Getting Started With StackStorm

Event-driven automation is the next frontier for those who are investing in network automation. What is event-driven automation? It's the notion that when an event occurs in the network, such as a device being connected into a switch, a VLAN being removed from a configuration, or a software update becoming available, automated processes and procedures are invoked in response to that event. This creates a 'self-driving' network so to speak.

What is StackStorm?

StackStorm is an open source platform that focuses on event-based automation by orchestrating automated workflows in response to events. Common use cases of the platform include facilitated troubleshooting of systems, automated remediation of network or infrastructure issues, and continuous deployment of applications. In it's free version it has a CLI interface as well as a WebUI for users to interact and monitor their platform.

There are several components that make up StackStorm and in order to understand how StackStorm works, it is important to understand each of its components and how they work together. In a very high level statement, StackStorm uses sensors to process events from external systems and when those events match a specified criteria, a series of automated actions are executed. This tool can be a bit complicated for those just beginning with automation therefore it's recommended to read through StackStorm's official documentation for a more comprehensive understanding.

🚧

To fully understand StackStorm and all of it's components checkout StackStorm's official Overview documentation.

Installing StackStorm

StackStorm requires Ubuntu, RHEL or CentOS Linux. It is not supported on any other Linux distributions. For a complete list of support Linux versions it is recommended to refer to StackStorm's System Requirements documentation.

For a comprehensive guide on installing StackStorm, please refer to the StackStorm Installation Guide. If you're finding difficulty using the 'One-line Install' method it's recommended to follow the 'Manual Install' method for your Linux distribution. In the free edition of StackStorm it comes with a WebUI that can be installed but it's not necessary.