Runbook lessons learned and recommendations

Bob Walker shares insights and recommendations on creating runbooks using Octopus Deploy, focusing on a specific case of backing up SQL Server databases to a NAS. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the problem, defining requirements, and considering factors like use cases, workflow, permissions, and notifications before starting. Walker details his experience with Octopus Deploy, highlighting challenges such as the system's initial limitations in database backup processes and how to overcome them by using configuration options like JSON. The runbook he designed aims for simplicity and efficiency, running automatically across all environments with necessary approvals and notifications to maintain security and performance. He advises grouping generic runbooks into specific projects, setting appropriate retention policies for logs, and emphasizes collaboration between developers and operations during the runbook design phase for more robust and supportable processes.