Systems automation and orchestration

Modern service management, DevOps streamline app administration

DevOps and service management are synonymous in modern IT, insofar as their guidelines match. Regardless of the term, ensure organizational practices are built for today's reqs. Continue Reading

How infrastructure as code benefits and eases provisioning

Being able to provision services with code means a simplification to sometimes complicated processes. Plus, you won't need to worry about the platform that service will run on. Continue Reading

IT pursues zero-touch automation for application support

The best and most efficient approach to IT automation features as little human intervention and interaction as possible. Continue Reading

Use HashiCorp's Terraform tool and companions for production IaC

Developers want isolated systems for prototyping. Testers want mimicry of production. And IT operations wants to configure this infrastructure for them without reinventing the wheel. Continue Reading

Database DevOps tools bring stateful apps up to modern speed

Database DevOps is no longer a contradiction in terms, as enterprises roll out database management and persistent storage software that makes stateful apps more flexible. Continue Reading

IT infrastructure management software learns analytics tricks

Not every enterprise IT shop is ready to take the AIOps plunge, but IT ops automation is increasingly data-driven -- even at mainstream companies. Continue Reading

These Go code examples showcase its main features

Google's golang uses many of the same functions as older code languages, such as key-value pairs and compiling, but is better fitted to modern systems development requirements. Continue Reading

Cloud applications demand a new IT operations strategy

Business and software development trends are putting more pressure on IT operations staff and changing the way teams deploy applications. Continue Reading

How the three phases of automation dictate human employment

Automation might end human employment as we know it. The final result is in question, but we can draw clues from the relationship between automation and employment. Continue Reading

Cloud applications demand a new IT operations strategy

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Three tools enable DevOps for Windows shops

DevOps isn't just the domain of open source Linux experts. These three tool options tailor DevOps to how Windows applications and systems operate. Continue Reading

Kubernetes books put container deployments on the right track

Whether you're tasked to set up and manage or deploy applications with Kubernetes, these books offer guidance and support. Co-author Brendan Burns shares insights from the texts. Continue Reading

Reflect adds color to Puppet DevOps tools

Puppet plans to add data visualization and analysis to spruce up its DevOps tools now that it has acquired Reflect, but it's still playing catch-up in a crowded, noisy market. Continue Reading

DevOps shops weigh risks of Microsoft-GitHub acquisition

An online outcry about Microsoft's GitHub acquisition seems overblown to enterprise DevOps pros, but that doesn't mean there's no cause for concerns. Continue Reading

Microsoft-GitHub acquisition shakes up DevOps market

Microsoft's $7.5 billion blockbuster deal for GitHub is a sea change for the IT market, as an enterprise software bellwether with legacy baggage snaps up an open source DevOps darling. Continue Reading

Use load tests to balance IT capacity management and QoE

Simply throwing more resources at an application won't solve scaling issues. IT ops pros must take the time to chart the relationship between IT capacity and software performance. Continue Reading

Chef InSpec users wrestle with compliance as code

Learning the ins and outs of the Chef InSpec product is only half the battle for compliance as code. The thornier task for some enterprises is to bridge the gap between compliance expertise and DevOps execution. Continue Reading

Chef Automate 2.0 renews appeal to DevOps shops

Chef Automate 2.0 lays the groundwork for tighter integration between the IT automation software and third-party tools, as Chef stakes its claim in the DevOps gold rush. Continue Reading

Self-service automation gives WLA maximum power

Users don't want to wait for an admin to run a report. Admins don't want to drop their work to do it. Set parameters on self-service options and let workers help themselves. Continue Reading

A Go programming language tutorial for IT ops

Go is a diversely applicable programming language that ops admins can use on distributed systems without the complications of traditional languages such as C or Java. Continue Reading

Which IT security roles fall to the ops team?

To help secure data and applications, an IT ops team needs to do much more than put up firewalls and apply other traditional security measures. Here's where to begin. Continue Reading

Blue/green deployment on the cloud makes updates easier

App deployment in the cloud operates differently than it does on physical infrastructure. The blue/green deployment model has a couple variations, each of which can save on time and errors. Continue Reading

Get started with AIOps tools

Instead of admins doing all the tedious work to resolve issues reactively, AIOps tools promise predictive analytics, health assessments and preventative action suggestions. Continue Reading

A proper DevOps feedback loop includes business leaders

What the modern IT organization needs isn't DevOps -- it's BizDevOps. IT exists to serve the business, but that relationship must be fully reciprocal. Continue Reading

Is IT workload management easier on software-defined infrastructure?

