Managing Cloud-Native Applications
The cloud-native application topic center helps IT operations and SysOps professionals manage apps that are designed to use loosely coupled cloud compute and storage rather than monolithic resources. Experts explain how to capacity plan and optimize performance for native cloud applications, including redundancy and scalability considerations.
Top Stories
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Conference Coverage
20 Apr 2023
KubeCon + CloudNativeCon 2023 news coverage
Trying to keep up with the latest news out of KubeCon + CloudNativeCon? Use this comprehensive guide to stay updated and informed on both the European and North American events. Continue Reading
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News
15 Feb 2022
F5 distributed cloud security services strike a trendy chord
As talk of multi-cloud management gives way to distributed cloud, which also ties in edge computing, F5 bundles application security services to expand its appeal to enterprises. Continue Reading
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News
06 Mar 2020
Istio service mesh revamp may ease use, or sow confusion
Istio 1.5 reworks a microservices-based control plane into a monolith as the service mesh project seeks to simplify management and improve performance. Continue Reading
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News
05 Mar 2020
Biometrics firm fights monitoring overload with log analytics
Log analytics tools have become more popular as enterprise IT pros contend with complex, continuous microservices application deployments at scale. Continue Reading
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News
25 Feb 2020
Mirantis marshals reinforcements for Kubernetes management
Mirantis adds engineering staff and revives Docker Swarm as it plans to do battle in container orchestration against Red Hat, Pivotal and Docker itself. Continue Reading
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News
12 Feb 2020
Grafana Loki users reap log data savings, with tradeoffs
Grafana Loki won't replace advanced log analytics tools, but it may be a boon for shops that want to collect massive amounts of log data for troubleshooting applications. Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2020
Retail software firm takes broad view of Kubernetes security
Kubernetes platform security has supplanted container-level security for enterprises such as retail software vendor Aptos as they deploy microservices in production. Continue Reading
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News
16 Jan 2020
SaltStack infrastructure-as-code tools seek cloud-native niche
SaltStack, like other infrastructure-as-code tools, must reinvent itself as cloud-native IT automation approaches such as containers, serverless and Kubernetes Operators grow. Continue Reading
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Feature
20 Dec 2019
Optimize application deployments with this expert advice from 2019
As the year comes to a close, review SearchITOperations' most popular tips on app deployment and support, covering topics such as DevOps automation, SLAs and tool tutorials. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
18 Dec 2019
Use this Kubernetes and Helm tutorial to simplify app deployments
Helm charts are a helpful tool to deploy applications onto Kubernetes clusters. Follow this tutorial, which also features Windows and Chocolatey, to get started with the package manager. Continue Reading
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Opinion
11 Dec 2019
Emphasize app modernization in 2020 IT budget plans
IT budgeting can be stressful and complicated, but it doesn't have to be. Communicate with business leaders and users to identify -- and capitalize on -- the right opportunities. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Nov 2019
Decipher real-world AIOps use cases from the hype
There are many AIOps use cases that apply to enterprise IT, but make sure you are familiar with what exactly the technology can -- and can't -- do before adoption. Continue Reading
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News
22 Nov 2019
Kubernetes release gets little fanfare as IT looks toward GitOps
Kubernetes is considered stable enough to be boring. The latest beta release was barely mentioned at KubeCon, where IT pros focused on advanced uses such as GitOps and other cloud-native projects. Continue Reading
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News
21 Nov 2019
Linkerd vs. Istio battle heats up as service mesh gains steam
Service mesh has gone from a relatively unknown entity to a mainstream topic in 2019, but it's too early to declare a TKO in the Linkerd vs. Istio prizefight. Continue Reading
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News
20 Nov 2019
Kubernetes security opens a new frontier: Multi-tenancy
Enterprises have grown used to managing Kubernetes in production for some of their workloads, but broadening those deployments can bring multi-tenant security challenges. Continue Reading
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News
15 Nov 2019
