can be a timestamp, or an external request (an API call) that will begin verifying the programmed conditions.
Complexity automation
Scenarios can include a high number of tasks when the complexity to manage is high. Workflow Management manages this cascade of operations in order to compartmentalise executions. This means you can automate several hundred actions, like complex update processes.
Usage
Define a workflow in a YAML file
...
tasks:
create_server:
action: nova.servers_create
input:
name: <% $.vm_name %>
image: <% $.image_ref %>
flavor: <% $.flavor_ref %>
...
on-success:
- wait_for_instance
wait_for_instance:
action: nova.servers_find id={{ _.vm_id }} status='ACTIVE' action_region=<% $.region %>
...
publish:
vm_status: "{{ task().result.status }}"
Create your workflow
openstack workflow create workflow.yaml
Schedule an execution
openstack cron trigger create --count 3 --pattern '*/2 * * * *' \
trigger01 create_vm '{"vm_name": "foobar", \
"image_ref": "Debian 9", "flavor_ref": "b2-30"}'
Features
Run several workflows simultaneously
To speed up the execution of certain scenarios, you can multiply the workers, and run several tasks at once as a result.
Manage dependencies
The task chain can be subject to dependency rules, to validate that they are being executed properly, or to ensure everything is in sync before the next task is carried out.
Triggering of external HTTP/HTTPS calls
On top of being able to manage all of the OpenStack resources via APIs, Workflow Management can also trigger external calls.
Compliance
Our cloud infrastructures and services are ISO/IEC 27001, 27017, 27018 and 27701 certified. With our health data hosting compliance*, you can host French healthcare data securely.
* Coming soon
Workflow Management billing
Workflows and executions are free. Only the cloud resources generated (instances, volumes, etc.) are billed at their standard pricing.
Other products
Your questions answered
What is cloud orchestration?
Orchestration is the automation of tasks that would usually be performed manually by an operator. It offers many advantages, including systematisation, automatic event triggering, time saving, and more. Orchestration tools can be manipulated by code or via a graphical interface.
Why is orchestration important for the cloud?
Actions on services and infrastructure tend to multiply quickly, and they require advanced management. Scripting cloud resource management involves gathering all of the conditions and actions required to make a change on the cloud platform. Orchestration simplifies cloud service management, and makes it more responsive.