Automation 101

Automation 101, Episode Summary

In this episode, Landon Miles introduces the concept of automation and provides a step-by-step guide for beginners to start their journey in becoming automators. He explains the importance of automation in IT operations and how it can save time and improve efficiency.

The three steps outlined are: identifying problems, learning Boolean logic, and applying automation. Landon also suggests practical ways to apply automation, such as using Automox for patch policies or exploring home automation.

Read the Hands-On IT Transcript

All right, let's go ahead and get started. Welcome back to the Hands-on IT podcast, where we dive into the dynamic world of IT operations, explore cutting edge technologies, and look into how to best apply them. So if you're a long time listener, welcome back. And if you're a first time listener, don't worry, we're only on episode two. So if you're just joining us, my name is Landon Miles, and I'm a technical marketing manager here at Automox.

Because this is my podcast, I'm gonna start with telling a completely non-IT related story just because I think it's fun. So I just recently got a dog and his name is Nacho. So we adopted him. We're not completely sure what he is. Pretty sure he's part Chihuahua, might be part Fox. I don't know, but he's 100% excited about life. So when I take my kids to school in the morning, Nacho comes with me. And I've started turning on the seat warmer for him and he's a big fan of that when he just completely melts into the seat.

So if you're listening to this podcast, I'll put a link to this picture, but if you're watching on YouTube, here it is. So anyways, automation in the last month, Automox has spent a lot of time discussing automation and the benefits of automation. However, while this is all really good content, a lot of it expects that you have a base level of understanding about automation and so for this podcast, we're going to start from the beginning and make sure that everyone's on equal footing. So if you're an experienced automator, uh, feel free to hit that 1.5 X button speed through this podcast and you might learn something still, but if you're a beginner, this podcast is really for you. Um, it's just where to start. So first off, so first off, what even is it automation? So it automation refers to the use of software to solve problems in a reproducible way.

From installing software, applying patches automatically to enforcing desired states on hundreds, if not thousands of endpoints, automation is a critically important tool in every IT administrator's tool belt.

So with IT automation, tasks that would normally take hours or even days to complete can be done in a matter of minutes. It allows IT administrators to focus on where they can add the most value and the most to it allows IT administrators to focus on where they can add the most value to the company and not just putting out fires and doing these repetitive tasks that are massive time sinks.

You're just getting started out though. That's great. It's a really fun journey and it can be hard to know where to start sometimes. With anything, there are areas you can specialize in. You can go really deep in one particular area. You can kind of be broadly specialized. So this is the Hands-on IT Official three-step guide to beginning your journey of becoming an automator. All right, step one.

So step one. Keep a notebook and write down some of the problems you see. So first off, if you need a notebook, go in, sign up for the Automox community and comment in the thread about this show. It's linked in the show notes. And if you're one of the first five people or so, we'll send you an Automox notebook and pen, maybe a couple of stickers too. But our world is waiting.

And so our world is full of problems that are waiting to be solved. In my opinion, the easiest place that you can start with this exercise is looking at things around your house. So write out the problem and the sequence and steps and parameters to solve the problem at its most basic IT automation is write out the problem in the sequence of steps and parameters to solve the problem. So at its most basic, IT automation takes an input and completes a desired output.

So our world is full of problems waiting to be solved. And in my opinion, the easiest place to start with this exercise is looking at things around your house. So write out the problem, the sequence of steps and parameters to solve the problem.

So in my opinion, the easiest place you can start with this exercise is looking at things around your house. So start by writing out the problem, the sequence of steps to solve the problem, and the parameters to solve the problem. At its most basic, automation takes an input and process it and completes a desired output. The best way to think about this is if this happens, do that. So if this input, then do that output.

So write some problems down for yourself. One of the examples that I like to use is, if I walk into my room, I want my lamp to turn on. So input is motion is detected in my room, output is turn on the lamp. Another one is if the inside temperature is above 71 degrees, turn on the fan in the living room. For IT automation, a similar process can be followed. So for example, if a file is present, process it in this way and save it here.

Or if the time is after 7 p.m. on a Friday, apply these software updates. If an update comes out for this certain software, apply it immediately. So that's step one. Take the time, look at problems around you, write down the logical flow of solving that problem. Step two is learning and understanding Boolean logic. So this may sound difficult, but I promise you it's not. So we'll throw a couple of resources in the show notes for further reading, but here's a crash course.