D2iQ latest to seek Kubernetes management niche
D2iQ's CTO says it will use its enterprise experience with Apache Mesos container orchestration and big data apps such as Kafka to compete in a crowded market for Kubernetes management. Continue Reading
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News
13 Nov 2019
Docker Enterprise spun off to Mirantis, company restructures
In an unexpected move, Docker sells off its Docker Enterprise business -- including customer support -- to Mirantis and refocuses on Docker Hub and Docker Desktop. Continue Reading
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News
12 Nov 2019
Aqua Security buys CloudSploit, expands into cloud security
Amid consolidation and chaos in the cloud security market, Aqua snaps up CloudSploit and sets the stage for increased competition with traditional IT security vendors. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Nov 2019
A GitOps workflow won't benefit every IT organization
A move to GitOps is a major transition for an IT team and offers a wealth of perks, but it also carries significant challenges and a steep learning curve. Continue Reading
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News
08 Nov 2019
Microservices security calls for zero-trust, data classification
Sanity in a zero-trust world for microservices security calls for IT teams to prioritize the assets they must protect, and that starts with data classification. Continue Reading
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News
04 Nov 2019
JASK buy may boost security analytics in Sumo Logic SIEM
Sumo Logic has acquired JASK, an automated SOC that will be most useful for security analytics and alert reduction features within Sumo Logic's SIEM. Continue Reading
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Tip
04 Nov 2019
When to use Jenkins vs. Jenkins X for pipeline automation
Three primary factors -- flexibility, Kubernetes adoption and the need for a GUI -- should shape an organization's decision between Jenkins and Jenkins X as a pipeline automation tool. Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2019
New Relic catches up in serverless monitoring with IOpipe
IOpipe's IP and expertise will help New Relic catch up with the latest serverless monitoring trends, such as AWS Lambda Layers support and event-driven frameworks. Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2019
DevOps security shifts left, but miles to go to pass hackers
DevSecOps has gone mainstream as companies bake security automation into app development, but experts say the toughest cybersecurity challenges remain unsolved. Continue Reading
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Tip
25 Oct 2019
Prevent man-in-the-middle attacks on apps, CI/CD toolchains
Man-in-the-middle attacks pose a serious threat to both CI/CD tools and the apps those tools support. Learn how these attacks typically occur -- and how to stop them -- to do DevOps securely. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Oct 2019
Enterprise IT weighs pros and cons of multi-cloud management
IT ops pros are getting used to multi-cloud management, especially for disaster recovery, but moving from cloud to cloud via container portability is still rare. Continue Reading
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News
18 Oct 2019
Red Hat OpenShift Tekton pipelines reflect strategic platform focus
OpenShift and its competitors now offer enterprises soup-to-nuts DevOps platforms, rather than simple Kubernetes management tools, that are based on different points of strategic lock-in. Continue Reading
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News
11 Oct 2019
Ticketmaster unifies DevOps monitoring with Confluent Kafka
Ticketmaster troubleshoots and secures distributed applications using Kafka stream processing as a central hub for data collection. Continue Reading
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News
08 Oct 2019
Google sparks open source unrest over Knative, Istio
Google is keeping its Knative and Istio projects close to the vest, which could limit their reach long term, early adopters say. Continue Reading
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News
07 Oct 2019
Docker Desktop asset, fiscal stress prompt acquisition buzz
Docker has tried to differentiate itself as a Kubernetes competitor, but amid reports of financial headwinds, it should return to its roots in the developer desktop, analysts say. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Oct 2019
Heed these cloud security considerations for SaaS, PaaS
A move to the cloud lessens IT's workload responsibility, but SaaS and PaaS models each require a targeted cloud security strategy to protect applications. Continue Reading
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News
02 Oct 2019
Chef outage fuels technology ethics debate
Software companies have been embroiled in high-profile ethical controversies in the past two years, driving industry debate about just how extensively politics should influence tech. Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2019
AIOps tools mature as cloud infrastructure grows
