Remedial actions using Playbook

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read
  • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Remedial actions using Playbook

    The Playbook feature in ServiceNow's Investigate tab allows users to resolve configuration item (CI)-related issues through remedial actions such as "End process" and "Restart service." These actions are contingent upon the installation and configuration of the Investigation Framework and the Remedial Actions Framework.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Interactive Playbook UI: Provides a step-by-step guide for executing remedial actions.
    • Playbook Panel: Displays tabs for Current and History of playbooks, allowing users to manage ongoing and completed actions.
    • Cancellation Options: Users can cancel ongoing remedial actions, with the status updated in the History tab.
    • CI Class Specifics: Different procedures are required for Devices and Servers when executing "End process" and "Restart service" actions, including user approvals and change requests.
    • Concurrent Execution Control: By default, concurrent or duplicate actions are not allowed; this behavior can be modified in the configuration settings.

    Key Outcomes

    By effectively utilizing the Playbook for remedial actions, ServiceNow customers can streamline the resolution of CI issues, enhance operational efficiency, and ensure compliance with necessary approval processes for critical actions. This structured approach to incident management allows for better oversight and historical tracking of actions taken within the service operations workspace.

    Resolve the CI-related issues using the remedial actions using Playbook in the Investigate tab.

    The Investigate tab includes the following types of remedial action to resolve CI-related issues:
    • End process
    • Restart service
    These remedial actions are available on the Investigate tab only if the following conditions are met:
    Remedial actions use playbooks to resolve CI issues. Playbook provides you with an interactive UI to guide and execute the remedial actions step by step. With a playbook, you can control every execution step of the remediation process. Playbook is available on the contextual side panel of the Incident record page. When any remedial action is performed, that remediation process is added to a playbook. You can then select the playbook (Playbook icon) icon on the contextual side panel to open the playbook on a separate panel and execute the process. The playbook panel displays the following tabs:
    • Current: Displays the current list of playbooks that trigger the remedial action, including both processes and services that have the status New and In Progress.
    • History: Displays the historical list of playbooks, including both processes and services that have the status Completed, Canceled, or Failed.
    You can cancel an ongoing End process or Restart service remedial action playbook. To cancel a remedial action playbook, select the remedial action playbook and select the menu (Menu icon) icon and then select Cancel action option. After the remedial action playbook is canceled, the corresponding action is also canceled. Then, the status of the remedial action is displayed as Canceled in the History tab of the playbook panel. To view the reason for cancellation, select the View reason option on the playbook. This option isn’t available if any of the following are true:
    • The remedial action is already in Canceled status.
    • The corresponding CI action record of the remedial action is already in progress.
    • The change request has already moved to implement state for actions associated to CIs of type server.

    The Remedial actions section on the Investigate tab also contains the Current and History tab to display the list of remedial actions performed. By default, this section displays the list of remedial actions for the primary CI or current CI. You can switch the Show actions performed on all CIs in this incident toggle to display the list of remedial actions for all the CIs associated with the Incident.

    Playbook is available only if both the Remedial Action Framework [com.snc.sn_reacf] application and the Investigation Framework [sn_invest_fwk] application are installed and configured, as well as if the remedial actions are triggered. For more information on Playbook, see .

    Note:
    You can't execute concurrent or duplicate remedial actions when a remedial action is in progress on a process or service for a CI type device or server. You also can't execute concurrent or duplicate remedial actions on the same CI until the previous remedial action execution is completed. You can change this behavior and allow concurrent execution of the remedial action by selecting the Allow concurrent execution option for Remedial Action Type. For more information, see Configure the Remedial Actions Framework.

    End process

    The End process remedial action is available with the following metric information cards:
    • Top processes By Memory
    • Top processes By CPU
    Select the CI and then select End process to stop the process running on the CI. The remediation process then is added to the playbook. Select the Playbook (Playbook icon) icon from the contextual side panel to open the playbook on a separate panel and execute the process. You can execute the End process remedial action for the following CI classes:
    • Device: For this CI class, a two-step process is executed where you must get the user approval before the End process remediation process can be executed. After it’s approved, you can directly stop the process on the device, which is also known as the endpoint.
    • Server: For this CI class, you must create a change request before the End process remedial action can be executed using a standard change request. You must also provide additional information to create a change request.

    Restart service

    The Restart service remedial action is available with the Services metric information card.

    Select the CI and then select Restart service to restart the services running on the CI. The remediation process then is added to the playbook. Select the Playbook (Playbook icon) icon on the contextual side panel to open the playbook on a separate panel and execute the process. You can execute the Restart service remedial action for the following CI classes:
    • Device: For this CI class, a two-step process is executed where you must get the user approval before the Restart service remediation process is executed. After it's approved, you can directly restart the services on the device, which is also known as the endpoint.
    • Server: For this CI class, you must create a change request before you can execute the remedial action using a standard change request. You must also provide additional information to create a change request.