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
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Feature
20 Dec 2024
Platform teams draw on DataOps, MLOps to support GenAI
GenAI calls for more rigorous data discipline than previous forms of analytics, but there are lessons platform teams can learn from existing approaches. Continue Reading
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News
18 Dec 2024
AWS, Red Hat hybrid cloud wares court VMware converts
Broadcom has softened some of its stances on VMware licensing and public cloud, but competitors stay poised to pounce on customers looking to defect. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
02 Sep 2021
An eBPF tutorial to try out the bpftrace framework
You know what eBPF is, but can you run it? This article offers a brief tutorial to demonstrate the bpftrace framework and how to install a simple eBPF program. Continue Reading
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News
26 Aug 2021
Observability vendors push further into SecOps territory
Cybersecurity market consolidation continues, as observability players push beyond security monitoring and into enforcement via XDR and SOAR products. Continue Reading
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News
12 Aug 2021
DevSecOps acquisitions follow enterprise IT shift
As IT roles converge under DevSecOps, enterprise IT vendors are consolidating as well, blending security features with developer appeal in a string of mergers and acquisitions. Continue Reading
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Answer
09 Aug 2021
PowerShell looping examples for the 4 key commands
There are many instances where looping is a valuable tool in your PowerShell script. Knowing how to use them will serve you well. Evaluate these four loop commands. Continue Reading
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News
05 Aug 2021
DevSecOps suffers from a lack of specifics, IT leaders say
Cybersecurity won't improve without clearer guidance from regulators and industry experts about how to implement DevSecOps, according to discussions at a virtual event this week. Continue Reading
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News
05 Aug 2021
DevOps security pros share steps for success
DevOps security isn't a technical problem -- it's a people and process problem, experts say. Enterprise IT pros offer their advice on how to solve it. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Jul 2021
How and when to use Nexthink remote actions
Data can tell admins a lot about what happens in an environment -- if they can collect it. See how the Nexthink platform and PowerShell scripts can gather end-user data. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Jul 2021
Terraform cheat sheet: Notable commands, HCL and more
Terraform has a lot going on. This cheat sheet rounds up the essentials, from configuration settings to the key commands for managing the Terraform directory. Continue Reading
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News
12 Jul 2021
Aqua adds free infrastructure-as-code security for Terraform
Infrastructure-as-code security scans appeal to enterprises as they shift cloud-native security left; Aqua's tfsec buy adds to its free offerings amid broad competition. Continue Reading
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Answer
02 Jul 2021
Battle of the buzzwords: AIOps vs. MLOps square up
Another -Ops has entered the arena: MLOps. Is it just another buzzword, or does the term hold its own weight? Learn more about it and how it compares to AIOps. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jun 2021
IT pros work out the nuances of GitOps security, maturity
GitOps is catching on among enterprises, especially as edge workloads increase, but the industry must strike a time-honored balance between security and flexibility as it matures. Continue Reading
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Quiz
30 Jun 2021
Quiz yourself on the latest IT trends from 2021 so far
From a string of acquisitions to companies embracing DevSecOps, 2021's news cycle hasn't slowed down. Do you know the top stories? Find out with this quiz. Continue Reading
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News
29 Jun 2021
JFrog to acquire Vdoo, take 'shift right' view of DevSecOps
The combined companies will expand JFrog's Xray tool to embed security throughout its DevSecOps pipeline products, with a focus on application artifacts, rather than source code. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Jun 2021
Familiarize yourself with these 7 key SRE terms
Want to understand site reliability engineering? Check out this primer of SRE terminology that explains some of its fundamentals, from the job role to SLAs and issue resolution. Continue Reading
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Tip
28 Jun 2021
Compare ARM templates vs. Terraform for infrastructure as code
ARM templates and Terraform are popular infrastructure-as-code options. Check out an Ubuntu Server VM example in each approach and learn the pros and cons of these tools. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Jun 2021
7 infrastructure as code books for IT pros to dig into
Need some reading material? Check out these books on infrastructure as code -- and popular IaC tools -- to pick up some new skills on the IT management practice. Continue Reading
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News
23 Jun 2021
DOD enlists IT vendors for new DevSecOps missions
In the second year of its DevSecOps project, the Department of Defense is fielding bids to resell its DevSecOps platform and is funding research into software supply chain security. Continue Reading
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Opinion
21 Jun 2021
Will DevOps spell the death of the CMDB?
