Overview

Platform Automation Toolkit provides building blocks to create repeatable and reusable automated pipeline(s) for upgrading and installing foundations. VMware also provides instructions for using these building blocks in various workflows. This introduction provides a high-level overview of Platform Automation Toolkit. To dive deeper, see the references section.

See the Getting Started section for instructions on how to start using Platform Automation Toolkit.

About Platform Automation Toolkit

• Uses the GitHub om repo, (and by extension, the Tanzu Operations Manager API) to enable command-line interaction with Tanzu Operations Manager (Understanding the Tanzu Operations Manager Interface)

• Includes a documented reference pipeline showing one possible configuration for using tasks. When automating your platform, there are some manual steps you'll need to take to optimize for automation. These steps will be emphasized to ensure that they are clear to you.

• Comes bundled with Concourse tasks that demonstrate how to use tasks in a containerized Continuous Integration (CI) system.
  Platform Automation Toolkit tasks are:

  • Legible: They use human-readable YAML config files that can be edited and managed.

  • Modular: Each task has defined inputs and outputs that perform granular actions.

  • Built for Automation: Tasks are idempotent, so re-running them in a CI won't break builds.

  • Not Comprehensive: Workflows that use Platform Automation Toolkit may also contain om commands, custom tasks, and even interactions with the Tanzu Operations Manager user interface. Platform Automation Toolkit is a set of tools to use alongside other tools, rather than a being a comprehensive solution on its own.

• Can be used with a documented and supported deployment of Concourse CI. The Concourse for Platform Automation docs provide a step-by-step tutorial for how to get started. This approach to deploying Concourse uses the BOSH Director deployed by Tanzu Operations Manager to deploy and maintain Concourse, CredHub, and User Account and Authentication (UAA).

The Task Reference topic discusses the example tasks.

Platform Automation Toolkit takes a different approach than PCF Pipelines does. For instance, Platform Automation Toolkit allows you to perform installs and upgrades in the same pipeline. We recommend trying out Platform Automation Toolkit to get a sense of the features and how they differ to understand the best transition method for your environment and needs.

Platform Automation Toolkit and Upgrading Tanzu Operations Manager

Successful platform engineering teams know that a platform team that's always up to date is critical for their business. If they don’t stay up to date, they miss out on the latest platform features and the services that VMware delivers, which means their development teams miss out, too. By not keeping up to date, platforms could encounter security risks or even application failures.

VMware offers regular updates for Tanzu Operations Manager and the products it installs, which ensures that our customers have access to the latest security patches and new features. For example, VMware releases security patches every six days on average.

So how can a platform engineering team simplify the platform upgrade process?

Small and Continuous Upgrades

Adopting the practice of small and constant platform updates is one of the best ways to simplify the platform upgrade process. This behavior can significantly reduce risk, increase stability with faster troubleshooting, and reduce the overall effort of upgrading. This also creates a culture of continuous iteration and improves feedback loops with the platform teams and the developers, building trust across the organization. A good place to start is to consume every patch.

How do we do this?

Small and Continuous Upgrades With Platform Automation Toolkit

With Platform Automation Toolkit, platform teams have the tools to create an automated perpetual upgrade machine, which can continuously take the latest updates when new software is available, including Tanzu Application Service, VMware Tanzu PKS, Tanzu Operations Manager, stemcells, products, and services. In addition, Platform Automation Toolkit allows you to:

• manage multiple foundations and reduce configuration drift by tracking changes through source control with externalized configuration

• create pipelines that handle installs and upgrades to streamline workflows

Platform Automation Toolkit and Tanzu Operations Manager

The following table compares how Tanzu Operations Manager and Platform Automation Toolkit might run a typical sequence of Tanzu Operations Manager operations:

	Tanzu Operations Manager	Platform Automation Toolkit
When to use	First install and minor upgrades	Config changes and patch upgrades
1. Create Tanzu Operations Manager VM	Manually prepare IaaS and create Tanzu Operations Manager VM	create-vm
2. Configure who can run ops	Manually configure internal UAA or external identity provider	configure-authentication or configure-saml-authentication
3. Configure BOSH	Manually configure BOSH Director	configure-director with settings saved from BOSH Director with same version
4. Add products	Click Import a Product to upload file, then + to add tile to Installation Dashboard	upload-and-stage-product
5. Configure products	Manually configure products	configure-product with settings saved from tiles with same version
6. Deploy Products	Click Apply Changes	apply-changes
7. Upgrade	Manually export existing Tanzu Operations Manager settings, power off the VM, then create a new, updated Tanzu Operations Manager VM	export-installation then upgrade-opsman