Systems automation and orchestration
Get expert guidance and practitioner-written tutorials to improve your organization's automation and orchestration processes, offering advice for beginners and pros alike.
Top Stories
-
Tip
02 Oct 2023
A guide to the key stages of AIOps
The key stages that make up AIOps all play an important role in achieving desired results. Successful adoption hinges on a team's ability to master them. Continue Reading
-
Tip
26 Sep 2023
Best practices for network automation with Python
Python libraries, version control, documentation and object-oriented programming provide helpful best practices for network engineers tackling network automation with Python. Continue Reading
-
News
20 Sep 2023
Linux Foundation ups ante on HashiCorp, hosts Terraform fork
All eyes are on HashiCorp's response now that a community-driven fork of its Terraform infrastructure as code tool has been officially relaunched as a Linux Foundation project. Continue Reading
-
Feature
14 Sep 2023
Generative AI emerges for DevSecOps, with some qualms
New and developing tools use natural language processing to assist DevSecOps workflows, but concerns linger among developers about security risks as well. Continue Reading
-
Tip
14 Sep 2023
How to use NAPALM for efficient network management
NAPALM is a flexible Python library that can integrate with Ansible modules, support multivendor environments, and ease network management and automation strategies. Continue Reading
-
News
07 Sep 2023
Server-side WebAssembly takes shape, but faces challenges
Server-side Wasm's release next quarter will provide a cleaner way to connect apps, followed by further improvements in early 2024. Will it be enough to convince skeptics? Continue Reading
-
Opinion
31 Aug 2023
New features show VMware Tanzu's impact on dev community
Despite questions of a sale, VMware Tanzu remains a strong influence in the developer community, especially with added features announced at VMware Explore 2023. Continue Reading
-
News
25 Aug 2023
OpenTF begins HashiCorp Terraform fork, pledges donation
The vendor-led group says it wants to donate a fork based on the latest open source version of the infrastructure as code tool to a foundation, ideally the Linux Foundation or CNCF. Continue Reading
-
News
24 Aug 2023
VMware, Cisco prep generative AI for SecOps
Generative AI has the potential to go beyond identifying anomalies in known data to create new information, such as incident summaries or security policies -- as well as new risks. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
22 Aug 2023
How to run ML workloads with Apache Spark on Kubernetes
IT staff looking for ways to maintain ML workloads with ease are increasingly turning to Apache Spark. Follow these simple steps to set up a Spark cluster on Kubernetes. Continue Reading
-
News
14 Aug 2023
Confusion mounts amid HashiCorp open source change
Ripple effects from HashiCorp's switch to BSL spread through the industry, raising questions among enterprise users and trepidation about the future of corporate open source. Continue Reading
-
News
11 Aug 2023
HashiCorp open source change targets competitors
HashiCorp moves to a Business Source License for all its future product releases that prohibits use for commercial purposes, renewing questions about open core business models. Continue Reading
-
News
01 Aug 2023
Experts expect Sumo Logic match post-New Relic acquisition
New Relic and Sumo Logic were both taken private by the same firm, as consolidation -- and attrition -- continues among observability tools. Continue Reading
-
Feature
31 Jul 2023
Enterprises rework log analytics to cut observability costs
Organizations such as Netflix could be a harbinger of an observability cost crisis, where monitoring cloud-native apps comprises an untenable portion of operational costs. Continue Reading
-
Feature
27 Jul 2023
Industry tackles observability's data management problems
Enterprises and the vendors they buy from have begun to fundamentally rethink data management for observability, including a new startup with close ties to Cisco. Continue Reading
-
Tip
24 Jul 2023
An introduction to Git for network engineers
Git can be a useful tool for network engineers who manage complex infrastructure, especially as networking increasingly overlaps with software, automation and DevOps. Continue Reading
-
News
20 Jul 2023
Dell Moogsoft AIOps buy could start filling gaps post-VMware
