Querying against an Azure SQL Database using Azure Automation Part 1

5th of July, 2018 / / 1 Comment

What if you wanted to leverage Azure automation to analyse database entries and send some statistics or even reports on a daily or weekly basis?
Well why would you want to do that?

  • On demand compute:
    • You may not have access to a physical server. Or your computer isn’t powerful enough to handle huge data processing. Or you would definitely do not want to wait in the office for the task to complete before leaving on a Friday evening.
… [Keep reading] “Querying against an Azure SQL Database using Azure Automation Part 1”

Major Incident Management – Inputs and Outputs

7th of June, 2018 / / No Comments

Definition

A major incident is an incident that results in significant disruption to the business and demands a response beyond the routine incident management process.
The Major Incident Management Process applies globally to all Customers and includes Incidents resulting in a service outage.  This process is triggered by Incidents directly raised by Users or via referral from the Event Management Process, which are classified as Major Incidents in the Incident Management Process by the Service Desk.… [Keep reading] “Major Incident Management – Inputs and Outputs”

Cloud Operations Model and Project Stream – Considerations

2nd of June, 2018 / / No Comments

Background

Cloud operations stream is responsible for designing and operation of the cloud model for the project and BAU activities. This stream is primarily responsible for people, process, tools and information. The model can change as the organisation’s requirements and type of business.  

Aspects – Cloud Operations Model

Below is an example of key aspects that we need to consider when defining Cloud Operations Model.
aspects 2.jpg

Cloud Operations Stream  – High Level Approach

Below is an example model for how to track a cloud program operationally.… [Keep reading] “Cloud Operations Model and Project Stream – Considerations”

ITSM – Service Catalogue – Summary

22nd of May, 2018 / / No Comments

Definition

  • The Service Catalogue represents a trusted record of the services provided by Information Technology (IT), its default capabilities, measures and primary means of access and provision.
  • It is the means by which we articulate WHAT we manage and measure. It is the hidden power of how we set the customer’s expectations and exceed them.
  • It can provide an essential medium for communication and coordination among IT and its customers, and should distinguish between Business Customers (the ones paying for the service) and End Users (the recipient of the service).
… [Keep reading] “ITSM – Service Catalogue – Summary”

ITSM – Continual Service Improvement (CSI) – All you need to know

11th of May, 2018 / / No Comments

Why Continual Service Improvement (CSI) is Required?

  • The goal of Continual Service Improvement (CSI) is to align and realign IT Services to changing business needs by identifying and implementing improvements to the IT services that support Business Processes.
  • The perspective of CSI on improvement is the business perspective of service quality, even though CSI aims to improve process effectiveness, efficiency and cost effectiveness of the IT processes through the whole life-cycle.
  • To manage improvement, CSI should clearly define what should be controlled and measured.
… [Keep reading] “ITSM – Continual Service Improvement (CSI) – All you need to know”

Defining IT Strategy

9th of May, 2018 / / No Comments

Information Technology (IT) Strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines how technology should be used to meet IT and business goals.

The following approach can be used to define your organisation’s IT Strategy.

Inputs:

  1. Organisational Business Priorities
  2. Organisational Key Behaviours
  3. How Business will be Supported by IT
  4. Technology Influences
  5. IT Strategic Principles
  6. IT Service Management Operating Principles

First of all, in order to define an IT Strategy, we need to obtain the above inputs (as much as possible).… [Keep reading] “Defining IT Strategy”

Continual Service Improvement Roadmap – Operations – How it can be done

21st of March, 2018 / / No Comments

Step 1: Current State Assessment – People, Process and Technology
Step 2: Gather Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)
Step 3: Gap Analysis – Comparing with Target State/Aspirations
Step 4: Recommendation and Next Steps
Step 5: Continual Service Improvement Roadmap
——————————————————————————–
Example: Step 1 – Current State SWOT Analysis
Analyse the current state – SWOT, include all the data in the category below. This will help to compare the target state outcomes.
1.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
 
Example: Step 2 – Target State
Obtain the target state outcomes and aspirations from the organisation/department that you are analysing.… [Keep reading] “Continual Service Improvement Roadmap – Operations – How it can be done”

Patching LINUX EC2 through SSM

23rd of January, 2018 / / 5 Comments

This blog deals with configuring patches for Linux EC2 instances through AWS Systems Manager (SSM).
Mentioned below is the link for patching Windows-based EC2 instances using SSM
https://blog.kloud.com.au/2017/05/08/patching-ec2-through-ssm/
The configuration has three major sections

  • EC2 instance configuration for patching
  • Default Patching Baseline Configuration
  • Maintenance Window configuration.

1 Instance Configuration

We will start with the First section which is configuring the Instances to be patched. This requires the following tasks.

  1. Create Amazon EC2 Role for patching with two policies attached
    • AmazonEC2RoleForSSM
    • AmazonSSMFullAccess
  2. Assign Roles to the EC2 Instances
  3. Configure Tags to ensure patching in groups.
… [Keep reading] “Patching LINUX EC2 through SSM”

Update FSTAB on multiple EC2 instances using Run Commands

15th of January, 2018 / / No Comments

Scenario:

  • Customer Running multiple Linux Ec2 instance in AWS.
  • Customer reports that Instances are loosing mount points after a reboot.

Solution :

The resolution requires to update the fstab file on all the instances.
fstab is a system configuration file on Linux and other Unix-like operating systems that contains information about major filesystems on the system. It takes its name from file systems table, and it is located in the /etc directory ( ref : http://www.linfo.org/etc_fstab.html)… [Keep reading] “Update FSTAB on multiple EC2 instances using Run Commands”