Category Archives: Automation

Orchestration Balancing Events And Flows

When working with orchestration in automated systems, how do you find the right balance between things that are event driven and things that are workflow driven, or more linear?

We go through some of the history of where we went from linear orchestration (Ansible) to timed orchestration (Chef or Puppet). We also discussed SaltStack, which had an event driven system into it, but didn’t gain the traction that we might have expected as we look at the amount of orchestration systems that are now coming to light.

In this conversation, we address the balance between when you orchestrate and when you want to do workflow and linear transactions, and how to find that sweet spot.

One of the things that we’ve determined is, there aren’t a lot of tools that hit that sweet spot. And I think if you listen carefully, you’ll see why.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/ynb8KndfUhKsTvQG6965ktepv-Y
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/a-choir-sin…a-flower-7569413/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the August 16th orchestration discussion on Cloud 2030, Rob Hirschfeld emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between orchestrated systems and event-driven operations. He highlights the challenge of comprehending the consequences of operations in complex systems and emphasizes the need for a blend of orchestration and event-driven approaches while ensuring that automation workflows remain understandable to users. Hirschfeld encourages listeners to explore the full episode at the2030.cloud, where the discussion delves into various tools, techniques, and considerations for building effective systems.

The Dangers of Interconnected Systems

What are the challenges of interconnectedness and transparency, specifically concerning Kubernetes and cloud native applications?

We have a fascinating discussion sparked by the question of how exposed we are. What happens when something we don’t know is connected is open and exposed as hackable? What happens when it closes, and we didn’t know?

We talked about how this is inherent in the architecture of cloud native applications and what you can do about it.

This discussion should get you thinking about how to architect not just your applications, but the platforms that you need to connect together to make them work.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/6m6yPHG7cV_lrmdOEPGyHmo1ifM
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/men-pulling…n-a-rope-7678454/

Events And Monitoring [bonus Complexity chat]

How do you build GitOps, infrastructure and systems relying on events and monitoring, when you need to revert to a polling loop, or augment a polling loop with an event system?

Today, we drill into concrete technical details about events and monitoring. We also suggest practical functional advice on how Git Ops works, how systems work, and how you can build a resilient system.

Stick around for a bonus at the end of the discussion, where we talk a little bit about complexity!

Image: www.pexels.com/photo/green-and-b…ug-on-air-905905/
Transcript: otter.ai/u/udK3y3upQMszo2IVtbrdGigmehE

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the July 26th DevOps Lunch and Learn episode, Rob Hirschfeld delves into the intricacies of monitoring and events, highlighting the importance of eventing systems for scalability. The discussion explores the intersection between building a resilient standalone system using polling and enhancing responsiveness through eventing to create a comprehensive and adaptable solution. The key takeaway emphasizes the need for systems that can effectively integrate both polling and eventing to ensure durability and improved performance. For a detailed exploration of these concepts, tune in to the full podcast on monitoring and eventing from July 26th at the2030.cloud.

Topics Of The Day [Rogers, Twitter, GDPR, JWST]

Today, we sat down and talked about current events and how things are going. We don’t need to have an agenda to have a really interesting conversation, and that is exactly what happens!

We start with some current events, the Rogers outage, Elon Musk, Twitter, GDPR, and
the Jim’s West space telescope. Then we put those things together into common threads about automation, autonomous cars and how society interacts with these things.

If you’re looking for deep tech, this is not your podcast. Otherwise, enjoy listening to this casual conversation!

Transcript: otter.ai/u/9ZNfCBMTueZw1ZOTJHY_e3DeZkQ
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/unrecogniza…-sundown-6711114/

Path to Tech Success: Sexy or Boring?

What makes people interested in new tech versus the stable, boring, things that keep the lights on work?

It feels to me as if we’re in the phase of development where we start saying, I need to make sure this all works. I’ve followed all the cool stuff, now I need to make sure everything’s working and get my ROI out.

This conversation questions that assumption, talks about why we care, what we’re really trying to accomplish, and digs into what is boring and what is sexy? And what makes them different.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/vt5nB06XGD5pcXhAAjylwtFlS4U
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-bl…ue-chair-4842498/

Infrastructure Governance As Code

We continue our Governance as Code discussions in today’s episode.

We started by very broadly looking at Governance as Code generally, but quickly drilled down into Infrastructure as Code meets Governance as Code focused discussion. Understanding that intersection is critical to building something that is both automated and governable.

The topic explored how we audit controls for systems. We also need to make sure that when we build infrastructure, it’s following our policies. The challenge here is making sure that what we’ve automated is conforming to our governance.