While CMDBs still have value, they no longer dominate IT management. See what CMDB integration options remain and why IT admins should look beyond the repository software. Continue Reading
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News
16 Jun 2021
Harness baits CI/CD set with feature flags, cloud auto-stop
New modules from Harness may entice customers to buy more of its CI/CD software, but unseating DevOps pipeline tools from larger vendors remains a daunting challenge. Continue Reading
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News
09 Jun 2021
Prisma Cloud CSPM looks to mitigate DevSecOps conflicts
Palo Alto Networks' CSPM product uses machine learning to tackle a point of DevSecOps friction -- too many security alerts that aren't tied to imminent threats. Continue Reading
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News
08 Jun 2021
HashiCorp Terraform 1.0 features stability, upgrade relief
With graduation to a stable version, HashiCorp Terraform users won't have to deal with any more breaking changes in new versions of the infrastructure-as-code tool. Continue Reading
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News
25 May 2021
Atlassian Forge fills key role in cloud migration strategy
After a two-year development effort, Atlassian Forge is generally available as a distribution point for the add-on apps users need to match on-premises features in the cloud. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 May 2021
Build self-healing IT systems for data resilience
With an autonomous approach to system infrastructure, companies can save time and costs. Learn why IT admins should adopt this type of automation and how to implement it. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 May 2021
Use AWS Glue workflows to convert semistructured data
New to AWS Glue? Learn about the tool and how to incorporate it into DevOps workflows with examples that look at data transformation and machine learning. Continue Reading
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Definition
21 May 2021
zero-touch provisioning (ZTP)
Zero-touch provisioning (ZTP) is a method of setting up devices that automatically configures the device using a switch feature. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 May 2021
How to build a CI/CD pipeline -- with examples
Ready to set up a CI/CD pipeline? Follow these general steps, with guidance toward specific examples depending upon your own specific needs and resources. Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2021
ServiceNow adds Lightstep observability as BizDevOps grows
BizDevOps is taking off amid widespread digital transformation, and ServiceNow's Lightstep buy could bring observability to teams via its workflow platform. Continue Reading
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News
04 May 2021
IT pros make a case for GitOps in IT governance
GitOps requires shifts in IT team mindset and workflows, but enterprises with regulatory compliance and strict IT governance mandates say the pros outweigh the cons. Continue Reading
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News
28 Apr 2021
Atlassian Jira Work Management overhauls BizDevOps features
Atlassian has offered a fresh take on BizDevOps with Jira Work Management, which replaces Jira Core for enterprise legal, marketing and HR teams. Continue Reading
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Tip
28 Apr 2021
The CMDB-cloud pairing isn't as irrelevant as it seems
CMDBs have made IT admins' lives easier through their store of information. Learn why CMDBs are still a reliable tool for service management, despite the surge in cloud adoption. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Apr 2021
What's the difference between AI and IT automation?
AI and automation go hand in hand, but there are important differences between them. Learn the basics and how an IT org can combine them to improve workflows. Continue Reading
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Tip
22 Apr 2021
Prepare to train AI models for IT Ops non-stop
Algorithms have the potential to revolutionize IT organizations with carefully deployed models. Explore the learning approaches needed to successfully implement and maneuver these AI deployments. Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2021
Atlassian Jira shrinks ITSM competitive gaps with ThinkTilt
Atlassian Jira Service Management chips away at incumbent ITSM vendors' market lead with low-code/no-code IP from ThinkTilt, but it must keep adding features to fully catch up. Continue Reading
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News
14 Apr 2021
Service mesh SaaS springs up in fragmented market
Service mesh is complex, and users can choose from among many vendor products. New SaaS versions offer a way for them to try different approaches without making a big commitment. Continue Reading
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News
06 Apr 2021
Puppet Relay links event-driven IT automation to Enterprise
Puppet's Relay event-driven automation framework ships this week, with Puppet Enterprise integration that can link cloud-native workflows with on-premises infrastructure and apps. Continue Reading
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News
29 Mar 2021
IT automation helps healthcare companies adjust to pandemic
COVID-19 forced most businesses to upgrade their technology but adding IT automation to accommodate the growth in virtual services was most critical in the healthcare industry. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Mar 2021
Understand IT change management vs. configuration management
When examining change management vs. configuration management, it's easy to confuse them. These examples illustrate how they intertwine, but still address different areas. Continue Reading
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News
25 Mar 2021
Harness preps enterprise AI expansion for CI/CD tools
An enterprise continuous integration product Harness plans to launch next quarter will inject AI features for CI in a bid to raise the company's profile against its many rivals. Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2021