Our IT organization uses deployment automation, monitoring tools and virtualized resources. What do we need to do to manage IT workloads? Continue Reading

Cloud Foundry PaaS shops hone software delivery process

Enterprises that have deployed Cloud Foundry platform as a service found it catalyzed new thinking about the application delivery process and other organizational practices. Continue Reading

Who put the AI in software?

With artificial intelligence, anything seems possible. And that leaves a whole lot of room for the imagination to wonder about how the use of AI in software tools can change how the work gets done -- and who does it.

The anxiety is understandable. The hyperbole is harder to sort out because, well, when it comes to AI, no one knows quite where to put the line between rational and irrational worries. Will AI at some point control every aspect of your life? Probably not. Will AI push you out of a job? Quite possibly.

Using AI in software development is one way to make your IT resources more intelligent and more automated. If AI can test software faster and better, shouldn't you be doing it that way? That's a question we take up in this first issue of Modern Stack. Also included are articles and columns delving into multi-cloud management, serverless computing and how operations teams can hold up their end of the DevOps bargain.

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Resolve issues between Python and Linux with virtualenv

While Linux OSes favor Python 2, Python 3 is the widely preferred version. Install virtualenv to isolate Python 2 and 3 and prevent IT issues. Continue Reading

Try these Salt commands to master the config management tool

The command line is an IT administrator's best friend. Salt users should try these commands to understand how the configuration management tool works. Continue Reading

SaltStack Enterprise GUI features outreach Salt Open territory

For enterprise IT shops that require a mix of reports on systems, and audit compliance, SaltStack Enterprise offers more than the pure open source version of Salt. Continue Reading

CloudBees Jenkins Enterprise snags raise roadmap questions

CloudBees' Jenkins software is slated for major updates after strong revenue growth in 2017, but customers and partners report struggles with upgrades, pricing and support. Continue Reading

Automated continuous deployment tools produce successful code

Continuous deployment skips the operations oversight step in software production. So, automated tools must ensure code success in administrators' stead -- before mistakes go live. Continue Reading

Three steps to plan a self-service IT portal that actually works

There's no point to a self-service IT portal if the offerings are out of touch with how its users conduct business or the instant builds are on hold while additional capacity spins up. Continue Reading

Assess Salt configuration management's capabilities and limitations

Salt's benefits for IT operations include fast configuration and flexible, responsive functioning. Get a handle on the basics of Salt, then install it to explore the tool's capabilities. Continue Reading

Data center and cloud computing products that make an impact

The Modern Infrastructure Impact Awards recognize the best IT infrastructure and cloud computing products in seven categories, from cloud to DevOps to converged infrastructure. Continue Reading

Terraform best practices that aid DevOps infrastructure builds

Create the right configuration for any DevOps setup, and then, fluidly replicate and scale as necessary with infrastructure-as-code tools and strong management policies. Continue Reading

Chef InSpec widens the compliance-as-code possibilities with v2.0

Chef InSpec 2.0 adds infrastructure tests for compliance policy enforcement, and the tool's expansion into more areas of the DevOps workflow won't stop there. Continue Reading

SaaS support challenges IT ops admins to shift gears

SaaS means no more app support, right? In practice, IT ops teams enter a new realm of upgrade management and capacity planning when their user base migrates to a SaaS offering. Continue Reading

Enterprises identify 10 essential DevOps tools

Products branded with DevOps are everywhere, and the list of options grows every day, but the best DevOps tools are already well-known among enterprise IT pros. Continue Reading

Cloud ops doesn't solve your problems, it creates new ones

There are many reasons to consider a cloud migration, but if you expect to cut costs or dramatically ease management, you'll be disappointed. Continue Reading

Automation and orchestration elevate scripts from helpful to essential

Did you automate a server update, only to realize another script for configuration compliance has to run first? Orchestration tidies up the messy piles of automation that grow out of IT scripting. Continue Reading

Explore Ansible for DevOps configuration management

The configuration management tool is adept at managing workloads across different infrastructure environments. This Ansible overview preps admins to automate apps and infrastructure. Continue Reading

Create a self-signed certificate to control PowerShell scripts

Signing code ensures that every change is official and approved. This helps to prevent errors and security breaches. Write a PowerShell self-signed certificate for code testing. Continue Reading

Kubernetes hybrid cloud emerges from Google-Cisco partnership

A Kubernetes partnership from Cisco and Google widens IT pros' container orchestration options in hybrid cloud deployments, but its advantages depend on future software integrations. Continue Reading