Image: www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-pe…tructure-2100942/
Transcript: otter.ai/u/-vI03TkWcLpvTIBRrrKE9DugYvw

Defending Against Complexity With Exercise

How do you manage complexity? Something we talk about a lot in Cloud2030 is how challenging it is to understand complexity, measure it and cope with it.

Richard Cooke wrote a paper called “How Complex Systems Fail,” (how.complexsystems.fail) and in it he talks about complex systems having strong defense mechanisms against failure. That’s what we talked about today. How do we build defense mechanisms for complex systems, not by making them simpler, but by exercising them and testing them?

We discuss the importance of testing, validation, and layer of abstraction and testing the layers in this conversation. If you deal with complex systems, this discussion will be fascinating and actionable.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/SP-z7OAJWAmJlql8Dh62rNk2hlo
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/man-woman-m…ng-young-4058411/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the May 24th DevOps lunch and learn, Rob Hirschfeld delves into the concept of making complex systems defensible by exercising and testing them thoroughly. Emphasizing the importance of shared automation and collaborative efforts within communities, he cites examples like Kubernetes and OpenStack as complex systems made more defensible through widespread testing and shared code. While complexity cannot be eliminated, actively exercising systems enhances their defensibility. Join the ongoing discussions and explore the intricacies of complexity management at the2030.cloud.

Distributed Ledger Drives Distributed Infrastructure

How is data center infrastructure adapted to edge distributed ledger technology workloads?

We think through if those demands (blockchain, proof-of-stake coins, etc) are changing the way we look at data center infrastructure, and the short answer is yes. We also explore the impacts of the type of workloads that we’re running and how we distribute them, rather than the type of equipment that we need to buy.

This conversation quickly becomes one about what we want to do with our infrastructure, not what the infrastructure is.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/KcT3ZF8ELbg5M3FrZmTSL7ycpX8
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/vehicle-on-the-road-3593923/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the May 24th Cloud 2030 Podcast episode, Rob Hirschfeld explores how distributed ledger technologies like blockchains could impact application design and workload distribution across infrastructure. The discussion shifts from the impact on data centers to the potential for distributed applications that are more portable, capable of running in smaller data centers. While acknowledging missing pieces in building such applications, the conversation highlights the opportunity for more portable and cost-effective workloads. Join the comprehensive discussions at the2030cloud to delve deeper into this transformative intersection of distributed ledgers and infrastructures.

Why Jenkins in DevOps?

What kind of orchestration systems does the industry use for infrastructure, automation and controlling day to day operations?

In today’s episode, we talk about infrastructure pipelines at the tooling level, and specifically the use of Jenkins and other CI pipelining tools for ops and orchestration. We dig into why and how you would do this, and what pieces are missing from the system. That conversation leads us into larger day to day challenges.

If you are doing infrastructure ops and DevOps automation, you will get a lot out of this session.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/dbTdHdYTIt5bU1G8SFghKSijhU0
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/barista-wit…d-tattoo-6205639/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the May 19th Cloud 2030 Podcast episode, Rob Hirschfeld delves into the intersection of payment systems, PCI V4, NFTs, blockchain, virtual reality, and the metaverse. The discussion highlights the often overlooked XRP or ripple specification, enabling banks to transfer funds outside the SWIFT system, introducing alternative ways for banks to exchange fiat currency with significant impacts on credit, microtransactions, and blockchain conversions. The episode emphasizes the importance of understanding seemingly esoteric elements that can shape the future landscape and influence how it evolves. Explore the full conversation for insights into this intriguing combination of PCI, V4, Kryptos, and the Metaverse.

Orchestration Automation Workflow [with Terraform]

Building reliable automation at scale for infrastructure presents challenges. In this episode, we discuss orchestration, workflow automation, and the reconciler pattern in the context of Terraform.

We refer to the pattern of Terraform, automation, and orchestration systems as “TACOS” and today we dig into how you test it and check it against drift. These are real topics of operational concern for anybody building any type of infrastructure.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/w-NA0HBsTc5NRaqWQQwlWUj4Whw
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/person-hold…ith-food-8448079/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the April 5th Cloud 2030 Podcast episode, Rob Hirschfeld discusses orchestration, automation, and workflow, focusing on Terraform and introducing the “Terraform Automation and Orchestration” (TACO) pattern. The conversation emphasizes that while Terraform is a valuable tool, the broader patterns of reconciliation, GitOps, and event-driven automation are crucial for building and maintaining complex systems over time. Hirschfeld encourages listeners to view tools like Terraform and Ansible as initial steps in a journey, prompting consideration of scaling, building orchestration systems, and understanding the importance of comprehensive system development. For more in-depth discussions, explore the full episode on orchestration, automation, and workflow from April 5th, and join the ongoing conversations at the2030.cloud.