Lean software development means delivering applications efficiently and fast. Robert Sheldon discussions the business value of lean software development.
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There is more to DevOps than tools and automation. In this article, Robert Sheldon explains how to create a DevOps culture based on collaboration.… Read more
A very common tenet used when building out a DevOps style approach to automated deployment is the concept of failing fast. You want to identify issues with the changes in your code and structures as early as possible to protect the production environment. One of the most common methods to meet this requirement is setting … Read more
When you begin to work with containers, you will notice many similarities between a container and a virtual machine; but, in fact, these are two quite different concepts. Containers are going to change the way that we do Windows-based development work in the coming year, and they already underpin much of the devops work of speeding the delivery process. Nicolas Prigent explains how to use the Windows Containers feature.… Read more
There are many ways that static code analysis can help to speed software delivery. It can pick up, as a preliminary to check-in, errors and weaknesses in code that can happen incidentally to even the most experienced developer. It can give the team a measure of technical debt, and remove the obvious 'noise' from code before it is reviewed. Vishwas introduces a popular Code-quality inspection tool, SonarQube, and takes you through the basics of using it with C# and Java. … Read more
Identifying a need for better collaboration between teams is only the first step to introducing DevOps workflows into your organization. You also need to define a common DevOps goal, a strategy to achieve it, and then to break down this strategy into series of manageable tasks for each team. Bob Walker describes how Farm Services of America started to "do DevOps".… Read more
Virtual machines are easier to manage via PowerShell than with the the Hyper-V Manager console. PowerShell Direct takes this further by allowing you to interact easily with the virtual machines on the Hyper-V host without needing network access. With Windows Nano Server, PowerShell Direct is an essential because this OS requires you to use remote management via PowerShell scripts.
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Database Lifecycle Management (DLM) aims to provide a roadmap of what is required, and when, to deliver and maintain effective databases that can respond quickly to business change. How does the DevOps movement, as it applies to databases, fit into this? William Brewer explains how DevOps provides the organisational change between delivery and operations to make important parts of the process easier to introduce.… Read more
Because it is important with maintaining Virtual Machine environments to be able to repeat routine tasks completely accurately, Windows PowerShell has grown in importance for the job. Now you can manage the Hyper-V environment via PowerShell without needing to use the Hyper-V Manager console. It opens up many opportunities for automation.… Read more
On both Windows and Linux, the chore of setting up developer workstations can take several days, and there always seem to be a few configuration settings that get missed. You can reduce the time and tedium dramatically by automating the process by using Vagrant to set up the operating system, followed by your choice of provisioning, configuration management and orchestration applications such as Puppet, Chef, Ansible, Salt, Docker, Chocolatey and Boxstarter. Vishwas shows how to make it easy to do with Vagrant, Chocolatey and Boxstarter.… Read more
Michael Fal is a huge advocate of automation and many ways it can improve the lives of developers and DBAs alike, but you can't just automate all your problems away. The real challenge is breaking down barriers and having developers and DBAs functioning smoothly together. You may have heard of DevOps, and so Mike explores what the buzz might mean for database administrators.… Read more
After hearing from Grant Fritchey that "Anyone who wants to know what DevOps really means should read this" Claire Brooking picked up a copy of The Phoenix Project. This parable of an IT project on the brink of destruction is told with humor and insight. Claire reviews the book, finding that conflict, incidents and mistakes are inevitable - what counts is how the team members grow to manage and resolve them.… Read more
