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Using automation analytics

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5

Evaluate the cost savings associated with automated processes

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Abstract

This guide shows how to use the features of automation analytics to evaluate how automation is deployed across your environments and the savings associated with it.

Preface

This guide shows how to use the features of automation analytics to evaluate how automation is deployed across your environments and the savings associated with it.

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Chapter 1. About Automation Calculator

The automation calculator provides graphs, metrics and calculations that help you determine the total savings on your investment in automated processes.

Automation savings

Automation savings is produced by an analysis of the time and cost of performing a task manually, such as deploying a server, versus the time and cost associated with automating the same task. Automation savings calculations extend across all organizations, clusters, hosts and templates in an environment. Include your own estimated costs to produce a more accurate calculation.

Note

The initial total savings is based on default values for each variable.

Variables

Several variables are used in evaluating costs:

  • Manual cost of automation - the approximate cost for a mid-level resource to perform a task or series of tasks.
  • Cost of automation - costs associated with automating tasks as job templates.
  • Automation time - the time required to run a job template.
  • Number of hosts - the number of hosts in inventory the template runs on.

Automation formula

Automation savings is based on the following formulas:

  • Manual cost per template = (time for a manual run on one host * (sum of all hosts across job runs)) * cost per hour.
  • Automation cost per template = cost of automation per hour * sum of total elapsed hours for a template.
  • Savings = sum of (manual cost - automation costs) across all templates.

1.1. Calculating your automation savings

The Automation Calculator produces its default total savings figure based on estimates for each variable.

You can tune this calculation by providing more specific organizational cost information and adjusting the time values for each of the top templates. The total savings updates dynamically as you edit each field.

Note

Automation savings calculations are not saved in Red Hat Automation Analytics.

To calculate your automation savings:

  1. Under Calculate your automation enter cost information for:

    1. Manual process cost
    2. Automated process cost

  2. Under Top templates:

    1. Adjust time values for top templates to provide time to manually perform each task that the template automates.

Total savings updates based on the information you enter in each field.

1.2. Top templates

Top templates lists the 25 most frequently run templates across all hosts in your environment. Templates are listed in descending order starting with the highest run count. You can enter the time it takes to perform tasks manually that are automated by templates in the field adjacent to the run totals to produce a more accurate total savings. The default value is set to 60 minutes.

1.2.1. Curating top templates

You can use the toggle switch for each template to show or hide it in the bar graph to compare performance and savings based on specific templates.

  • Click the toggle switch for each template to display or hide it.

The bar graph on the Automation Calculator will update to display those top templates selected and Total savings will calculate based on those templates.

1.2.2. Viewing template details

You can view detailed information for each template in Top templates to learn more about the template’s context in the calculation of automation savings.

  • Click the Info icon for a job template to view template details.

Top template information is provided for the following:

  • Total elapsed sum - Total run time of the template.
  • Success elapsed sum - Total run time for successful template runs.
  • Failed elapsed sum - Total run time for failed template runs.
  • Automation percentage - The template accounts for this percentage of automation in your organization.
  • Associated organizations - The template runs against these organizations.
  • Associated clusters - Automation controller clusters the template runs on.

Chapter 2. About the automation savings planner

An automation savings plan gives you the ability to plan, track, and analyze the potential efficiency and cost savings of your automation initiatives. Use automation analytics to create an automation savings plan by defining a list of tasks needed to complete an automation job. You can then link your automation savings plans to an Ansible job template in order to accurately measure the time and cost savings upon completion of an automation job.

To create an automation savings plan, you can utilize the automation savings planner to prioritize the various automation jobs throughout your organization and understand the potential time and cost savings for your automation initiatives.

2.1. Creating a new automation savings plan

Create an automation savings plan by defining the tasks needed to complete an automation job using the automation savings planner.

  • The details you provide when creating a savings plan, namely the number of hosts and the manual duration, will be used to calculate your savings from automating this plan. See this section for more information.

Procedure

  1. From the navigation panel, select Automation Analytics → Savings Planner.
  2. Click Add Plan.

  3. Provide some information about your automation job:

    1. Enter descriptive information, such as a name, description, and type of automation.
    2. Enter technical information, such as the number of hosts, the duration to manually complete this job, and how often you complete this job.
    3. Click Next.

  4. In the tasks section, list the tasks needed to complete this plan:

    1. Enter each task in the field, then click Add.
    2. Rearrange tasks by dragging the item up/down the tasks list.
    3. Click Next.
Note

The task list is for your planning purposes only, and does not currently factor into your automation savings calculation.

  1. Select a template to link to this plan, then click Save.

Your new savings plan is now created and displayed on the automation savings planner list view.

2.2. Edit an existing savings plan

Edit any information about an existing savings plan by clicking on it from the savings planner list view.

Procedure

  1. From the navigation panel, select Automation Analytics → Savings Planner.
  2. On the automation savings plan, click Click the More Actions icon ⋮, then click Edit.
  3. Make any changes to the automation plan, then click Save.

2.4. Review savings calculations for your automation plans

The automation savings planner offers a calculation of how much time and money you can save by automating a job. automation analytics takes data from the plan details and the associated job template to provide you with an accurate projection of your cost savings when you complete this savings plan.

To do so, navigate to your savings planner page, click the name of an existing plan, then navigate to the Statistics tab.

