First Steps: Backing up Kubernetes with Ark
Ark is an open source, kubernetes disaster recovery solution from Heptio. It allows you to backup all or part of your kubernetes cluster.
STIG, SCAP, AWS, Ansible, Oh My!
If you work for the government or are familiar with TLA (Three Letter Acronyms, i.e. FBI, CIA, WTF. etc.) then you know what this blog is about. If not, it is about automating your deployment to the cloud and knowing there is some level of security...
Organizing Ansible
What version of Ansible are we up to? 2.5?? Seems like just yesterday I started using Blocks for error handling. Even more recently, I decided to retrofit some of my roles with the new yum_repository module which allowed me to drop my repo file...
Think Before you NodePort in Kubernetes
When first starting with Kubernetes, new users quickly find out about exposing their applications via the built-in Service resource. Two options are provided for Services intended for external use: a NodePort, or a LoadBalancer. Often, the NodePort...
5 Ways to Leverage Slack in DevOps
The hot word in IT is currently *DevOps,* and for good reason! If you can get your development and operations teams in sync, then you can deliver quality software faster, improving time-to- market with smoother deployments. Unfortunately, the...
Stages of Continuous Delivery Part 1: The Build
Continuous Delivery (CD) is what every team wants to be doing, but without understanding of the core steps of this process it can be difficult or impossible to achieve. This post will outline the important steps of the CD process and why they are needed to ensure high-quality, on-time application delivery to your customers.
The Jenkins Password Parameter Obituary
The Jenkins Password Parameter Obituary Blaine Whited 17 October 2017 Jenkins Password Parameters, born on August 3, 2009, lived its life and provided useful functionality to many a time-pressed user. Its life was a storied one, as evident from the...
Building on Shifting Sands
When we think of architecture in general, we think of a static plan for a structure. I mean, it's as if we're building a house and we need a plan. However, plans do not always take into account situations when fundamental...
Beyond Storage — Managing Artifacts with Nexus and Artifactory
If you are a Java developer, it’s possible that you are familiar with the names Nexus and/or Artifactory as the de-facto standards in storing binary Java artifacts. These products have been around quite awhile and have solid corporate backing from...
Best Practices for Scripted Infrastructure with Chef
Scripted infrastructure, or Infrastructure as Code, has become a necessity to allow operations teams to keep up with the increasing rate of change of application development and sprawling data centers. Tools like Chef, Puppet and Ansible have...