ServiceNow enters RPA market with Intellibot acquisition
Taking its cue from corporate users focused on both low- code and automation, ServiceNow has acquired Intellibot for its robotic process automation (RPA) products. Continue Reading
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News
12 Mar 2021
Energy company swaps index cards, Excel for DevSecOps
Manually tracking thousands of cloud connections was unsustainable for a $36 billion energy company, forcing a cultural and technical shift to DevSecOps. Continue Reading
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News
05 Mar 2021
Prisma Cloud hatches DevSecOps plans for Bridgecrew
Palo Alto Networks will add Bridgecrew DevSecOps tools to Prisma Cloud and open its considerable coffers to fund the new acquisition's infrastructure-as-code projects. Continue Reading
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News
05 Mar 2021
Linkerd 'opt-in,' developer accessibility sway IT pros
Not every enterprise needs the detailed configurability of Istio service mesh, and devs can unobtrusively experiment with Linkerd alongside other Kubernetes workloads. Continue Reading
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News
26 Feb 2021
Istio service mesh users tackle real-world integration
Once IT pros set up Istio in production, they face an even bigger challenge: expanding it to the rest of the IT infrastructure, from multi-cluster environments to VMs. Continue Reading
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Tip
22 Feb 2021
5 prerequisites for applying AI to an ops environment
For organizations that want to apply AI to their ops environments, IT teams must precede the starting line with an understanding of what AI can do -- and what they want from it. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Feb 2021
The remote workforce is redefining mission-critical apps
The explosion in remote work doesn't just mean more work calls in your pajamas. IT must be prepared to support application performance and availability as mission-critical. Continue Reading
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News
10 Feb 2021
New Relic condenses observability views for fast IT response
New Relic Explorer reflects a need for simple, quick troubleshooting within observability tools from enterprises whose businesses increasingly depend on application performance. Continue Reading
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News
04 Feb 2021
Cisco folds vulnerability management into AppDynamics AIOps
A new module for AppDynamics' AIOps platform uses APM data to perform vulnerability management monitoring and automated attack blocking as DevSecOps market buzz continues. Continue Reading
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News
03 Feb 2021
New CloudBees CEO eyes IPO, M&A to build DevOps tools
CloudBees co-founder Sacha Labourey will lead product strategy for the company's DevOps tools, while new CEO Stephen DeWitt readies the business for its next stage of growth. Continue Reading
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News
02 Feb 2021
Atlassian cloud sweetens licensing deal for enterprises
An Atlassian Cloud Enterprise licensing update furthers its appeal to customers contemplating a move to SaaS to offload and streamline IT ops. Continue Reading
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Opinion
26 Jan 2021
Where does NoOps fit in the future of IT Ops?
NoOps might stand for No Operations, but the goal is to improve processes, not eliminate them. Learn how steps toward automation and cloud migration can change IT operations. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jan 2021
Flush with funds, rising DevSecOps vendor reveals roadmap
Lacework has a fresh $525 million to help develop its machine learning-driven DevSecOps product, which integrates into CI/CD pipelines. CEO Dan Hubbard reveals his expansion plans. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Jan 2021
Evaluate Spinnaker vs. Jenkins for CI/CD
Jenkins is one of the most popular CI/CD tools available, but Spinnaker enables IT teams to manage complex pipelines. Is one better than the other, or should 'vs.' be swapped with 'and'? Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Jan 2021
Explore Bottlerocket's benefits and limitations
Everything has pros and cons, but the question is whether the good outweighs the bad. Evaluate what Bottlerocket has to offer, and how it compares to Alpine Linux as a container OS. Continue Reading
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News
06 Jan 2021
GrubHub's infrastructure-as-code feeds pandemic resiliency
GrubHub SREs fostered more consistent deployment patterns for resources such as DNS and AWS load balancers with a move to self-service infrastructure-as-code tools for DevOps teams last year. Continue Reading
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Tip
22 Dec 2020
How AI in the help desk transforms IT support
For IT help desk staff, it should no longer be a question of whether AI will transform their jobs -- but when. Prepare for changes around ticket workflows, troubleshooting and more. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Dec 2020
ITSM and DevOps don't have to be at odds
Is it possible for ITSM and DevOps to coexist within the same organization? It is, but it raises plenty of questions about how and whether they are a good fit. Continue Reading
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News
17 Dec 2020
DevSecOps pros struggle with tech changes, top-down mandates
Upper management's rising interest in DevSecOps raises the stakes for IT pros as they contend with rapidly evolving cloud-native apps. Continue Reading
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News
16 Dec 2020
SolarWinds attack stumps SecOps experts
An attack on U.S. government agencies via vendor software updates illuminates a SecOps frontier where users must figure out how to reliably evaluate third-party dependencies. Continue Reading
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Tip
15 Dec 2020
An overview of Apache Airflow for workflow management
