Example 1: Check disk usage

In this example, you’ll run a job that checks the current disk usage for your nodes (minions). In your role as an IT system administrator or DevOps team member, you often need to monitor the disk capacity of your nodes. When your nodes are close to reaching their full capacity, that usually signals the need to purchase new hardware or requisition new virtual machines to meet server capacity needs. You'll learn how to use
Automation Config
to check for disk usage in this kind of scenario.
Going forward,
Automation Config
is no longer included in the Aria Automation suite of products. The new name of this product is VMware Tanzu Salt and this product is available as part of the VMware Tanzu Platform suite of products. See Using and Managing Tanzu Salt for more information.

Check disk usage

To run a job that checks the disk usage for your minions:
  1. Create a new job.
    1. In the
      Automation Config
      user interface, open the Jobs workspace by clicking
      Config > Jobs
      in the side menu.
    2. Click the
      Create Job
      button.
    If you don’t see the Create Job button, you do not have permission to create new jobs. Contact your
    VMware Aria Automation
    administrator for access or to create this job on your behalf so that you can complete the tutorial.
  2. Enter the details for the new job and save the job.
    Field
    Sample value
    Name
    Give this job a descriptive name such as “Check disk usage."
    Description
    Add a description that tells other users the purpose of this job, such as “Checks disk usage on targeted devices.”
    Command
    Select
    salt
    .
    The
    salt
    command is used for jobs that are run against minions.
    Targets
    Do not select anything from this menu. Leaving this field blank allows you to select the target at the time you run the job.
    Function
    Click this field and begin typing
    disk.usage
    until you can select this module.
    This field is where you select the Salt module that is applied when this job is run. For more information about the disk usage module, see Salt modules - Disk usage.
    Arguments
    This module does not accept arguments, so leave it blank.
    Job Inputs
    此作业不需要任何作业输入,因此请留空。有关作业输入的详细信息,请参见如何创建作业
    A new job that checks disk usage on targeted machines
  3. Now that you’ve created a job, run the job by selecting the job targets.
    1. In the side menu, click
      Targets
      to open the Targets workspace and view your targets.
    2. Verify that the
      All Minions
      target is selected. Inside the All Minions target, click the
      Run Job
      button.
    3. In the Run Job dialog box, click the
      Job
      menu and select the Sample Disk Usage job you created in the previous steps. You can type the name of the job to filter the jobs if needed.
    4. Click
      Run Now
      .
      If you successfully ran the job, a notification appears that explains the job was successfully started.
  4. Check whether the job is complete by clicking
    Activity > Completed
    in the side menu.
    If you don’t see your job in this table, it might still be in progress. You can find jobs that are currently running by clicking
    Activity > In Progress
    . Continue refreshing
    Activity > Completed
    until your job appears in the table.
  5. When your job is complete and appears in the table, review the job results.
    1. Find the row that displays your job and click its JID (job identification number).
      The JID appears as a hyperlinked number with 20 digits. For example, one possible JID could be: 20210823204015061902
    2. In the job results, click the
      Disk Usage
      tab. This tab displays information about each minion that was targeted by the job, including its total size, the current amount used, the amount of space available, and the percentage of space being used.
Returns from the disk usage job

Summary of results and key information

As you review the job results, consider the following points:
  • Notice that this job is cross-platform. You’ll get the same result no matter which operating system the minion is running (Windows, Linux, MacOS, etc.).
    Automation Config
    is designed to work with nearly every operating system.
  • Automation Config
    also gives you the ability to run this job on a schedule and to publish it into an exportable report.
  • You could also use this job in a more sophisticated way using Salt’s beacon and reactor system. The beacon and reactor system allows you to set up events that will trigger a reaction event. For example, you could set up a schedule that checks disk usage on a regular basis. When the percentage used is above a certain threshold, you could have Salt send a notification email, text message, or Slack message indicating that new hardware needs to be procured.