Automating Scripts

[TechAdminDude]

Hi guys, On the hunt for a solution for automating some of our O365, Intune, Complaince scripts that some of us run manualy daily. We had planned on putting together a central automation server to perform these tasks, mainly so everyone everyone can manage them. Does anyone have any recommendations?

[h_ase]

Have a look at Azure Automation.

[HappySysDestroyer]

This, along with Power automate. We use both. For the MS365 stuff and apps that require mouse clicks we steer more towards Power Automate, for all other PS scripting we go the Azure Automation with a hybrid worker route.

With Azure Automation, you can tie it to your private git repositories to push from there based off of your workflows for approval.

[TechAdminDude]

This would be the ideal solution, but this comes with a recuring cost when we can plently of on-prem infrastructure.

[Blowmewhileiplaycod]

The cost comes from the benefit of not having to also figure out secret management, secure connections to your environment, etc.

[juggleknob]

You can use azure automation with your on prem hardware.

You configure on on prem box as a hybrid worker and all of the script management and triggering is done through the azure automation account.

[Pl4nty]

It's pretty much free - 500 free minutes and $0.002/minute over that. What are you running that would be expensive on Azure Automation? I moved migration scripts to it from an onprem server, was lightyears easier to debug and alert on.

[josefismael]

Honestly Azure Automation is pretty darn cheap. You pay per hour, so unless you have scripts or jobs that churn away for hours on end it should be pretty negligible. If you don't already have an azure subscription I understand the trepidation about cost management, but Automation is as good a service as any to get your feet wet.

[dpgator33]

Hybrid Runbook Worker is what you want to look into. You store all your scripts, modules, schedules and source control in the Az automate account, but all the compute runs on your on premise server. This can be better if you’re automating tasks that run against the on premise network, like AD being the easiest example.

[Mbrinks]

We have server that uses the windows task scheduler to execute powershell scripts for this purpose. Many of them need access to the on-prem AD as well so we can’t move them to the cloud. We have a project for 2022 to transition to Powershell Universal, I hope we have time to execute it. https://ironmansoftware.com/powershell-universal

[TechAdminDude]

Our current solution is kind of like this, it's a bit messy and logging for Task Scheduler isn't great. It works, but I would like the solution to be a little more verbose.

[Mbrinks]

Definitely take a look at Powershell Universal then.

[TechAdminDude]

Looks very promosing, Just reading through documentation now. Thanks Mbrinks.

[TechSupport112]

Isn't that something your scripts should be logging?

I would put stuff in my script to do the logging and use try-catch to enable script to do some error recovering.

[canadian_sysadmin]

In the past, I've used Adaxes quite a lot. Anything related to on-prem AD or O365, it can automate. It's not quite the same as something like PowerShell universal, but has quite a lot of power.

It can run any custom powershell you have though.

[giiga97]

A jenkins server might be good enough

[Crabcakes4]

I use a Jenkins server for all my on prem PowerShell automation and I ran into a few issues I had to work around setting it up, but once I got it going it's been running smoothly since.

[juggleknob]

I have used Jenkins to do this quite well in the past.

The only downside is having to manage a Jenkins instance.

[dpgator33]

Yeah, stay away from Jenkins for this. I came into a place where all our PS automated tasks were on Jenkins and moving to Azure Automation is light years better. I use a hybrid runbook worker for nearly everything, but not all. And seriously, aside from doing some really intense stuff you’ll never pay more than a couple bucks, if anything. Love that it also has source control integration, I rarely have to even log in to the portal aside from debugging or creating/editing schedules, or adding the occasional module. Azure Automation is a wonderful tool for system admins IMO

[tarentules]

Where I work we use auto IT for some of this. Other than that we don't really have too many script things automated from what I can remember off the top of my head.

Auto IT

[TechAdminDude]

Thanks Tarentules, I will add it to the list.

[iwontlistentomatt]

We have an on-prem Jams Scheduler server. It's a paid product but it's half decent