Binary is a different way of counting. So it's how computers operate. Binary has two numbers, zero and one. This is known as a base two number system. As humans, we typically use a base 10 number system for most things, which means we have 10 numbers to choose from to make up all the rest of the numbers, zero through nine. We also often switch number systems sometimes without even realizing it. So time is a modified version of a base 60 number system. So...

You have 0 through 60 as your seconds, minutes, hours. But I digress. Binary, 1, and 0. Much like every number we use can be made up of the numbers 0 through 9, binary can make all the numbers using 0 and 1. The combination of these two numbers makes up all of the digital data in the world. Then applying binary to logic is known as Boolean logic. Boolean logic is named after the mathematician George Boole who came up with theories regarding Boolean logic and Boolean algebra in the late 1840s. So Boolean logic states that there are two states, true or false, one or zero. George Boole, you might say, wasn't a really big fan of gray areas, but since computers view everything as one or zero, true or false, to effectively solve problems with computers, that's how we need to think also.

Okay, so logic. At its most simplified form, Boolean logic is a set of tests for an input to help get a desired output. These can be added to your if-then statements. So the three most basic functions that we need to be familiar with are AND, OR, and NOT. So And: is if all the specified conditions are met, the output is true.

So for example, if motion is detected in my room, AND it's before midnight. AND after 7 a.m. turn on my lamp. OR: if at least one of the specified conditions is met, the output is true. So we can stack these, so we'll have that and statement and we'll say or the lamp button is pushed, turn on my lamp. And then there's not. If conditions are not met, the output is true. So for example, if motion has NOT been detected for 15 minutes, turn off the lamp.

So if there's no motion, turn off the lamp. So with these three functions, they can be mixed and matched and put together to just get to... So with these three functions, they can be mixed and matched and put together to get just about any desired state you need. Now you have a degree in computer science from the Hands-on IT University. You're welcome to do it.

Yeah. You helping me record my podcast?

Also, Nacho is helping me record said podcast. He is right here. Um, but you don't really know that much about IT automation. So I don't know that you're going to be very helpful. So we're going to put you down.

All right, step number three, use it to do something. It's always fun to see the practical ways that you can apply your knowledge. So if you have several endpoints and are already in IT, Automox has a free 30 day trial and that's a great place to get started with IT automation. Create some patch policies and see how much time those automations can save you. We'll put some demos to those in the show notes below, but to take a look at it, check it out and like that's.

But take a look at it, check it out. There's a lot of time that can be saved by just automating these mundane things in our daily lives. If you're in school or wanting to get into the world of IT, in my opinion, home automation is a great way to build some of these skills. So with this, you can get pretty immediate feedback from your IT auditor.

Now, if you're in school or wanting to get into the world of IT, home automation, in my opinion, is a great way to build some of these skills. With this, you can get pretty immediate feedback from your automations and see the quick added value of automating things. You can purchase Wi-Fi or Bluetooth-enabled smart devices and sensors for pretty cheap and start having fun. If you rent or live in a dorm, smart plugs are really good for this. You can just plug it into the outlet and start controlling it.

So the easy step, there's an app called IFTTT, stands for if this, then that, and it's a great way to start bringing stuff together. I think you get two automations for free, after that you can pay for them. But the next level, which is what I would recommend, is to get even more IT experience. So I'm a massive proponent of Home Labs, Home Servers, just these systems that you can play on and learn. Shameless plug, make sure to tune in to the next Hands-On IT episode, and we're gonna be talking about the basics of Linux.

But so if you decide to go this route, Home Assistant is a great software to start with. It allows you to do a lot of the things that IFTTT does, but it's completely free. You get the experience of hosting your own server. Also pick a language and start programming. Python is a great one to start with. But the goal is to get familiar with logically approaching and dissecting problems.

So once you understand how to do this, it's much easier to pick up a new programming language if you have an understanding of the problem solving process. So those are the three steps to kind of figuring out how to become an automator. And thank you so much for listening. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn, message Automox on Twitter, or sign up on the Automox Community forum. If you sign up there, one of the first five people on this thread.

We'll send you a free notebook and a pen, like I said earlier. So feel free to reach out to me there also. Thank you so much for listening and we'll see you next time.