Our mini episode today is a short discussion of API delineation and abstractions for platform engineering.
This was a short intro discussion, and it is especially interesting because platform is a major topic we will be exploring in the coming year. We highlight the challenges of finding the right abstraction points as well as building front end and back end automation.
Today is a one on one discussion between me and Rocky Grover about infrastructure, infrastructure patterns, AI, and how all of these systems connect.
We think deeply about what it takes to design great systems and cover a ton of ground to connect it all back together into systems design. Rocky has a lot of depth of experience here.
In the Cloud 2030 Podcast episode on process infrastructure automation systems, Rob Hirschfeld introduces the concept of a “stochastic parrot,” emphasizing the challenge posed by AI systems that provide answers without a true understanding of the underlying process. Hirschfeld highlights the importance of comprehending the process through which decisions are made, especially as AI, like ChatGPT, becomes more integrated into various domains. The episode delves into the significance of systems thinking, stressing that understanding the process is often as crucial as knowing the output. Listeners are encouraged to explore the insightful conversation from January 17th at the2030.cloud and join the ongoing discussions.
Platform engineering is a topic that seems to be generating a lot of interest going into 2023. It’s sure to be one of those things that enterprises spend a lot of time arguing about and telling each other that they’re doing it wrong.
In this podcast, we dissect why platform engineering seems to be so controversial, and what we can do to help make it more understandable.
We break it down into DevOps components, team components, Dev components, operations components, and ultimately talk about long term trajectories of how all this stuff is going.
In the December 13th DevOps Lunch and Learn on the Cloud 2030 podcast, Rob Hirschfeld explores the concept of platform engineering emerging from enterprises grappling with the challenges of enabling developers while rationalizing operations. The discussion introduces the idea of operational entropy or infrastructure entropy, emphasizing how platform engineering teams can effectively manage the constant changes, security vulnerabilities, and evolving environments, relieving developers of this burden. By shifting entropy management to a shared and collaborative task, platform engineering teams have the potential to enhance how they function, offering opportunities for improvement across the industry. For those intrigued by these discussions, the full episode is available at the2030.cloud, inviting participation in ongoing conversations.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How can promotion boards be hostile or hurtful to open source technology? We talk about the dynamics of corporate support in open source technology, and if being rewarded for internal work at companies translates into challenges for open source technology.
This discussion starts to peel apart what makes open source technology sustainable, and what it works for. We bring up an analogy of a lava lamp where things heat up and then cool down as part of a natural cycle, which can be a normal cycle for all software, and that led us back to how promotion boards work.
We covered a lot of ground through the dynamics of corporate software governance and open source and interweaving those together.
In the Cloud 2030 podcast on April 19th, Rob Hirschfeld discusses the challenges of sustaining open source projects and the dynamics of job review boards. The conversation highlights the common evolution of software projects, where initial excitement and rapid development give way to stabilization, increasing complexity, and less excitement. The key takeaway is the need to recognize and reward individuals contributing to the maintenance and extension of existing projects, emphasizing the importance of such work for communities, companies, and society. Join the discussion at the2030.cloud for diverse opinions and insights.
What makes Everything as Code and Infrastructure as Code interesting? In today’s episode, we discuss what makes something code-like and the idea of Everything as Code, based on Patrick Dubois’ article “In depth research and trends analyzed from 50+ different concepts as code.”
Some of our conclusions were practical, like if a concept is a process that is reproducible and auditable, that’s what makes it code-like. And some other possible conclusions were that it’s just marketing because it makes everything programmable. The reality is somewhere in the middle.
In the Cloud 2030 Podcast episode on March 29th, Rob Hirschfeld provides insights on the “everything as code” discussion. While acknowledging the term’s playful exaggeration, Hirschfeld emphasizes the underlying desire for reproducibility, auditability, and code-like experiences in various aspects of operational and infrastructure activities. Despite the term’s potential for marketing hype, the aspiration to apply code principles to different facets of infrastructure management remains significant, influencing how we build and manage systems. To delve into this engaging discussion, check out the full episode on March 29th, available on the2030.cloud.