The statistics chart displays a projection of your monetary and time savings based on the information you provided when creating a savings plan. Primarily, the statistics chart subtracts the automated cost from the manual cost of executing the plan to provide the total resources saved upon automation. The chart then displays this data by year to show you the cumulative benefits for automating the plan over time.

Click between Money and Time to view the different types of savings for automating the plan.

2.5. Filter and sort plans on the list view page

Find specific types of automation savings plans by filtering or sorting your savings planner list view.

Procedure

  1. From the navigation panel, select Automation Analytics → Savings Planner.
  2. To filter your saving plans based on type, or sort your savings plans by a certain order, select a filter option on the horizontal toolbar.

Chapter 3. Viewing your reports on Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform

The reports feature on the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform provides users with a visual overview of their automation efforts across different teams using Ansible. Each report is designed to help users monitor the status of their automation environment, be it the frequency of playbook runs or the status of hosts affected by various job templates.

For example, you can use your reports to:

  • View the number of hosts affected by a job template
  • View the number changes made to hosts by a job template
  • View the frequency of a job template run, and the rate of job templates that succeed or fail to run

3.1. Reviewing your reports

To view reports about your Ansible automation environment, proceed with the following steps:

Procedure

  1. Log in to console.redhat.com and navigate to the Ansible Automation Platform.
  2. Click Reports on the side navigation panel.
  3. Select a report from the results to view it.

Each report presents data to monitor your Ansible automation environment. Use the filter toolbar on each report to adjust your graph view.

Note

We are constantly adding new reports to the system. If you have ideas for new reports that would be helpful for your team, please contact your account representative or log a feature enhancement for automation analytics.

Chapter 4. About the Job Explorer

The Job Explorer provides a detailed view of jobs run on automation controller clusters across your organizations. You can access the Job Explorer by selecting Automation Analytics → Job Explorer from the navigation panel or using the drill-down view available across each of the application’s charts.

Using the Job Explorer you can:

  • Filter the types of jobs running in a cluster or organization;
  • Directly link out to templates on automation controller for further assessment;
  • Identify and review job failures;
  • View more details for top templates running on a cluster;
  • Filter out nested workflows and jobs.

You can review the features and details of the Job Explorer in the following sections.

4.1. Creating a filtered and sorted view of jobs

You can view a list of jobs, filtered by attributes you choose, using the Job Explorer.

Filter options include:

  • Status
  • Job
  • Cluster
  • Organization
  • Inventory
  • Template

You can sort results by any of the parameters from each column using the directional arrows.

Procedure

  1. From the navigation panel, select Automation Analytics → Job Explorer.
  2. In the filter toolbar, select Job from the Filter by list.
  3. In that same toolbar, select a time range. Job Explorer will now display jobs within that time range.
  4. To further refine results, return to the filter toolbar and select a different attribute to filter results by, including job status, cluster, or organization.

The Job Explorer view updates and presents a list of jobs based on the attributes you selected.

4.1.1. Viewing more information about an individual job

You can click on the arrow icon next to the job Id/Name column to view more details related to that job.

4.1.2. Reviewing job details on automation controller

Click the job in the Id/Name column to view the job itself on the automation controller job details page. For more information on job settings for automation controller, see Jobs in automation controller in the Using automation execution.

4.2. Drilling down into cluster data

You can drill down into cluster data to review more detailed information about successful or failed jobs. The detailed view, presented on the Job Explorer page, provides information on the cluster, organization, template, and job type. Filters you select on the Clusters view carry over to the Job Explorer page.

Details on those job templates will appear in the Job Explorer view, modified by any filters you select in the Clusters view.

For example, you can drill down to review details for failed jobs in a cluster. See below to learn more.

4.2.1. Example: Reviewing failed jobs

You can view more detail about failed jobs across your organization by drilling down on the graph on the Cluster view and using the Job Explorer to refine results. Clicking on a specific portion in a graph will open that information in the Job Explorer, preserving contextual information created when using filters on the Clusters view.

Procedure

  1. From the navigation panel, select Automation Analytics → Clusters.
  2. Using the filter lists in the toolbar, you can apply filters for clusters and time range of your choosing.
  3. Click on a segment on the graph.

You are redirected to the Job Explorer view, and presented with a list of successful and failed jobs corresponding to that day on the bar graph.

To view only failed jobs:

  1. Select Status from the Filter by list.
  2. Select the Failed filter.

The view is updated to show only failed jobs run on that day.

Add additional context to the view by applying additional filters and selecting attributes to sort results. Link out and review more information for failed jobs on the automation controller job details page.

4.3. Viewing top templates job details for a specific cluster

You can view job instances for top templates in a cluster to learn more about individual job runs associated with that template or to apply filters to further drill down into the data.

Procedure

  1. From the navigation panel, select Automation Analytics → Clusters.
  2. Click on a template name in Top Templates.
  3. Click View all jobs in the modal that appears.

The Job Explorer page displays all jobs on the chosen cluster associated with that template. The view presented will preserve the contextual information of the template based on the parameters selected in the Clusters view.

4.4. Ignoring nested workflows and jobs

Select the settings icon on the Job Explorer view and use the toggle switch to Ignore nested workflows and jobs. This option filters out duplicate workflow and job template entries and excludes those items from overall totals.

Note

About nested workflows

Nested workflows allow you to create workflow job templates that call other workflow job templates. Nested workflows promotes reuse, as modular components, of workflows that include existing business logic and organizational requirements in automating complex processes and operations.

To learn more about nested workflows, see Workflows in automation controller in the Using automation execution.

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