Dell's purchase of Moogsoft this week could help it regain some enterprise software appeal it lost when it spun out VMware. But the future is unclear for Moogsoft users. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
20 Jul 2023
Why AIOps will look at generative AI tools to grow adoption
AIOps generally sees limited results in its current implementations, but generative AI can potentially help expand and monetize these processes for organizations. Continue Reading
-
News
18 Jul 2023
Splunk AI update adds specialized models for SecOps tasks
Splunk AI updates this week included specialized models for SecOps that detect and automatically respond to common issues such as DNS exfiltration and suspicious processes. Continue Reading
-
Tip
10 Jul 2023
Decide when and how to adopt an MLOps framework
Unsure where to start when it comes to standardizing your organization's machine learning processes? Explore key considerations and practical tips for adopting an MLOps framework. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
30 Jun 2023
Automate workflows by running PowerShell in GitHub Actions
By running PowerShell scripts in GitHub Actions workflows, admins can automate common DevOps and IT management tasks. Get started with these hands-on examples. Continue Reading
-
News
28 Jun 2023
Banks dump Terraform for Crossplane infrastructure as code
Two EU banks favor Crossplane's reconciliation approach over Terraform's dependency graph, saying the former hastens deployments -- with a few migration caveats. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
23 Jun 2023
Learn by doing with these PowerShell regex examples
When you must find specific text in a large file, such as a system log, regular expressions can come to the rescue. Learn how to add this skill to your administrative arsenal. Continue Reading
-
Feature
21 Jun 2023
Chef founder's new venture: IT infrastructure digital twins
System Initiative, out in private beta this week, visualizes complex IT environments in digital simulations where users can test updates before real-world deployments. Continue Reading
-
News
14 Jun 2023
HashiCorp Vault trims SaaS; Boundary hooks up Enterprise
HashiCorp Vault's appeal to a broader field of users gets a boost from a new entry-level cloud service, while a new Boundary Enterprise targets the high end of the market. Continue Reading
-
Tip
13 Jun 2023
How to use GitHub Copilot for PowerShell coding projects
The integration of this code completion tool with VS Code can benefit administrators who want to automate jobs. But there are some limitations with this fledgling technology. Continue Reading
-
Tip
09 Jun 2023
Kubernetes networking 101: Best practices and challenges
Before jumping into the landscape of CNI plugins for Kubernetes, it's important to understand the basic elements of Kubernetes networking. Follow this guide to get started. Continue Reading
-
News
08 Jun 2023
Sysdig CNAPP runtime threat detection wins over BigCommerce
Sysdig's fast, comprehensive data collection, now part of a larger CNAPP product, sealed the deal with the e-commerce company. Next, it might replace vulnerability management tools. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
08 Jun 2023
Manage multiple environments with Terraform workspaces
Terraform workspaces let DevOps teams manage configurations for different environments in a centralized way. Get started with workspaces through hands-on examples in this tutorial. Continue Reading
-
Guest Post
06 Jun 2023
Compare Rancher vs. OpenShift vs. Tanzu for Kubernetes
Kubernetes management platforms simplify container orchestration at scale, but each has unique pros and cons. See how SUSE Rancher, Red Hat OpenShift and VMware Tanzu stack up. Continue Reading
-
Tip
01 Jun 2023
Manage complexity in Kubernetes with AI and machine learning
Learn how DevOps teams can enhance performance and observability in Kubernetes with AI and machine learning techniques. Evaluate pros, cons and use cases. Continue Reading
-
News
25 May 2023
AI and automation take center stage at AnsibleFest 2023
Amid excitement around the possibilities raised by AI and automation, experts at Red Hat Summit and AnsibleFest 2023 highlighted the importance of trust and responsibility. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
25 May 2023
Automating modernization: Takeaways from Red Hat Summit 2023
Get an industry analyst's take on major announcements from this year's Red Hat Summit and AnsibleFest and how the developments fit into today's IT landscape. Continue Reading
-
Feature
25 May 2023
Now a DevOps platform, OpenShift ups value -- and complexity
