An actuator to execute on a server may be automatically selected based on risk of failure and damage to the server. Requirement specification and environment parameters may be received. A subset of actuators may be selected based on a risk threshold from an actuator catalog database storing actuator information and actuator risk metadata associated with a plurality of actuators. The actuator risk metadata may be augmented with risk information. A ranked list of the subset of actuators may be generated based on the actuator risk metadata associated with each actuator in the subset. An actuator in the ranked list may be executed on the server.