Kubernetes storage projects dominate CNCF docket

The Cloud Native Computing Foundation will host the Rook distributed container storage project -- the first move in a pivotal year for Kubernetes stateful app support. Continue Reading

ServiceNow Kingston troubleshoots IT tasks with AI, machine learning

ServiceNow delivers AI and machine learning capabilities to its core platform to eliminate time-consuming manual help desk tasks. Continue Reading

An IT automation strategy wilts under cloud's shadow

Organizations have been striving to keep abreast of IT automation trends, but with the ongoing cloud takeover, operations must consider new skill requirements instead. Continue Reading

Learn YAML through a personal example

Some code languages take countless hours of formal training and practice. YAML strikes out in the opposite direction. To comprehend its hierarchical format, follow this coding example. Continue Reading

AI apps demand DevOps infrastructure automation

Businesses look to AI apps to gain a competitive edge, but IT teams must make rapid application changes through a DevOps process and embrace infrastructure automation. Continue Reading

Catch the IT automation technology wave

IT automation is taking over in operations as tasks get bigger and more complex, handling distributed systems. Stay current with these five big trends. Continue Reading

Jenkins pipeline as code example demonstrates DevOps coordination

Ellucian, which makes software for colleges and universities, offers a pipeline as code example that unifies the release process for multiple generations of apps and brings IT security into the DevOps fold. Continue Reading

The ITIL 2018 update better catch up to modern IT

When ITIL last updated, DevOps was in its infancy. In the face of rapidly evolving IT practices and technologies, ITIL 2018 must be powerful and usable for diverse IT organizations. Continue Reading

Application support best practices involve all teams

There's more to app support than making sure the bits and bytes are in order; the user's experience is vital to uphold. Creating a smooth process takes more than just operations. Continue Reading

Error budget instills reckless IT project management mindset

Just how many errors is the IT operations team allowed to make? Trendy organizations are answering this question with a budget, but it possesses some admins to push the envelope. Continue Reading

Unleash application dependency mapping tools to combat outages

Create a detailed map of application dependencies from the CMDB and cloud resources and help prevent unexpected outages. Continue Reading

Embark upon ITSM asset management with systematic tagging

The journey to an organized data center begins with a single tag. Start using IT tags today to apply updates, control access and help automate management. Continue Reading

Know when to implement serverless vs. containers

Containers save resources and reduce deploy times. So does serverless. Containers are a great host for microservices. So is serverless. But the deployment options are more different than they are alike. Continue Reading

A good IT orchestration system saves time for users and admins

Rather than fight with business workers about runaway IT resource consumption and complex demands on tight deadlines, let an orchestration platform control the process. Continue Reading

Two Ansible playbook examples illustrate config management

Configuration management enables automation for many operations tasks. Ansible uses a simple structure and a dynamic language to enable admins to easily complete jobs, once they get the hang of a playbook. Continue Reading

Centralize Ubuntu server management on Landscape

Canonical Landscape brings centralized server management to Ubuntu on physical and virtual machines, as well as cloud systems. See how it works, and explore features such as tagging. Continue Reading

Get serious about patch validation and deployment -- fast

Zero-day exploits are more dangerous than ever, but so is applying an untested patch to live systems. Without a strategy to quickly validate patches -- outside of production -- you're playing with fire. Continue Reading

What you'll build with software-defined architecture

It's been two years since Gartner declared that the future of the data center was software-defined. And while we're still a ways from that reality, there's plenty of reason to think IT is indeed moving toward the software-defined architecture.

The ability to compose your infrastructure puts components where they're needed -- but only for as long as they're needed there. Then those resources become available again for another task. IT professionals aren't crazy to look at the speed and efficiency advantages of that type of software-defined architecture and think, "We need that."

To reap those rewards, however, means orienting the data center around software. That's a big shift both in strategy and execution. And it's not easily achievable.

The cover story of this issue of Modern Infrastructure digs into these possibilities and challenges. TechTarget's Erica Mixon talks with experts about the software-defined architecture, what it can achieve and what an organization will want to take into account before heading down that road.

With a truly composable infrastructure and products with cloud-like capabilities, an organization can pool its data center resources and put them to work with utmost efficiency. If that's the future, maybe it's time to start figuring out how you'll get there.

