Unattended Problem Resolution Using DagKnows

Making it possible for novices to reliably resolve problems without expert knowledge is great. Reliable problem resolution without human involvement is even better!

For example, Chrome browser’s “overscroll history navigation” feature can be an issue. I focused on manual resolution in my previous post ( https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/sergeybloom_execute-documentation-code-activity-7054828614260858880-fNn5?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop ).

Ideally, I’d like to keep the feature turned off permanently. If some process turns the feature back on, it would be best not to have to remember to switch it off manually every time. This calls for automation.

I could implement it with a Linux shell script and cron on my Mac. A script can run a command to check if the feature is on or off. If it’s on, another command can turn it off. Once the script is ready, it can be scheduled using cron to run every so often.

(base) Sergey@sergeymbp dagknows % pwd
/Users/Sergey/Documents/projects/dagknows
(base) Sergey@sergeymbp dagknows % ls -al disable-chrome-overscroll.sh
-rwx------? 1 Sergey? staff? 301 May? 3 18:06 disable-chrome-overscroll.sh
(base) Sergey@sergeymbp dagknows % cat disable-chrome-overscroll.sh
status=`defaults read com.google.Chrome AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls`
(( $status == 1 )) \
? && echo $status; \
?? ? defaults write com.google.Chrome AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool FALSE; \
?? ? defaults read com.google.Chrome AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls \
? || echo $status
(base) Sergey@sergeymbp dagknows % crontab -l
00 11 * * * /Users/Sergey/Documents/projects/dagknows/disable-chrome-overscroll.sh
(base) Sergey@sergeymbp dagknows %        

I wanted to make the process more user-friendly. It would also make it easier for me to manage in the future as I wouldn’t need to delve into Linux. And making resolution processes (or runbooks) easier to understand, follow, and implement works productivity wonders for #sitereliabilityengineering. So, this serves as an excellent illustration of the operational cost-saving capabilities as well.

Let me show you how DagKnows made it easy for me to implement my unattended automation.

Notice, in particular, how detection and resolution blocks are separate. Detection is read-only while resolution can make system changes. This separation is important because it allows for the inclusion of change approval.

The automation above is scheduled to run once a day. It checks the Chrome overscroll status, and if the status is 1 (meaning, the feature is turned on) the automation turns it off (to 0). Below, I captured this automation in action.

DagKnows makes unattended problem resolution user-friendly, quick, and productive even for novices without expert knowledge. There’s much more to this platform. Feel free to explore the website and reach out for a demo. Thank you!

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