Red Hat raises OpenShift's profile as a DevOps platform with software supply chain security but faces questions about networking strategy and observability staff departures. Continue Reading
-
News
24 May 2023
Event-Driven Ansible early adopters share lessons learned
Beta testers of the new Event-Driven Ansible tool from Red Hat said expanding automation and moving toward self-healing systems requires fresh skills and organizational shifts. Continue Reading
-
News
23 May 2023
Ansible Lightspeed leads Red Hat generative AI agenda
Red Hat leans on IBM's expertise in training Watson Code Assistant to write Ansible playbooks, as worries linger about AI-generated code risks and rivals hold a strong lead. Continue Reading
-
Tip
22 May 2023
Generative AI use cases for DevOps and IT
Generative AI is often associated with creative projects, but it has promising use cases in DevOps and IT workflows -- if organizations account for its risks and limitations. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
18 May 2023
3 rules to adapt cloud change management policies
Having a change management policy can minimize risk when it comes to making changes. Follow these rules to adapt cloud change management policies and compliance within the cloud. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
18 May 2023
Learn how to use the PowerShell Trim method
With the Trim method in your PowerShell toolbox, you can write scripts to remove unwanted characters from strings without using regular expressions. Get started with this tutorial. Continue Reading
-
Tip
17 May 2023
Improve automation skills with the AD Administrative Center
You might know that you can use PowerShell to handle repetitive Active Directory tasks. But were you aware the Active Directory Administrative Center can help write the code? Continue Reading
-
Conference Coverage
15 May 2023
Red Hat Summit 2023 news and conference guide
Use this Red Hat Summit conference guide to stay up to date on current trends, emerging technologies and information from keynote speakers and industry experts. Continue Reading
-
News
10 May 2023
Google teases generative AI expansion within its own cloud
Google's new generative AI features, including a coding assistant, were tied closely to GCP in preview demos this week, while industry experts said its LLM still lags rivals. Continue Reading
-
News
10 May 2023
Cloud repatriation vs. multi-cloud: IT seeks cost relief
Amid fiscal worries, IT orgs reassess cloud investments. Whether they go back on-premises or expand to multi-cloud, they face similar distributed computing management challenges. Continue Reading
-
News
05 May 2023
For enterprise generative AI adoption, custom models are key
Enterprise interest in deploying generative AI is on the rise, but challenges remain around security, infrastructure requirements and integration with existing systems. Continue Reading
-
News
03 May 2023
Observability maven 'cranky' about AIOps embraces GPT
Honeycomb's observability tools will add natural language queries via OpenAI's GPT API, a departure from its co-founder and CTO's broader stance on AI in IT ops tools. Continue Reading
-
News
02 May 2023
Citing data privacy, GitLab syncs with Google generative AI
GitLab's deal with Google lets it keep sensitive customer data in the GitLab cloud while training models, amid enterprise concerns about generative AI licensing and security risks. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
01 May 2023
How advances in GPT-4 could revolutionize app development
Although public attention has recently centered on ChatGPT, the underlying GPT-3 and GPT-4 models could be even more transformative, particularly for application developers. Continue Reading
-
Feature
26 Apr 2023
How ChatGPT can assist with network management
Network professionals can use ChatGPT as a tool to automate mundane processes, write code, design networks and perform other tasks related to network management. Continue Reading
-
News
20 Apr 2023
Sidecarless eBPF service mesh sparks debate
As cloud-native service meshes expand beyond Kubernetes, open source community members raise concerns about the security and suitability of eBPF in sidecarless architectures. Continue Reading
-
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
-
News
19 Apr 2023
Atlassian demos ChatGPT tie-ins for Confluence, Jira Cloud
Atlassian teased early previews of cloud platform AI that supports natural language queries and automated links between Jira, Confluence and third-party products. Continue Reading
-
News
19 Apr 2023