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Follow a PXE boot tutorial to increase OS configuration automation

PXE boot servers are simple to set up and can aid in IT operations' goals toward high-level efficiency and automation. This tutorial runs through setup and optimal settings. Continue Reading

IT capacity planning takes new shape in the cloud

Migrating applications off premises to the cloud requires a new capacity planning approach: Develop a detailed cloud strategy, and carefully track upgrade schedules. Continue Reading

Infrastructure as code benefits range from audits to ops

When an auditor asks to see how the entire application stack is configured, you'll recognize the benefits of an infrastructure-as-code implementation. Continue Reading

The application runtime environment is as important as the app

To avoid cascading failures and never-ending troubleshooting, take the time to understand the software and hardware -- the runtime environment -- that keeps an app ticking. Continue Reading

A Red Hat Satellite tutorial to install an update server

With Red Hat Satellite, IT ops can deploy an update server to simplify patching. Follow this step-by-step tutorial to install the server, attach subscriptions and devise a sync plan. Continue Reading

Use Azure availability sets for patching to achieve the best uptime

Ops' responsibility doesn't end once in a public cloud; in fact, it can get more confounding. Learn the best route to update Azure cloud instances and what mistakes to avoid. Continue Reading

Standardize configuration management software for smoother DevOps

If your organization uses different configuration management software for development and operations, you're not alone. Even better, it's no engineering feat to migrate to one main tool. Continue Reading

PowerShell scripts enable automated cloud deployments

This step-by-step tutorial walks through the process to automate an Azure deployment; start with launching the virtual server, and finish with the deletion process. Continue Reading

Configuration management processes take down GRC challenges

Configuration management processes speed deployments, but tools that know effective licenses and data storage details aid in another area that businesses are keen to get right. Continue Reading

Build a DevOps version control process for IT infrastructure

Infrastructure admins can turn to the DevOps version control process for all IaC updates. Learn the basics, then follow along with an example in Git. Continue Reading

Ansible variables give structure to playbook execution

Ansible playbooks tell the IT automation system how to complete a task. Use variables in a playbook to tell Ansible how to interact with the available resources. Continue Reading

A deployment pipeline keeps infrastructure ducks in their rows

IT infrastructure is difficult to get right. Whether to stand up a test/dev server or deploy a new app to production, infrastructure developers turn to a deployment pipeline to build IT. Continue Reading

Come to grips with immutable infrastructure in production

Immutable infrastructure is a developer approach to application hosting that's made its way into the IT ops lexicon. It's time to understand the changes it brings to application support. Continue Reading

Chef Habitat offers a different take on configuration management

Chef Habitat's strategy focuses on the dynamic application environment instead of static servers, approaching configuration management with a new focus. Continue Reading

IT automation software: Top five common mistakes

IT automation software projects can involve a great deal of risk, but avoid these common mistakes and it will increase the chances for automation success. Continue Reading

Simple steps to improve the IT incident management process

No one notices when there's a solid IT incident management response process in place, but everyone notices when there's not. Improve how you handle issues in three steps. Continue Reading

Agentless Ansible structure opens up configuration management potential

Ansible is easy to use for IT ops pros, and it supports multicloud functionality within its automation structure. This simple walkthrough gets sys admins started with the tool. Continue Reading

Server OS patching doesn't have to be as painful as you fear

OS patching is like a mechanic's job -- you need different tools for different makes and models. SCCM, Satellite and Landscape provide upkeep for IT's sports cars and SUVs. Continue Reading

Three DevOps toolchain options refine IT automation

DevOps tools that don't interconnect form a bottleneck that teams can easily avoid -- or retroactively remedy -- if the CI/CD workflow merits the time commitment. Continue Reading

IT asset tracking informs better capacity, management decisions

Detailed IT asset inventories are a result of granular asset tracking and lead to better server and storage management -- among other benefits. Continue Reading

ServiceNow roadmap extends ITSM technology with AI, machine learning

A leader in the IT systems management market, ServiceNow looks to expand into new applications markets. Farrell Hough, in charge of ServiceNow's product operations, lays out the roadmap. Continue Reading

Lessons fall from the cloud, changing data center strategies

The transformative power of cloud computing is long past the point of being news. The cloud model, after all, has irrevocably changed how IT functions. What's interesting to consider is how cloud technologies and methodologies are changing even how on-premises data centers operate. Lessons learned in the cloud are now being applied on site, adjusting data center strategies in surprising ways.

When it comes to resource efficiency, the things that hyperscale cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform accomplish might seem like heroic feats. For sure, server utilization rates in an on-premises environment won't reach the 50%, or better, marks that hyperscale providers hit. Still, rates can be improved by emulating those cloud operators.

So how has cloud computing altered data center strategies?

New classes of products, most notably hyper-converged infrastructure and software-defined networking, now exist primarily because large cloud providers built environments that showed the value of these technologies.

