Rob Hirschfeld, CEO and co-founder of RackN, recently gave a 20 minute presentation on how to slay the five most critical automation dragons. Drawing from our experience with customers and in the industry, we addressed the infrastructure automation challenges technical leaders face most in their efforts and how to overcome them.
Check out the full presentation, it includes a fun “live” demo! We use it to address a real-world problem: fixing a firmware bug affecting SSD drives across thousands of servers.
The five automation dragons
1. Isolation of automation efforts
One of the biggest challenges is the isolation of automation within departmental silos. This limits the overall effectiveness and benefits of automation. Teams often use automation that works well within their boundaries but fails to integrate with other departments, undermining the broader goals of automation.
2. Inconsistent delivery and inflexibility
Automation projects often suffer from inconsistent delivery and inflexibility, leading to a lack of trust between teams. Often, this inconsistency is due to the reliance on unreliable tooling and the subsequent need for buffers and manual interventions.
3. Unreliable tooling
Many DevOps automation tools fail in unexpected ways, leading to high failure rates and a lack of confidence in automation efforts. As a result, the unreliability forces teams to hardcode solutions, making them less adaptable to changes.
4. Single-purpose tools
Relying on single-purpose tools creates disconnected systems that are difficult to manage and integrate. Therefore, effective automation requires tools that can work together as part of a cohesive, reusable system.
5. Lack of abstraction and reusability
Successful automation requires strong abstractions and reusable components. Abstractions allow teams to work at higher levels of the stack, facilitating broader integration and collaboration.
Build robust, collaborative automation
We believe that overcoming these hurdles is key to achieving successful automation. By addressing the infrastructure automation challenges of isolation, inconsistency, unreliable tooling, single-purpose tools, and lack of abstraction, you can build a robust, collaborative automation framework that drives real business value. Whether you focus on bare metal or other environments, schedule a demo to see how Digital Rebar automation can transform your operations!