Server-side Wasm boosts K8s bonds, devx ahead of key update
Early adopters await a WASI update this year before server-side Wasm can be ready for wider production use. For now, PaaS vendors have begun to bridge some of the gaps. Continue Reading
-
Tip
17 Apr 2023
Evaluate the GitOps model for your organization
For some organizations, GitOps leads to faster, higher-quality software delivery -- but for others, DevOps or NetOps is a better fit. Learn what factors your team should consider. Continue Reading
-
News
13 Apr 2023
ChatGPT craze hits infrastructure as code
From GitHub's Copilot to a purpose-built product from Pulumi, generative AI is emerging for infrastructure as code, with the same potential benefits and risks it presents for apps. Continue Reading
-
Tip
12 Apr 2023
Manage complex IT environments with AIOps and observability
As IT environments grow in complexity, AIOps and observability tools can provide valuable insights and identify problem areas -- but prepare for adoption hurdles along the way. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
10 Apr 2023
Automate firewall rules with Terraform and VMware NSX
In this hands-on tutorial, learn how infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform can streamline firewall management with automated, standardized configuration of firewall rules. Continue Reading
-
Feature
06 Apr 2023
Mainframe modernization to AI apps: USPTO reinvents itself
How the US Patent and Trade Office, founded in 1802, maintained IT resilience while managing systems ranging from mainframes to the cloud, AI and beyond. Continue Reading
-
News
03 Apr 2023
Istio service mesh doyen departs Google, touts Ambient Mesh
After 16 years at Google, Istio's co-founder takes over as CTO at Solo.io and goes all in on a project he believes will determine the future of cloud-native networking. Continue Reading
-
News
29 Mar 2023
Comcast subsidiary survives March Madness with AIOps
AIOps alert reduction brought order to a chaotic environment at TV advertising specialist FreeWheel just in time for a big test of its resiliency during a wild NCAA tournament. Continue Reading
-
Tip
29 Mar 2023
Self-healing networks goals, benefits and how they work
With help from automation and AI, self-healing networks promise to detect, remediate and even predict network problems. But can these systems be trusted? Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
24 Mar 2023
Build an automated image processing pipeline with AWS tools
In this guide, learn how to automate image processing with AWS Step Functions. Build an image processing pipeline with example code, then explore ways to expand your new workflow. Continue Reading
-
Tip
17 Mar 2023
When to use the Windows command prompt vs. PowerShell
The Windows command prompt and PowerShell can accomplish similar tasks, but how they do so might push users toward one option over the other. Check out these examples to see why. Continue Reading
-
Tip
17 Mar 2023
PowerShell vs. Bash: Key differences explained
Windows admins have the option to use Bash, a Linux shell, but the command-line tool doesn't stack up one to one with PowerShell for Windows deployments. Continue Reading
-
News
17 Mar 2023
How ChatGPT and generative AI will affect IT operations
As generative AI programs improve, they raise questions for many engineering disciplines about the future of work -- and IT operations is no exception. Continue Reading
-
Feature
14 Mar 2023
Meeting the challenges of scaling AI with MLOps
As businesses race to capitalize on the promises of AI in the wake of ChatGPT's launch, strategies to move machine learning software from idea to reality are becoming essential. Continue Reading
-
News
01 Mar 2023
SBOM graph database aims to be cloud security secret sauce
An open source consortium that includes Google plans to release a deployable beta of the GUAC project this month, a possible milestone for cloud-native SBOM. Continue Reading
-
Tip
22 Feb 2023
The role of IT ops in digital employee experience management
Automated tools for measuring and analyzing employees' digital experience satisfaction can help IT ops predict problems, identify areas for improvement and cut costs. Continue Reading
-
Answer
16 Feb 2023
Manage the Windows PATH environment variable with PowerShell
Among many other tasks, IT teams can use PowerShell to manage and edit the PATH environment variable. Walk through these basic steps to access, add and remove system paths. Continue Reading
-
Answer
16 Feb 2023
What are hyperautomation use cases for IT operations?