DevOps monitoring tools gain refined features as IT complexity soars, but their advanced AIOps automation hasn't yet gone mainstream. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Sep 2019
What IT admins need to know about cloud application patching
When they host apps in a SaaS or PaaS environment, IT teams offload some patching duties to cloud providers. But other responsibilities become even more important. Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2019
HashiCorp Consul plays to multi-platform strength with Azure
HashiCorp's Consul service mesh will be offered as a hosted service on Microsoft Azure, where it can link container clusters along with VMs in multiple regions. Continue Reading
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Tip
05 Sep 2019
Consider the when, why and how of a Mesos-to-Kubernetes migration
Before choosing to migrate to Kubernetes, Mesos users should carefully prepare for the complexity of the move -- and first consider using the two technologies side by side. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Sep 2019
Embrace an app-centric approach to monitoring in the cloud
Cloud computing minimizes the need for IT teams to worry about infrastructure hardware -- which means their monitoring strategies can, and should, hone in on apps and the user experience. Continue Reading
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News
28 Aug 2019
Knative serverless Kubernetes bypasses FaaS to revive PaaS
Knative's emerging claim to fame is that it can turn Kubernetes into a next-gen platform as a service with both a Heroku-like developer experience and deep infrastructure control. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Aug 2019
Simplify SaaS integration with an IT service aggregator
SaaS management can cause as many headaches as SaaS apps prevent. Poor integrations between disparate tools can create bottlenecks and failures, but aggregators can help. Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2019
Istio service mesh hits OpenShift GA, but upgrades are slow
Istio service mesh, Kiali and Jaeger are generally available for Red Hat OpenShift 4, but it will be some time before users are ready for the latest version of the platform. Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2019
Splunk pricing worries some users amid SignalFx monitoring buy
Splunk wants to collect more data via SignalFx, but some users wonder how much it will cost to keep up with the proliferation of logs and metrics in the age of cloud monitoring. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
22 Aug 2019
Follow this Terraform and AWS tutorial to create a VPC
As an infrastructure-as-code tool, Terraform simplifies and streamlines resource deployments. Follow along with this example, which features Amazon VPCs, to get started. Continue Reading
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Quiz
20 Aug 2019
Test your knowledge of CNCF projects and tools
From Kubernetes to Envoy, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation has ushered in many leading open source technologies for the IT enterprise. So, how well do you know them? Continue Reading
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News
15 Aug 2019
Jenkins X gears up for SaaS version, GitOps standards
With key maturity milestones behind them, the maintainers of Jenkins X prepare a SaaS version, and plan to collaborate with Google's Tekton and Netflix's Spinnaker. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Aug 2019
Cloud adoption questions every IT admin should ask
For all of a cloud service's benefits, there are limitations, such as restricted access to infrastructure, that cause IT teams to be leery of adoption. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Jul 2019
Compare Linkerd vs. Istio for service mesh technology
To decide between Istio and Linkerd for a service mesh platform, consider everything from performance and ease of use to support from major public cloud providers. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2019
Kubernetes authentication project wrestles with migration problems
GKE users like the Workload Identity feature for Kubernetes authentication with GCP services, but similar improvements to core cluster security present a potential market-wide migration headache. Continue Reading
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News
24 Jul 2019
Compliance-as-code tool hits DevSecOps sweet spot for MSP
There are almost as many tools to assist with DevSecOps as there are definitions for the term – how one managed service provider that serves federal agencies chose a compliance-as-code vendor. Continue Reading
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News
19 Jul 2019
Kubernetes policy project takes enterprise IT by storm
A Kubernetes-friendly compliance as code project hosted by the CNCF has caught on among large enterprises in the first half of 2019, largely through word of mouth. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Jul 2019
Don't neglect your IT architect skills in public cloud projects