This introductory look at Apache Airflow walks through some of the basics of the workflow management tool -- from installation steps to its various GUI options. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Dec 2020
How and why to create an SRE error budget
No IT service is completely immune to disruption. A realistic error budget is a powerful way to set up a service for success. Continue Reading
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Tip
25 Nov 2020
Notable benefits of private cloud for IT ops staff
Deploying a private cloud could provide more benefits than drawbacks -- although it certainly carries both. Know the specific implications of private cloud on IT ops staff. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Nov 2020
Infrastructure as code principles: How IaC works and how to use it
What are the most important things to know about infrastructure as code if you're going to implement it? Follow these guidelines to build a solid IaC foundation. Continue Reading
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News
24 Nov 2020
IT governance must catch up with DevSecOps, experts say
Government and financial services organizations that practice DevSecOps say IT governance must evolve to keep up through faster, automated control pipelines. Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Nov 2020
How to apologize for server outages and keep users happy
Nobody panic: The servers are down. How IT communicates an issue often means more to users than resolution speed. An admission of struggle is more forgivable than silence. Continue Reading
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Feature
20 Nov 2020
The evolution and history of software configuration management
IT and software configuration management challenge tech professionals. It's been that way for decades, and best practices continue to evolve. Continue Reading
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News
20 Nov 2020
GitOps pros grapple with Kubernetes configuration management
Configuration management challenges GitOps early adopters, especially at large enterprises with millions of lines of Kubernetes YAML to manage. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Nov 2020
These IT automation scripts take little effort and save a lot of work
Doing some IT tasks by hand is doing them wrong. Whether to provision components, research an issue or report on performance, IT automation scripts are powerful and easy to write. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Nov 2020
A production deployment checklist for enterprise apps
The more complex an app gets, the more complex production deployment becomes. Split the process into these nine areas to streamline team communication and tasks. Continue Reading
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News
17 Nov 2020
Puppet sets sights on unified IT automation platform, IPO
An integrated Puppet IT automation platform that runs on Kubernetes will accompany an IPO for Puppet Labs in 2021, as the company aims to update its image for the cloud-native era. Continue Reading
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News
10 Nov 2020
Atlassian ITSM challenges ServiceNow with DevOps focus
Cloud customers of Atlassian's Jira Service Management will get some Opsgenie incident management features included at no cost, as the vendor plans its ITSM expansion. Continue Reading
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Tip
10 Nov 2020
Automate these DevOps tasks for maximum productivity
DevOps is hard work, but only upfront. The goal -- once teams build a pipeline and set up automation -- is to stand aside and watch the builds flow through. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Nov 2020
Infrastructure as code benefits and DevOps use cases
Code flexibility, automation and security top the list of reasons to use IaC for DevOps use cases. But without careful management, they can quickly present problems. Continue Reading
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Tip
04 Nov 2020
Write a software deployment plan under these guidelines
A successful and comprehensive software deployment plan includes many moving pieces. But don't panic -- here are the key aspects to consider. Continue Reading
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News
27 Oct 2020
HashiCorp Nomad 1.0 expands monitoring polish, autoscaling
HashiCorp Nomad has been used in production before its 1.0 release, but its rapid development this year makes it applicable to a wider variety of uses. Continue Reading
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News
23 Oct 2020
HashiCorp Consul Terraform Sync creates coveted connection
HashiCorp Consul and Terraform can now sync for network infrastructure automation, a sought-after connection some users had previously tried to cobble together themselves. Continue Reading
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News
20 Oct 2020
Atlassian cloud shift quickens with Data Center price hikes
Atlassian's on-premises customer base has expressed alarm at the company's plans to discontinue Server licenses and make major Data Center price increases. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Oct 2020
Infrastructure as code examples for DevOps, cloud deployments
Administrators can use infrastructure as code to consistently manage a distributed set of resources. Follow these four examples to get started, and explore common IaC tool choices. Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2020
HashiCorp wades into continuous delivery with Waypoint
HashiCorp launched another new open source project this week, this time a continuous delivery utility called Waypoint, which IT pros hope will simplify DevOps deployments. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Oct 2020
How to start DevOps: A step-by-step guide
DevOps can be a grand departure from an IT organization's status quo. Follow these seven basic steps for a phased transition that staff will champion. Continue Reading
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News
30 Sep 2020
VMware Tanzu Kubernetes strategy hits integration milestone