Fully automated NoOps workflows might not be possible, but there's always room to further automate existing processes. An expert explains two hyperautomation use cases for DevOps. Continue Reading
-
News
16 Feb 2023
Dynatrace security AI roots out Log4j, sets tone for roadmap
Dynatrace must prove itself beyond application security, but its AI's effectiveness against the Log4j vulnerability has some customers receptive to its product expansion plans. Continue Reading
-
News
16 Feb 2023
Dynatrace users make headway with AIOps
Dynatrace's aggressive NoOps vision hasn't come to fruition, but some customers have begun to see real-world results with root-cause analysis and automated rollbacks. Continue Reading
-
News
14 Feb 2023
Cribl Search marks fresh observability sortie for upstart
The Splunk nemesis begins new forays onto the turf of incumbent vendors with federated search that doesn't require data migration or indexing -- and big roadmap plans. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
14 Feb 2023
How and why PowerShell Linux commands differ from Windows
PowerShell is a popular tool for IT professionals and a broad range of tasks. But PowerShell on Linux is not quite the same as on Windows. Let's explore the differences. Continue Reading
-
News
09 Feb 2023
Kubernetes platforms and the hazy fate of cloud portability
Whatever happened to Kubernetes for cloud portability? Some market research suggests the dream still lives, but platform engineering further complicates matters. Continue Reading
-
News
07 Feb 2023
Cisco samples OpenTelemetry-based observability tool blends
Updates set to ship this week and next quarter will unify data collection for Cisco's observability and security tools and catch them up with full-stack competitors. Continue Reading
-
News
24 Jan 2023
IT budgets under pressure spur tool consolidation
As the tech industry suffers layoffs and slowing growth, IT organizations such as Boeing are handing some of their IT vendors pink slips of their own. Continue Reading
-
News
19 Jan 2023
Data pipelines feed IT’s observability beast
Amid data growth, cloud complexity and demand for advanced automation, the data pipelines developed to satisfy the appetites of AI apps also serve observability tools. Continue Reading
-
Tip
12 Jan 2023
Testing infrastructure as code: A complete guide
IaC, when implemented correctly, can benefit enterprises' CD pipelines. But, when the code isn't tested before deployment, things can go awry. Follow these strategies for success. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
04 Jan 2023
How to deploy Kubernetes on VMware with vSphere Tanzu
Instead of working with Kubernetes with your regular platform, it might be time to give VMware vSphere with Tanzu a try. Follow this tutorial to get started. Continue Reading
-
News
21 Dec 2022
Dish Media swaps observability sprawl for Elastic Stack SaaS
With fewer tools and data repositories to wrangle and Elastic cluster management outsourced to SaaS, Dish Media's ops teams reduced toil and achieved proactive incident response. Continue Reading
-
Tip
12 Dec 2022
How to fix Active Directory account lockouts with PowerShell
With more apps and credentials to juggle, users can get blocked from their accounts after too many login attempts. Learn to use PowerShell to find and fix these issues. Continue Reading
-
Tip
09 Dec 2022
Compare these PowerShell front-end GUI tools
These offerings provide portals to avoid security issues and other stumbling blocks that hamper organizations from providing more wide-ranging use of PowerShell. Continue Reading
-
News
08 Dec 2022
GitOps hits stride as CNCF graduates Flux CD and Argo CD
Flux and Argo CD earned graduated status within CNCF after a year in which platform engineering adoption and DevOps advances put both in the enterprise spotlight. Continue Reading
-
Tip
06 Dec 2022
Manage application storage with Kubernetes and CSI drivers
Container Storage Interface drivers offer IT ops teams increased autonomy and flexibility in deploying and managing persistent storage on Kubernetes clusters. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
28 Nov 2022
How to build an Azure AD user report with Microsoft Graph
Microsoft Graph will be the way forward to manage users and devices that connect to Office 365. Learn how to gather information and perform tasks, such as license assignments. Continue Reading
-
Tip
22 Nov 2022