Public cloud infrastructure is beyond the veil for IT admins: unknown and untouchable. But depending on the deployment -- and the cloud -- admins still have architecture to manage. Continue Reading
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News
02 Jul 2019
Kubernetes security tool gives IT a leg up on DevSecOps
An emerging real estate firm tasked with DevSecOps sought an assist from startup Alcide, which bakes Kubernetes security best practices into its software. Continue Reading
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News
26 Jun 2019
LogicMonitor wades into AIOps with anomaly detection
Another country heard from in AIOps: LogicMonitor rolls out anomaly detection and alert dependency correlation, but can it rise above the noise? Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2019
IT pros brace for wave of M&A in microservices security
Microservices and DevOps have made IT security a shared responsibility among enterprise stakeholders, and experts expect this shift to prompt mass consolidation among vendors. Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2019
Alaska Airlines charts course for DevOps security
As Alaska Airlines plots a flight path to a hybrid cloud infrastructure, it will navigate with an automated DevOps security tool that spans multiple IT environments. Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2019
AIOps tools beef up insights, but long-term scope unclear
AIOps tools present a way to cope with IT infrastructure sprawl and complexity, but how far they can go with hands-off automation features is still a topic for debate. Continue Reading
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News
12 Jun 2019
AIOps early adopters tackle data quality issues
AIOps is new in many ways, but early adopters must also heed a time-honored IT maxim: garbage in, garbage out. Continue Reading
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Tip
05 Jun 2019
Automate declarative configuration management for IT ops success
AWS CloudFormation is one of the top options for configuration management -- but it isn't without flaws. Compare AWS to other tools to pick the best option for your organization. Continue Reading
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News
31 May 2019
Palo Alto Networks buys Twistlock, PureSec for container security
Palo Alto Networks snaps up Twistlock and PureSec to broaden its cloud security portfolio and give enterprise IT shops more options for container and serverless security. Continue Reading
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News
22 May 2019
DevSecOps evolution changes the game for IT ops
A DevSecOps shift and a move to public cloud have precipitated a sea change in what's expected of IT ops pros at a mobile video on-demand company. Continue Reading
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News
21 May 2019
GKE, Azure roll out Windows Kubernetes support
Cloud service providers rolled out Windows Kubernetes support this week, which may take some of the burden of Linux container management requirements out of the hands of Microsoft-only shops. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 May 2019
DevOps for networking hits chokepoints, tangled communications
NetOps complements DevOps in enterprises that need to scale application delivery efforts up and out. Networking tools -- and teams -- need to advance to find their place in CI/CD pipelines. Continue Reading
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News
17 May 2019
Former Chef Software CTO talks IT automation, open source
Chef Software's founder, Adam Jacob, built widely used IT automation software for the enterprise. Now that he's no longer CTO, he's taking a break and pondering what comes next. Continue Reading
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Tip
13 May 2019
Change your application support process to juggle cloud and legacy IT
Legacy IT and cloud app architectures demand different application maintenance and support activities, but with some abstraction and automation, they coexist. Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2019
OpenShift shops chart a course for advanced IT automation
IT teams tackled containerization, developer self-service platforms and infrastructure provisioning automation in 2018. So, what's next? Continue Reading
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Tip
02 May 2019
Combine containers and serverless to optimize app environments
Rather than pick a side in the debate around containers vs. serverless computing, DevOps shops would benefit from putting both of these complementary technologies to use. Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Apr 2019
Adjust IT operations roles and responsibilities for cloud
More organizations migrate to the cloud with each passing day. Learn how embracing soft skills can smooth the transition of dedicated ops staff to cloud industry roles. Continue Reading
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Quiz
19 Apr 2019
Test your Kubernetes terminology expertise with this quiz
Can you ace this quiz on Kubernetes architecture and component terminology? Assess your knowledge of these terms and whether you need to hit the books -- or online documentation. Continue Reading
