Which approach is recommended to automate basic triage?

• A. Manual collection of data for each ticket after the issue is observed.
• B. A GUI-based tool that collects data automatically.
• C. Shell scripts that gather uname, lsblk, df -h, ip addr, ip -s link, journalctl snapshots for tickets.
• D. Gather only the uptime and basic machine name.

Answer: (C)

Automating basic triage relies on quickly gathering a consistent, comprehensive set of diagnostic data at the moment an issue is reported. Shell-based data collection scripts can run with little or no human intervention, producing a repeatable snapshot of the system’s state. The commands chosen cover the most critical areas: uname reveals the kernel version and system type, which helps determine compatibility and potential known issues; lsblk shows the disk and partition layout, helping assess storage-related problems; df -h reports available space and usage trends that can cause failures; ip addr reports each interface’s addresses, important for connectivity or misconfigurations; ip -s link provides interface statistics that can indicate errors or drops; and journalctl snapshots capture recent logs that often contain error messages or warnings pointing to the root cause. Collecting these automatically and attaching them to the ticket speeds triage, reduces back-and-forth questions, and ensures every ticket has the same baseline information for engineers to work from. In contrast, manual data collection after the issue is observed introduces delays and potential gaps, and while a GUI tool can automate some steps, scripted collection offers precise control, ease of customization, and reliable, scalable data gathering suitable for large-scale data center operations.