Tag Archives: Orchestration

Exploring Backstage.io Integration

Today we talk about backstage.io, and we have that conversation centered around a demo done by one of the RackN and interns, Zander Franks. Check out the demo video here: youtu.be/cAQQOmKz4OI

Zander has been exploring with the backstage to Digital Rebar integration, and the conversation that results explains backstage in some fundamental ways and also what it takes to build good developer portals.

You will find in this episode both the broader information about how to do integrations where you have a developer portal as a front end and the key insights about how backstage works.

To get the most out of the backstage pieces, you will definitely want to see the video on Youtube. Take time to enjoy this whole podcast, both in video and audio format.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/xWx-q_ZvK4oX1sDJS09F1BsaZZI
Image:www.pexels.com/photo/wood-fashio…n-people-5650782/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the Cloud 2030 Podcast episode from January 10th, Rob Hirschfeld discusses the backstage integration, emphasizing the importance of understanding the dynamics involved in building an integration between a developer self-service portal and the systems responsible for a robust deployment experience. Hirschfeld underscores the critical point that while developer interfaces are crucial in platform engineering, they should not be expected to replace production tools like orchestrators, observability platforms, and infrastructure automation components. The episode features a demonstration and code exploration, providing valuable insights into the complexities and considerations of such integrations. For those interested in similar discussions, the Cloud 2030 community welcomes participation at the2030.cloud.

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.

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.

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.

That’s Not Terraform Orchestration!

This episode is about Terraform orchestration, what some people might call a TACO, in which we actually tried to do cloud provisioning in a orchestrated way. But this is a really challenging thing to do!

Orchestration is really hard so our discussion kept coming back to saying that this isn’t orchestration at all: it’s Infrastructure as Code and management.

We need to find a consistent way to to run a workflow or a control plane. We’re not even getting to the point where we’re coordinating or orchestrating aspects of different systems and using remote or API driven infrastructure.

Even if you use Terraform, you will get a lot out of this discussion!

Transcript: otter.ai/u/Ohbfr0Uprm95WYYI4357IdUodOU
Photo by Gabriel Santos Fotografia from Pexels [ID 2102568]

Jordan Rinke on Open Source, Kubernetes, & Edge Computing

Joining us this week is Jordan Rinke, Principal Software Engineer, Walmart Labs. Jordan offers his views on various technologies and open source projects as it relates to the scale and connectivity issues faced by Walmart.

Highlights
• Technical Gaps in Kubernetes Technologies and Installer Issues
• Tooling and Orchestration Focus for Kubernetes and Other Tools
• Core OS Model for Bootstrapping Kubernetes
• Discussion on Immutability: Middle Ground for Jordan
• Edge Computing – Emerging markets lead to disconnected edge sites
• Data location challenges in edge and cloud services
• Skills issues for medium sized clusters