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News
10 Apr 2019
Cloud Foundry PaaS undergoes seismic shifts as IT evolves
Cloud Foundry undergoes drastic changes as infrastructure automation technology develops, to the point where some industry experts see more erosion than evolution. Continue Reading
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News
08 Apr 2019
Users forge ahead with Cloud Foundry-Kubernetes integration
Complementary roles for Cloud Foundry and Kubernetes are clear to IT pros, and the community plans to knit the two more closely together with the Eirini project. Continue Reading
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Guide
01 Apr 2019
Bookmark this expansive guide to DevOps for Windows
Native Windows DevOps tools and Azure DevOps services enable Microsoft shops to keep pace with Linux setups. Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2019
Google SREs test the limits of infrastructure automation
Google SRE veterans spoke publicly about infrastructure automation work, its future and its limitations. Continue Reading
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News
27 Mar 2019
Monitoring distributed systems means first, do no harm
SRE veterans who work with large, complex, latency-sensitive infrastructures say some monitoring tools can hurt the systems they're meant to help. Continue Reading
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Tip
14 Mar 2019
Use the Ballerina language to ease into cloud microservices
With native integration features, Ballerina promises to take care of lower-level technological considerations, while developers focus on building features. Continue Reading
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News
13 Mar 2019
F5-Nginx deal reflects mainstream trend toward microservices
F5 snaps up Nginx for cloud-native app support, and analysts predict a microservices gold rush as modern application architectures catch on in enterprise IT shops. Continue Reading
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News
12 Mar 2019
F5-NGINX acquisition removes open source rival
F5 Networks plans to buy NGINX for $670 million. The F5-NGINX acquisition removes from the market a business founded on open source software used in 375 million websites. Continue Reading
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News
08 Mar 2019
Release automation tools link legacy, modern app management
Release automation tools will evolve in 2019 to embrace advanced application development and infrastructure automation techniques. Continue Reading
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News
05 Mar 2019
Container security tools turn heads with expansion to hosts
Vendors that sell container security tools now face off against traditional security tool providers, as both vie for the attention of IT pros who look to fortify their cloud-native infrastructure. Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2019
Istio security drives Auto Trader UK move to GKE
The U.K.'s largest online automotive marketplace put Istio security features in place before it adopted containers and GKE, rather than the other way around. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Feb 2019
Determine the cost of app customization in the cloud
Cloud applications are like icebergs: There's a lot users don't see below the surface. One apparently small change could have a massive ripple effect on operations. Continue Reading
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News
14 Feb 2019
Container security tools pitch service mesh integrations
Container defense in depth is a hot topic, and some IT pros approach it with a combination of third-party container security tools and service mesh security features. Continue Reading
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News
14 Feb 2019
Linkerd vs. Istio fray dominates service mesh battle
Linkerd's maintainers admit it has a narrower range of features than buzz machine Istio. But after failed attempts to set up Istio, some early adopters believe less is more. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Feb 2019
Adjust IT team dynamics for a cloud-native approach
As enterprises set their cloud-native strategy, they'll need to navigate major changes -- both from a technical standpoint and in terms of IT team structure and management style. Continue Reading
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Tip
07 Feb 2019
Evaluate the Mesos architecture for massive container deployments
In addition to supporting large-scale IT deployments, Mesos takes a unique approach to data center and cloud resource pools that can benefit both containerized and noncontainerized apps. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jan 2019
VMware-Heptio roadmap to refine enterprise Kubernetes
Heptio founder Craig McLuckie, now VP of R&D at VMware following a 2018 merger, anticipates hard work ahead to get enterprises to adopt Kubernetes in their production environments. Continue Reading
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Quiz
21 Jan 2019
Pop quiz: Can you identify these top IT trends of 2019?
