Creating system runbooks may appear to be a time-consuming, vaguely defined chore. Eliminate the groaning and uncertainty by establishing a simple process to begin capturing configuration and operation information.

Building Runbooks

A runbook is a close-to-hand document (physical or electronic) containing information needed to configure, operate, monitor, administer, troubleshoot, repair, and restore an IT service. Dependencies, interrelations, failover, and backup information should be recorded as well.

Runbooks are not project plans, business cases, or version histories and should be limited to current system information. A runbook saves IT from having to re-invent the right steps in a high-pressure situation. Accuracy is critical. For more information on the benefits of runbooks, how to sell the project to your organization, and general guidelines...