Introduction to Orchestration
Summarize
Summary of Introduction to Orchestration
Orchestration in ServiceNow automates simple or complex multi-system tasks across remote services, servers, applications, and hardware. It enables management across various IT and business processes efficiently and reliably. Orchestration supports collaboration by providing reusable data, version control for workflows and activities, and immediate visibility into the impact of any changes. It incorporates human task steps to manage errors, ensuring robust and fail-safe workflows.
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Key Features
- Integration and Automation: Orchestration can invoke services outside ServiceNow via web services or through MID Servers within corporate firewalls, automating a wide range of systems and tasks.
- Workflow Extension: Enhances the Workflow editor with activity packs (prebuilt activities), an Activity Designer for custom activity creation without heavy scripting, and the ability to package activities in Scoped Applications.
- Data Management: Includes a Databus feature to track data flow across orchestration activities.
- Orchestration Core Applications: Provides specialized applications such as Client Software Distribution (integrates with SCCM and JAMF), Password Reset for Active Directory, and ROI tracking for automated tasks.
- Broad System Support: Automates tasks on systems exposing SOAP/REST web services, command-line accessible systems (SSH, PowerShell, WMI), proprietary services like Active Directory and Exchange, SFTP-accessible filesystems, and JDBC-compliant databases.
- Extensibility: Supports creating custom activities when out-of-the-box options do not meet integration needs, using the Activity Designer templates.
How Orchestration Works
Orchestration activities operate within workflows by launching Discovery probes and sensors, which write probe records to the ECC Queue. The MID Server executes these probes, and the workflow pauses until results return. Based on the results, the workflow either continues or exits, enabling dynamic and responsive automation processes.
Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
- Automate complex IT and business tasks quickly and reliably across diverse systems and environments.
- Facilitate teamwork and governance through reusable activities, version control, and visibility into workflow dependencies.
- Extend ServiceNow’s capabilities to third-party systems securely via MID Servers and web services.
- Leverage prebuilt integrations and design custom automations with minimal scripting effort.
- Track and evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of automated tasks to justify and optimize automation efforts.
Orchestration automates simple or complex multi-system tasks on remote services, servers, applications, and hardware.
An Orchestration process can cross all management disciplines and interact with hosted services and all types of infrastructure elements. These capabilities provide a powerful system for managing IT and Business processes quickly and reliably.
Orchestrated solutions aide collaboration among teams by providing reusable data and versioning for both the workflows and the activities within them. Subject matter experts can create activities that are reusable to numerous workflow developers. When an activity requires a change, developers can see the downstream implication of the change immediately by knowing which workflows use the activity. Well-designed orchestrations never fail and apply human tasks to address errors as they arise.
Orchestration tools
- Activity packs containing ready-to-use activities.
- Activity Designer, which enables developers to create custom activities without an over dependence to create scripts to orchestrate to third-party systems.
- Ability to create activity packs using Scoped Applications.
- A Databus for following the flow of data across orchestration activities.
- Client Software Distribution
- An application that automates software delivery from the Service Catalog. Provides OOB support for SCCM. Partner solutions support Macs using JAMF. Other third-party solutions provide support through the extension framework.
- Configuring Password Reset
- An application for users to reset their password in Active Directory. It can expand to communicate with other third-party systems.
- Orchestration ROI
- Enables users to evaluate estimated costs and actual costs for tasks, automate these tasks, and track the ROI of these tasks.
Systems that Orchestration can automate
Orchestration can automate tasks such as employee onboarding, user access rights, server management, managed file transfers, and Security Operations Orchestration. For example, you might use the Active Directory and Exchange activities provided in the base Orchestration system to set up network accounts and mailboxes for new employees.
- Any system exposing web services (SOAP, REST)
- Any system accessible from the command line (such as a UNIX system accessible through SSH, a Windows system enabled for PowerShell remoting or WMI)
- Numerous proprietary services: Windows
Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange mail servers, InfoBlox, and F5 Networks. Note:For a full list of Activity Pack service offerings, see Orchestration Core Activity Packs.
- Any filesystem accessible by SFTP
- Any database with a compliant JDBC driver
- Additional Activity Packs are also available with other ServiceNow products, such as Security Operations
Orchestration workflow
When an Orchestration activity starts within a workflow, Orchestration launches a Discovery probes and sensors and writes a probe record to the ECC Queue. The workflow pauses as the MID Server picks up the request and executes the probe. When the probe reports back, the workflow resumes as the results are analyzed. The workflow can exit or continue at this point.