VMware follows competitors in shipping a fully integrated Kubernetes infrastructure package, but vSphere tie-ins and a strong AWS partnership will bolster its enterprise appeal. Continue Reading
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News
29 Sep 2020
VMware buys SaltStack for security, configuration management
The acquisition of SaltStack will help VMware build event-driven security automation and configuration management into vRealize Automation, as open source Salt gains VMware's backing. Continue Reading
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News
24 Sep 2020
Jenkins CI/CD roadmap plots a path toward GitOps
Open source Jenkins now has a public roadmap, which shows plans to address user experience issues, at a time when enterprise IT pros favor 'everything as code' to foster GitOps. Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Sep 2020
3 key ways DevOps benefits a business
DevOps adoption can strain an organization. Is it worth the effort? Here's what a business should expect to gain when implementing DevOps and continuous delivery. Continue Reading
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News
22 Sep 2020
CloudBees revises software delivery management plan, pricing
CloudBees has pledged to roll out software delivery management modules by the end of the year and answered calls to adjust CloudBees CD pricing. Continue Reading
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Tip
15 Sep 2020
How to manage technical debt in IT organizations
"Debt" is a scary word even without "technical" before it. We can't help you with dollars and cents, but we can share what IT technical debt is and how to create a debt reduction plan. Continue Reading
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News
08 Sep 2020
Progress Software battles legacy rep amid Chef Software buy
Progress Software, a 40-year-old tech company, will mix Chef products into its portfolio of acquisitions, as both seek to keep up with rapid changes in IT automation. Continue Reading
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Video
31 Aug 2020
Try out an Ansible dry run in under 5 minutes
Learn how the dry run tests Ansible configurations without making any accidental changes to the IT environment. This tutorial covers the steps in less time than it takes to make coffee. Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Aug 2020
Overcome these 5 DevOps challenges
DevOps adoption isn't easy, but the results are worth it. Learn how to collaborate, cooperate and coordinate with better organization and DevOps tooling. Continue Reading
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News
19 Aug 2020
GitOps gains momentum among Kubernetes deployment tools
The growing popularity of Kubernetes GitOps tools reflects increasing cloud-native maturity and complexity among enterprise shops such as American Express. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
19 Aug 2020
Use Pulumi and Azure DevOps to deploy infrastructure as code
Follow this tutorial for an overview of Pulumi, an IaC tool, within the Azure DevOps toolchain, and how to use them together to define, build, test and deploy infrastructure. Continue Reading
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News
14 Aug 2020
Slack integrations to form alternate UI for Atlassian tools
Atlassian plans to make Slack a full alternative interface for its software development and incident response tools, including single sign-on features. Continue Reading
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News
12 Aug 2020
Terraform Cloud adds enterprise support, usage-based pricing
Terraform Cloud's new Business tier is a sign of what's to come for both Terraform Enterprise and IT ops teams overwhelmed with tools to manage, industry analysts say. Continue Reading
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News
07 Aug 2020
Value stream management tames DevOps chaos at Eli Lilly
The pharma firm straightened out disorganized DevOps processes, which now include data management for COVID-19 clinical trials, with a Plutora value stream management tool. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Aug 2020
How Kubernetes enhances DevOps practices
Kubernetes isn't necessary for DevOps, and you don't need a DevOps team to adopt Kubernetes container management. But, here are all the ways that these two are better together. Continue Reading
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News
05 Aug 2020
DevOps pipeline consolidation continues among CI/CD tools
Bespoke DevOps pipelines are becoming a thing of the past as specialist vendors such as Harness and Drone.io merge to compete with large platform vendors. Continue Reading
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News
29 Jul 2020
Styra policy builder eases access to IT compliance as code
Styra's Rego Policy Builder guides novice users through the process of rendering OPA policies, part of the vendor's push to broaden the audience for its commercial software. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Jul 2020
Follow these 8 steps to implement automation in IT workflows
IT can't automate everything under their purview, and certainly not all at once. But there are tried-and-true steps IT orgs can follow to automate safely. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Jul 2020
How to use PowerShell in CI/CD pipelines
PowerShell has many uses in CI/CD pipelines. Before DevOps teams dive in, they need to grasp the automation tool's scope, from cloud management to infrastructure testing. Continue Reading
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Answer
22 Jul 2020
When to use canary vs. blue/green vs. rolling deployment
App deployment strategies such as rolling updates and blue/green environments help IT organizations manage change with minimal risk. See which strategy fits your application. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Jul 2020
Choose the best programming language for DevOps workflows
DevOps is a rapidly evolving set of technologies and practices; choosing the right programming language -- or languages -- makes a big difference in terms of functionality, efficiency and speed. Continue Reading