Feedback on DevOps

08/09/2016
couverture du livre blanc "DevOps et industrialisation"

For the publication of the white paper on DevOps and industrialization by the experts at the integrator Smile, it is important to recall some key aspects of this methodology that is running full steam ahead.

What is the DevOps approach?

In a world in which IT projects emerge amongst increasingly complex software and infrastructure configurations, the operating risks and risks of missing milestones have driven IT teams to automate their rollouts. The contributions made by agile techniques, such as industrialized software testing, also require bringing the teams in charge of development (Dev) and operations (Ops) together in an effective, controlled way. That’s where DevOps comes in!

This methodology aims to simplify continuous delivery processes, reducing the number of requests sent to systems administrators, as well as fix and maintenance needs. It also gives developers more control over the continuity of post-development operations. Lastly, by clarifying communications between the different project participants and shortening action times, DevOps offers results that are immediately visible and that leave more room to focus on product quality and scalability.

Of obvious interest to the open source industry

DevOps as a movement has already been adopted far and wide by software vendors and integrator. Its underlying principle is to build a bridge between developers and operators for improved fulfilment of the end product. Putting this approach in place yields more effective collaboration that in turn shortens the time to go-live.

Collaboration, agility and automation: these themes, which have become buzzwords in the world of open source software, have unarguably enabled the spread of innovative, interoperable solutions for setting up DevOps in companies. Ranging from rollout solutions (Ansible, Puppet, Chef, etc.) to continuous integration (Jenkins, GitLab CI, etc.) by way of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift and Mesos), open source tools are very well represented in the domain of DevOps, and some of them are even authorities in their field.

Following in the footsteps of earlier agile approaches, DevOps requires a mastery of key concepts in order to achieve the highest levels of performance: continuous integration, continuous delivery, version managers, containers and virtual machines, the stages from development to production, and the contributions and advantages of open source.

The implementation of this type of approach is not something that can be improvised. It requires careful consideration and, in some cases, guidance on the selection of tools and infrastructure. However, the benefits promised by DevOps are real and include a reduced number of requests made to systems administrators, better control over post-dev continuity for developers, clarified communications with product managers, shorter actions generating almost instant results, and more. According to Patrice Ferlet, Smile Technical Expert and author of the white paper, these have already won a number of people over to the cause.

To learn more, you can now download a free copy of the white paper DevOps and Industrialization from smile.fr (in French).

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