Redundancy architectures, too, are not nearly as rigid as they were. The traditional 2N scheme, in which an organization maintains double the number of infrastructure components needed to run critical operations, is no longer considered the mandatory standard.

Further efficiency is found in rethinking high availability expectations. With more resilient applications, experts argue, a hardware failure shouldn't be the disruptive event it was in an earlier age.

These are lessons brought down from the cloud, ones that noticeably alter data center strategies. They show again how the quest for efficient and effective data centers is never quite complete.

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Deploy patches safely and sanely in a CI/CD workflow

Enterprises engaged in a CI/CD workflow must patch systems and apps strategically. There are multiple technologies to consider, including immutable infrastructure and automation. Continue Reading

Deploy patches safely and sanely in a CI/CD workflow

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Justify CMDB ROI with these strategies

IT pros can easily list off CMDB benefits. But when it comes to convincing the business to pay for a CMDB implementation, you'll need to discuss ROI. Continue Reading

Learn shell scripts: A sys admin's guide to automation

Shell scripts and sys admins should be best friends. A day rarely goes by without using some form of shell script or another. Learn how those scripts work and start writing them. Continue Reading

DevOps lab: Build Vagrant VMs to learn immutable infrastructure

This article is part of a series to help IT ops professionals learn DevOps by building a home lab. In this first step, a cluster of Vagrant VMs represents immutable infrastructure. Continue Reading

Let's talk about IT infrastructure and emerging technologies

Work closely with hardware specialists and engineers in the data center, as emerging compute, network and storage technologies have ramifications beyond the racks. Continue Reading

Set Salt configuration management free without a master

Salt configurations usually involve at least one minion controlled by a master, but that's not always necessary. See how to use Salt to run a single machine in masterless mode. Continue Reading

Advanced shell scripting for IT ops professionals: Free chapter

Shell scripts can improve speed and automation for sys admins beyond what's possible with graphical user interfaces. Dana French's books cover advanced shell scripting for experienced users. Continue Reading

How the Puppet architecture manipulates configurations

Puppet is intrinsically scalable, enabling IT teams to manage one machine or hundreds. Its architecture makes the configuration management tool compatible with a range of IT setups. Continue Reading

Not playing games: The GPU vs. CPU question gets more interesting

Putting thousands of cores to work makes perfect sense when you're powering a video game. But graphics processing units, or GPUs, can't serve much practical purpose in a corporate data center, can they?

The GPU vs. CPU discussion isn't as odd as it sounds. In fact, a more broad application of GPUs in the data center can provide the processing punch that CPUs simply cannot. With tasks where data can be processed in parallel rather than in sequence, GPUs might be a particularly valuable tool. The cover story in this issue of Modern Infrastructure looks at scenarios where simultaneous processing can be just what's needed, such as with machine learning and artificial intelligence.

This month's Modern Infrastructure also looks at how data can be protected while in the data center. Full encryption is seemingly a perfect defense for data theft. But that's a difficult -- and, to some, an unrealistic-- road to travel. We look at how an IT team can better safeguard its data, factoring in costs, the tools available and the tradeoffs involved in hack-proofing an organization's data.

And what about the vulnerabilities that arise from within your business? We examine the risk of data loss posed by the shadow IT phenomenon, an ongoing and ever-changing challenge.

It's clear that data is an increasingly valuable resource. Processing it and keeping it safe -- whether that entails taking up the question of GPU vs. CPU for certain workloads or upgrading encryption -- need to be priorities for IT professionals in organizations of all sizes and types.

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Optimize PHP with finely tuned IT resources and settings

Application ops should address the elephant in the room -- poorly optimized PHP -- to speed load and processing times. Continue Reading

CMDB discovery tools alone aren't the answer

CMDB discovery tools have been around for quite a long time because their need is pretty obvious. Organizations are generally understaffed to do the daily work. Many just do not staff to ... Continue Reading

Automated deployment tools mitigate the risk of human error in DevOps

There are dozens of application and infrastructure automation tools for IT shops. Choosing the right one requires project and feature evaluation. Continue Reading

Real-life change management examples prove it's harder than it looks

Whether your IT shop rigorously follows a service management framework or takes a laissez-faire approach to changes, these examples help hone change management procedures. Continue Reading

Set up a virtual home lab to learn OpenStack and more on your own time

There are many reasons to set up a virtual home lab, not least of all for career advancement and learning. Occasionally, it can be fun too. Continue Reading

Idempotent configuration management sets things right -- no matter what

Idempotency ensures a system won't stray from its designated desired state, sending alerts to systems administrators if a requested change would cause a disruption. Continue Reading