Configuring Applications for the AWS Incident Manager SyncPack

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This section describes how to set up the PowerFlow applications for the AWS Incident Manager SyncPack.

Creating and Aligning a Configuration Object in PowerFlow

A configuration object supplies the login credentials and other required information needed to execute the steps for a PowerFlow application. The Configurations page () of the PowerFlow user interface lists all available configuration objects for that system.

You can create as many configuration objects as you need. A PowerFlow application can only use one configuration object at a time, but you can use (or "align") the same configuration object with multiple applications.

To use this SyncPack, you will need to use an existing configuration object in the PowerFlow user interface or create a new configuration object. Next, you need to align that configuration object to the relevant applications.

Creating a Configuration Object

For this SyncPack, you can make a copy of the "AWS Incidents Base Config" configuration object, which is the sample configuration file that was installed with the AWS Incident Manager SyncPack.

The "AWS Incidents Base Config" configuration object contains all of the required variables. Simply update the variables from that object to match your SL1 and AWS settings.

For more information about the AWS terms and concepts in this section, see the AWS documentation.

To create a configuration object based on the "AWS Incidents Base Config" configuration object:

  1. In the PowerFlow user interface, go to the Configurations page ().
  2. Click the Actions button () for the "AWS Incidents Base Config" configuration object and select Edit. The Configuration pane appears:

An image of the configuration object page.

  1. Click Copy as. The Create Configuration pane appears.

  2. Complete the following fields:

    • Friendly Name. Type a name for the configuration object that will display on the Configurations page.
    • Description. Type a brief description of the configuration object.
    • Author. Type the user or organization that created the configuration object.
    • Version. Type a version of the configuration object.

  1. In the Configuration Data field, update the default variable definitions to match your PowerFlow configuration:

    • sl1_host. Type the hostname or IP address of the SL1 system the alerts will synchronize to.
    • sl1_user. Type the username for your SL1 system.
    • sl1_password. Type the password for your SL1 system.
    • aws_region_name. Type the region of your AWS system.
    • aws_access_key_id. Type the access key ID of your AWS system.
    • aws_secret_access_key. Type the secret access key ID of your AWS system.
    • aws_service. Keep the default value.
    • aws_default_response_plan_arn_1. Type the ARN for the default AWS response plan for PowerFlow to use when creating an incident in AWS.
    • add_template. Toggle the JSON editor to define the template to translate SL1 event information to an AWS incident.
    • summary_template. Toggle the JSON editor to define the summary format to translate an SL1 event to an AWS incident.
    • event_response_plan_map. You can configure specific SL1 event criteria to trigger alternative response plans in AWS. To define an alternative response plan, toggle the JSON editor and enter an event property, search key to match to the event, and the ARN for the alternative AWS response plan. For example, if you want to trigger an alternative response plan for an SL1 event that contains "database" in the event message, enter the JSON code as follows:

      • {

      "event_property": "%M",

      "response_plan": "arn:aws:ssm-incidents::XXXXXXXX:response-plan/XXXXXXXXX",

      "search_key": "database"

      }

       

    • resolve_from_aws. When enabled, this parameter resolves SL1 events from AWS incidents. The default value is 'enabled'. To disable this parameter, change this value to 'disabled'.
    • populate_external_url. The option to add an AWS incident URL to the corresponding SL1 event. The default value is 'enabled'.
    • time_delta. Type the time configuration in days to synchronize your AWS incidents and SL1 events. The "Bulk Resolve SL1 Events from AWS" application will only collect incidents that have been updated within the number of days defined in this parameter.
  1. Click Save. You can now align this configuration object with one or more applications.

Aligning a Configuration Object and Configuring PowerFlow Applications

With this SyncPack, any status changes made to an SL1 event are sent to AWS to update the corresponding incident. Any status changes to the AWS incident are synced back to the corresponding SL1 event. You will need to align the AWS Incident Manager applications with the relevant configuration object in PowerFlow, and, if needed, update any other fields on the Configuration pane for the applications.

To run this SyncPack, you must "align" the configuration object to run with the following PowerFlow applications:

  • "Bulk Resolve SL1 Events From AWS"
  • "Create Timeline Event In AWS Incident Manager"
  • "Resolve AWS Incident"
  • "Send SL1 Event to AWS Incident Manager"

To align the configuration object with the relevant PowerFlow applications:

  1. On the Applications page of the PowerFlow user interface, open one of the PowerFlow applications listed above and click Configure (). The Configurations pane for that application appears:

    An image of the Configure page.

  1. From the Configurations drop-down, select the configuration object you want to use.

    The values for sl1_hostname and the other parameters that appear in the Configuration pane with a padlock icon () are populated either by the configuration object you aligned with the application or by the Run Book Action. Do not modify these values. If you encounter an error, make sure your Run Book Action is configured properly.

  1. Click Save to align that configuration with the application.
  2. Wait until you see the "App & Config modifications saved" pop-up message before proceeding.
  3. Repeat this process for the other PowerFlow applications.

Scheduling PowerFlow Applications

To trigger the "Bulk Resolve SL1 Events From AWS" application, you must schedule the application.

You can create one or more schedules for a single application in the PowerFlow user interface. When creating each schedule, you can specify the queue and the configuration file for that application.

To schedule an application:

  1. On the Applications page (), click the Schedule button for the application you want to schedule. The Schedule window appears, displaying any existing schedules for that application:

If you set up a schedule using a cron expression, the details of that schedule display in a more readable format in this list. For example, if you set up a cron expression of */4 * * * *, the schedule on this window includes the cron expression along with an explanation of that expression: "Every 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, and 56th minute past every hour".

  1. Select a schedule from the list to view the details for that schedule.

  2. Click the + icon to create a schedule. A blank Schedule window appears:

  1. In the Schedule window, complete the following fields:
  • Schedule Name. Type a name for the schedule.
  • Switch to. Use this toggle to switch between a cron expression and setting the frequency in seconds.
  • Cron expression. Select this option to schedule the application using a cron expression. If you select this option, you can create complicated schedules based on minutes, hours, the day of the month, the month, and the day of the week. As you update the cron expression, the Schedule window displays the results of the expression in more readable language, such as Expression: "Every 0 and 30th minute past every hour on the 1 and 31st of every month", based on */30 * * /30 * *.
  • Frequency in seconds. Type the number of seconds per interval that you want to run the application.
  • Custom Parameters. Type any JSON parameters you want to use for this schedule, such as information about a configuration file or mappings.

  1. Click Save Schedule. The schedule is added to the list of schedules on the initial Schedule window. Also, on the Applications page, the word "Scheduled" appears in the Scheduled column for this application, and the Schedule button contains a check mark:

After you create a schedule, it continues to run until you delete it. Also, you cannot edit an existing schedule, but you can delete it and create a similar schedule if needed.

To view or delete an existing schedule:

  1. On the Applications page, click the Schedule button for the application that contains a schedule you want to delete. The Schedule window appears.

  1. Click the down arrow icon () to view the details of an existing schedule:

  1. To delete the selected schedule, click Delete. The schedule is removed.

When either multiple SL1 instances or multiple AWS instances are involved with PowerFlow, you should create an individual configuration object for each SL1 or AWS instance. Next, create an individual schedule for each configuration object. Each schedule should use a configuration object that is specific to that single SL1 or AWS instance. Creating copies of a PowerFlow application from a SyncPack for the purpose of distinguishing between domains is not supported, and will result in issues on upgrades.