Tag Archives: Automation

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.

Training Teams to Fight Complexity

How do we manage complexity? Today we discuss sources of complexity and explore design rules. We also talk about how you think about the systems that you’re building in ways that allow them to handle complexity gracefully.

The simple answer is to have people who are good at thinking about complex systems. Part of that is experience in looking at complex systems, seeing how they operate and being ready to deal with that type of thing like training pilots.

How we get to that insight is really significant, and it impacts how you build teams and systems. In addition to how you build systems that defend themselves that are naturally complex, but have the right defense mechanisms to make them more stable over the long term.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/f2t7gZfQhzG1Dgeg5ePwFHZOTmw
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/colorful-fu…ironment-3872003/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the June 28th episode, Rob Hirschfeld delves into the topic of complexity, emphasizing the inevitability of complex systems in real-world scenarios. The discussion highlights the importance of training individuals to navigate and manage complex systems effectively, suggesting that exposure and interaction with complexity are critical learning experiences. The key takeaway underscores the need for proactive training to equip individuals with the skills to handle and defend complex systems, ultimately preventing the creation of increasingly fragile structures. For a comprehensive exploration of the human element in dealing with complexity, listen to the entire podcast at the2030.cloud and join the ongoing discussions.

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.

Everything As Code !

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.”

Reference: www.jedi.be/blog/2022/02/23/tre…0-as-code-concepts/

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.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/E1TezO2XutwJyS-vCNetslwWO4A
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-grey…icky-note-879109/

Rob’s Hot Take:

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.

How Lock in Creates Risk

Organizations take a risk when they get locked into a vendor. In today’s episode, we talk a lot about the risks of lock in, both in general and in the context of Oracle.

That discussion takes us into a question of insurance, and if insurance policies could ultimately drive people to reduce lock in exposure. This was a fascinating discussion, not only about lock in but about what would drive organizations to fix their lock in problems.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/zJf0WMUwJgamk7IpscHCsL2vsV4
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/closed-white-door-3119977/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the Cloud 2030 Podcast episode on March 31st, Rob Hirschfeld discusses the intricate aspects of vendor lock-in, focusing on the risks associated with relying on a single provider, such as an authentication service like Okta. The conversation delves into the challenges of migrating away from tightly integrated platforms and emphasizes the importance of assessing and mitigating lock-in risks. The broader theme within Cloud 2030 discussions seems to revolve around identifying and understanding various risk factors in building complex infrastructures, aiming to drive market dynamics by addressing and managing these risks. To explore this insightful discussion further, check out the full episode on March 31st at the2030.cloud and become part of these engaging conversations.