Tag Archives: DevOps

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.

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/

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.

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.

OSS, Promotions, and Lava Lamps

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.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/nZS6rtcam88JUuqMctOiEyWq5G4
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/food-cold-d…nk-glass-5677999/

Rob’s Hot Take:

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.

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.

Goldilocks Platforms [w James Urquhart]

A Goldilocks’ balance challenges us to trade off prescriptive and flexible platforms. James Urquhart shares his experiences with Cloud Foundry, VMware, and Amazon about trying to find the right balance between building it yourself versus a prescriptive service approach.

We’ve decided that there needs to be a middle zone with enough opportunity for customization, as well as enough pre-set, prescriptive methods to create sustainability.

In this episode, we talk about that balance and how different processes have done it in industry.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/OQBfCHldtYjUpqjKdkN3KjzLiR0
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/brown-teddy…h-outside-207891/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the Cloud 2030 Podcast Lunch and Learn on March 22nd, Rob Hirschfeld explores the Goldilocks problem, focusing on the challenge of striking the right balance between prescriptive platforms and open toolboxes. He emphasizes the difficulty of handling the diverse and heterogeneous nature of various systems while aiming for reuse, reduction of toil, and collaboration. Hirschfeld points out the nuanced nature of variations within the 80-20 rule, stressing the importance of considering how toolboxy or prescriptive a platform should be based on individual needs. To delve deeper into this thought-provoking discussion with insights from James Urquhart, check out the full episode on March 22nd at the2030.cloud and become part of these engaging conversations.

Complexity vs Value [& Okta hack]

The Okta hack highlights the value versus complexity trade off. In today’s episode, we ask if the complexity of using single sign on is the right move in this context. We also think about how to deal with these interconnected systems that have high degrees of complexity.

We also discussed API design, and whether or not we should have more rigid or flexible APIs. You can’t remove complexity from the system, but you can hide it. The structure of APIs will push complexity into either the users’ realm or the operators’ realm.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/cftY6wlMTzAceT2EiHF4u4u0dpE
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-an…ng-money-7884134/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the Cloud 2030 Podcast on March 24th, Rob Hirschfeld delves into the complex relationship between complexity, value, and immutability in system design, particularly focusing on API interfaces. He emphasizes the trade-offs involved in exposing options to users, providing flexibility but potentially increasing complexity. The discussion highlights the practicality of using immutability and templates to control API complexity, acknowledging the challenges of finding the right balance and the importance of transparency in decision-making. To explore these insights further, listen to the full episode on March 24th at the2030.cloud and participate in these open conversations.

Expanding GitOps Beyond K8s

GitOps is a really important way of collaborating and communicating about infrastructure.

But can GitOps escape from Kubernetes? While we did talk about Kubernetes too, we mainly talked about what it takes to implement GitOps outside of Kubernetes. We considered building a GitOps architecture and then having people understand and use it. We also cover the fundamental parts of GitOps like having a reconciler and a bunch of tools that drive clusters.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/oq4D06Sd_rtUvXBVXC0Wx3KA2sQ
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/people-with…popcorns-7234318/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the March 8th DevOps Lunch and Learn session on GitOps, Rob Hirschfeld emphasizes the crucial role of immutability in operations. The concept of specifying a fixed state, configuration set, or resource transforms how automation, infrastructure building, and system maintenance are approached. The investment in immutable components enhances change resilience, making it easier to adapt and keep up with changes while ensuring stability. Join the ongoing conversations and roundtables at the2030.cloud to contribute to discussions on these transformative concepts.