From serverless and AIOps to a widening tech skills gap, numerous IT trends bring momentum into 2019. See how ready you are for new opportunities and hurdles in IT with this quiz. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jan 2019
VMware and Pivotal put NSX spin on Kubernetes security
VMware and Pivotal mix NSX network segmentation into PKS 1.3 to appeal to large, advanced users of vSphere and Kubernetes who manage multi-tenant container clusters. Continue Reading
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Opinion
20 Dec 2018
IT organizations anticipate DevOps evolution in 2019
DevOps shifts around like ice cubes skate across water: quickly and always toward its outer limits. Kurt Marko explores some areas where DevOps will go in 2019. Continue Reading
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News
14 Dec 2018
Istio service mesh tradeoffs prompt caution among IT pros
Istio can boost the security and observability of Kubernetes environments, but some IT pros question whether the perks are worth a steep learning curve. Continue Reading
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News
14 Dec 2018
Knative project stokes interest in event-driven IT ops
The Knative project is nascent, but Kubernetes users said they believe it could facilitate the next generation of IT infrastructure management. Continue Reading
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News
11 Dec 2018
Kubernetes security issues raise concerns for enterprise shops
As Kubernetes enters the enterprise mainstream, it has early adopters abuzz about security issues in the platform and the containers it orchestrates. Continue Reading
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News
04 Dec 2018
Microsoft and Docker CNAB takes aim at distributed computing
Microsoft and Docker want to push container-like abstraction up the stack with the CNAB open source spec, which has piqued enterprise interest in its early stages. Continue Reading
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News
04 Dec 2018
Kubernetes security vulnerability reveals fractured market
Enterprises that pay for Kubernetes support will respond differently to this week's critical security vulnerability than lean DevOps teams that use upstream distributions. Continue Reading
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News
30 Nov 2018
Istio service mesh vies for lead in microservices market
Istio's integration into Google Cloud will give it momentum, but service mesh competition remains fierce, as HashiCorp Consul makes strong inroads with early adopters. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Nov 2018
As-a-service at your service: Cloud tools simplify DevOps automation
AWS offers the widest range of cloud-integrated DevOps tools. But Google Cloud has a strategy with more focus on integration, and Azure closely ties in with other Microsoft products. Continue Reading
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Opinion
21 Nov 2018
What's next for VMs vs. containers as isolation, performance evolve?
With advances from Docker, Kubernetes and other container technologies, an ecosystem is emerging that threatens the existence -- or at least importance -- of VMs in enterprise IT orgs. Continue Reading
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News
20 Nov 2018
Kibana monitoring apps zoom in on Kubernetes infrastructure
A new set of time-series Kubernetes infrastructure monitoring and APM tools in version 6.5 of Elastic Stack take their place among many choices for IT pros. Continue Reading
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News
16 Nov 2018
AWS Lambda monitoring goes mainstream with New Relic beta
New Relic users and prospects will investigate AWS Lambda monitoring features released in private beta, as serverless usage filters in to enterprise IT shops. Continue Reading
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News
15 Nov 2018
Container security tools push multi-cloud closer to reality
Container security tools, such as StackRox and Aqua Security, offer DevOps shops that want multi-cloud portability a centralized way to reduce the risk of complex infrastructures. Continue Reading
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News
07 Nov 2018
Kubernetes on VMware gains a lifeline with Heptio acquisition
VMware's Heptio buy brings it Kubernetes chops that will help it make a multi-cloud bid, but it will struggle to raise its profile in open source container management, industry watchers predict. Continue Reading
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News
02 Nov 2018
HashiCorp Vault maturity prompts strategy speculation
HashiCorp is valued at $1.9 billion for its IT management software, such as Vault 1.0, and the IBM-Red Hat merger has set off speculation about the firm's future. Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2018
IBM Red Hat acquisition roils open source container management
IBM agreed to buy Red Hat with Kubernetes in mind for its multi-cloud management strategy, and it'll have far-reaching implications for the open source container management community, especially Cloud Foundry. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Oct 2018
Cloud and containers rewrite monitoring and management rulebooks
IT performance management is tricky when it stretches as big as the public cloud and scrunches as small as a microservice. IT ops techniques must change to keep up. Continue Reading