Explore network plugins for Kubernetes: CNI explained
With Container Network Interface plugins, IT teams can create and deploy network options for diverse Kubernetes environments. Learn how CNI works and compare top network plugins. Continue Reading
-
Tip
18 Nov 2022
Automating testing and delivery for virtual apps and desktops
One of the many tasks that come with maintaining a virtual environment is the testing and delivery of virtual apps and desktops. Learn how automation can help these processes. Continue Reading
-
News
18 Nov 2022
Knowledge graphs and GraphQL: What DevOps pros need to know
New approaches to data management and business analytics have found their way into IT automation and observability tools -- now what? Continue Reading
-
News
17 Nov 2022
Server-side WebAssembly prepares for takeoff in 2023
Server-side WebAssembly is still a work in progress, but engineers at Adobe and BMW say it shows promise for fast, flexible app management among cloud and edge environments. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
10 Nov 2022
3 actions to optimize infrastructure as code initiatives
Learn how to get the most out of IaC and read analyst insights from HashiConf 2022, including Terraform updates and predictions about what's next for observability. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
10 Nov 2022
Manage VMs with Azure Automation State Configuration
Admins can use the Azure Automation State Configuration tool to manage VMs in Azure, on premises and in other clouds. Follow this step-by-step tutorial to get started. Continue Reading
-
Tutorial
07 Nov 2022
Manage Kubernetes clusters with PowerShell and kubectl
Learn how to use the Kubernetes tool kubectl in PowerShell, including setting up aliasing and tab-completion, parsing JSON output and searching logs with the Select-String cmdlet. Continue Reading
-
News
02 Nov 2022
Fresh crop of IT automation tools targets platform engineers
As enterprise IT shifts from full-stack DevOps to platform engineering, IT automation tools reinvented for the Kubernetes era can reduce toil for operators. Continue Reading
-
News
01 Nov 2022
Security AI shifts left into DevSecOps
DevSecOps vendors such as GitLab and Palo Alto's Prisma Cloud embrace security AI throughout the software development lifecycle, as IT trust in AI grows. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
01 Nov 2022
AnsibleFest 2022: Automation across distributed environments
IT environments are more distributed than ever, making infrastructure management increasingly challenging. Ansible's automation capabilities can help IT ops handle the complexity. Continue Reading
-
News
28 Oct 2022
Sidecarless service mesh: Fad or the future?
Istio's experimental Ambient Mesh is gathering buzz with the promise of simpler operations, but Linkerd loyalists contend that the sidecar itself isn't the real problem. Continue Reading
-
News
27 Oct 2022
Platform engineers plug abstraction leaks
Platform engineers presented at KubeCon about how new tools have helped them better hide infrastructure complexity from developers. But a paradox of choice remains. Continue Reading
-
News
25 Oct 2022
OpenShift roadmap preps for Kubernetes multi-cluster sprawl
OpenShift now supports Kubernetes deployments from data centers to edge devices, which calls for fresh ways to scale out multi-cluster control planes. Continue Reading
-
News
20 Oct 2022
Observability tools add FinOps amid macroeconomic worries
FinOps features added to observability tools from Datadog and Sysdig this week reflect concerns about cloud cost management amid gloomy economic forecasts. Continue Reading
-
Tip
20 Oct 2022
Learn how to bootstrap Kubernetes clusters with kubeadm
In this guide, learn to create, configure and run a Kubernetes cluster from scratch with kubeadm, a command-line tool that simplifies and automates cluster setup and management. Continue Reading
-
News
18 Oct 2022
Enterprises learn the downsides of DevSecOps metrics
DevSecOps metrics can be helpful, but they can also steer developer and security collaboration in an unproductive direction if they are over-emphasized, practitioners said. Continue Reading
-
Tip
11 Oct 2022
What IT pros need to know about low-code limitations
Low-code environments promise to simplify and speed up software development, but their limitations can create challenges for enterprise IT. Compare models for low-code adoption. Continue Reading