In the previous two parts of this 3-part blog series, we have discussed the pros and cons of various DevOps tools available in the market. In this blog, we will cover a systematic approach on how we can choose the right tools to ensure that it will meet our Dev and Infra requirements.

Using different tools streamline our journey of achieving a fully functional DevOps implementation. However, determining which tools to adopt should require a robust compatibility check- based on the Infrastructure and development needs.

As a DevOps partner, Aspire has come up with a series of knowledge sessions to help organizations apply a templated approach on DevOps Pipeline Automation based on their requirements. Below are the summary on each of these topics and links to watch the sessions to understand how businesses are benefited using this streamlined approach.

In part 1, we’ve discussed about Enabling DevOps in a Customer-driven Marketplace.
In this session we have covered the typical challenges in DevOps implementation processes and how to overcome them. We have discussed 4 scenarios and one of it is about a product development pipeline that is being developed by a team in one location (in Java), customized and supported by geo-separated teams.
Other topics in it include:

  • Industry leading tools and techniques to achieve smooth releases.
  • Rough estimates and ROI analysis for implementing an improved release planning.
  • Release planning templates that can be readily applied for typical use cases.

In part 2, we came up with a Templated Approach to Infrastructure Management and Automation. Here, we have discussed about Industry trends and tools for Infrastructure Automation along with sample use cases. A key point in this knowledge session is the Elimination-based approach to derive tools, processes and control mechanisms. This approach helps you choose the best tool for your needs. For Narrowing down the list, parameters such as Tool constraints, Processes and Control mechanisms were considered.

Various scenarios were discussed in detail considering parameters like Distribution, Technology, Scale & Load and Environments & Security. One of the scenarios discussed was a SaaS Development work, and how can we apply a templated approach.

In part 3, we shared expert opinions on How to enable continuous testing in an agile paced DevOps environment

Key takeaways from this session include:

  • Why organizations should adopt Continuous testing?
  • Latest trends and concepts of Continuous Testing in the market such as: ATDD, Distributed Testing, Fail Fast Strategy, Regression Strategy, etc
  • The relationship between Continuous testing and DevOps, and how DevOps engineers actively help in Quality Engineering
  • Various Continuous Testing tools available in the market for purposes such as: Functional & Regression, Security, Performance Testing, Mobile Test Automation, etc.
  • 4 scenarios are discussed and one of it is a Hosted Public Facing service- Assuming the application is built with LAMP stack

In the part 4, we’ve discussed about Release Management and Continuous Integration. Here, we’ve given an overview of Release Management, Version Management, Backward compatibility, and Branching Strategy. The key takeaways of this session include:

  • Deep dive into Continuous Integration, Continuous Testing, Continuous release processes
  • Deterministic approach to templatize Release Management policies
  • Post Release aspects such as Archival Strategy, Cleanup, Upgrade planning and scheduling, etc.
  • Use cases to demonstrate the template approach in Release Management and CI/CD

The 5th and last part is about the final dimension of DevOps – Orchestration and Feedback Loop. It would also offer viewers a sneak peek into our DevOps rule engine that has the ideologies embedded. These are the DevOps essentials that we follow in our projects to help us streamline the DevOps Pipeline and deliver high ROI to our customers.

In a nutshell, this session will offer the following takeaways:

  1. Introduction to the fourth dimension – orchestration and feedback loop.
  2. Why is it important and How does it affects the parameters of a developers requirement?
  3. How Aspire’s inference engine applies rules to arrive at a template for a given DevOps project.
  4. Benefits of using this approach to help you make decisions faster and build products that meet your customer needs.