Get started

Get started

Bring yourself up to speed with our introductory content.

• KubeCon 2020 preview: Session guide for fine-tuning Kubernetes

  Hosted as a low-cost virtual event, KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2020 offers a broad array of technical sessions that can help you scale and improve Kubernetes deployments. Continue Reading

• KubeCon 2020 preview: Session guide for Kubernetes professionals

  The virtual format of KubeCon 2020 means Kubernetes adopters can learn from their peers and take in expert presentations on Kubernetes and related technologies. Continue Reading

• KubeCon 2020 preview: Session guide for Kubernetes beginners

  Want expert advice to kick off a container and Kubernetes implementation at your company? Many of the sessions at KubeCon North America are made for you. Continue Reading

• Manage Kubernetes pods and nodes with these native features

  In Kubernetes, pod management requires familiarity with the platform's native features. From Services and Jobs to taints and tolerations, learn how they help direct deployments. Continue Reading

• 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

• Definitions to Get Started

  • composable infrastructure
  • DevOps as a Service
  • continuous delivery (CD)
  • application release automation (ARA)

  • IT/OT convergence
  • application containerization (app containerization)
  • IT monitoring
  • ServiceNow

  View All Definitions

• How to kickstart a proof-of-concept IT project

  As with any IT initiative, operations staff should have a clear vision for a proof-of-concept project -- from technical requirements to the key stakeholders involved.Continue Reading

• 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

• Build and deploy a microservice with Kubernetes

  Ready to run microservices in production? Follow along to create a containerized microservice and deploy it on Kubernetes in this step-by-step tutorial.Continue Reading

• composable infrastructure

  A composable infrastructure is a framework that decouples device resources in order to treat them as services.Continue Reading

• Ways to use feature flags in DevOps

  What's in a name? Whether you call them feature flags or toggles, this approach benefits enterprise IT all the same. Learn the basics and see how to apply them to DevOps.Continue Reading

• Build a DevOps culture using these key principles

  Is your organization ready to adopt DevOps practices? There's a lot to it, so don't try to accomplish everything all at once. Start with these key ideas.Continue Reading

• 5 DevSecOps best practices to prioritize

  Successful DevSecOps isn't just about secure code -- it's securing the flows of data through code, methods and tools. Review these five security tips to button up your DevOps work.Continue Reading

• Evolving DevOps roles demand Kubernetes, CI/CD skills

  The rapid rate of change in IT coupled with the newness of many DevOps practices and technologies creates barriers for those who seek a career in DevOps. These skills can open the door.Continue Reading

• How to approach IT logging in the cloud vs. on premises

  IT organizations must monitor cloud infrastructure and apps with a process that's different than they're used to for on-premises environments. Learn how to do cloud logging here.Continue Reading

• Know the key DevOps roles and responsibilities for team success

  More than most IT initiatives, DevOps is built around people. Involve the right professionals, and get those people primed to work in concerted ways.Continue Reading

• DevOps as a Service

  DevOps as a Service is a delivery model for a set of tools that facilitates collaboration between an organization's software development team and the operations team.Continue Reading

• 16 DevOps books to level up your skills

  Is your organization and IT staff ready to tackle DevOps, from culture to strategies and toolchains? Start with these 16 books from learning DevOps basics to fine-tuning specific DevOps skills and practices.Continue Reading

• Top 15 DevOps blogs to read and follow

  The DevOps community is big, but here are some of the top DevOps blogs to read that cover everything from tips for beginners, the latest news and how-tos.Continue Reading

• Get started with Docker Bench for Security

  Common vulnerabilities in OSes and configuration files can plague Docker hosts. Learn how to set up Docker Bench for Security and use the open source tool to fortify hosts against threats.Continue Reading

• Just what can AI in IT operations accomplish?

  How should the 'AI' in 'AIOps' work? The idea is for it to identify and solve problems in ways similar to how the human mind would -- except faster and without prompting.Continue Reading

• continuous delivery (CD)

  Continuous delivery (CD) is an approach for software delivery in which development teams produce and test code in short but continual cycles, usually with high degrees of automation.Continue Reading

• 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

• Kubernetes performance testing tutorial: Load test a cluster

  Follow along step by step to run Kubernetes performance tests with Metrics Server and Horizontal Pod Autoscaler. This tutorial works for cloud-, data center- or locally hosted clusters.Continue Reading

• How to build a successful IT service desk

  The IT service desk has a lot to manage. With a strong foundation and the right steps in place to handle issues, it can take on anything users throw at it.Continue Reading

• 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

• application release automation (ARA)

  Application release automation (ARA) is a process that packages and deploys an application, or application updates, through the stages of development to production automatically.Continue Reading

• Incident communication best practices for happier users

  Proper communication around an IT outage or incident can prevent chaos. Use these techniques -- at home and abroad -- to keep users well-informed.Continue Reading

• IT/OT convergence

  IT/OT convergence is the integration of information technology (IT) systems with operational technology (OT) systems.Continue Reading

• 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

• 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

• 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

• How persistent container storage works -- and why it matters

  Persistent storage retains data when a device is shut off. And for containers -- inherently stateless and ephemeral -- this type of storage is critical for deployments.Continue Reading

• application containerization (app containerization)

  Application containerization is an OS-level virtualization method used to deploy and run distributed applications without launching an entire virtual machine (VM) for each app.Continue Reading

• Follow this Grafana Loki tutorial to query IT log data

  IT pros evaluating log data should try tools like Grafana Loki. Follow this tutorial to see how it works firsthand, exploring LogCLI and LogQL.Continue Reading

• Essential serverless concepts to master before deployment

  Serverless computing can be incredibly beneficial -- but easily misunderstood. Before adoption, have a clear understanding of proper use cases and app design principles.Continue Reading

• Modern IT KPIs emphasize cloud, DevOps and user experience

  When it comes to KPIs, IT ops teams have typically prioritized process-centric metrics, but recent technical and cultural shifts have started to change that.Continue Reading

• Walk through 5 essential DevOps pipeline stages

  A DevOps pipeline won't look the same in every organization, but the five phases outlined in this video play a prominent role in most software development and delivery lifecycles.Continue Reading

• 4 steps to implement an IT configuration management process

  Configuration management tools go a long way in effective IT system maintenance. However, admins still need to take certain steps of their own to ensure desired outcomes.Continue Reading

• SRE interview questions span IT networking to app dev

  To ace that job interview, aspiring SREs should prepare to discuss everything from programming languages to network troubleshooting at varying levels of detail.Continue Reading

• A Graylog tutorial to centrally manage IT logs

  Graylog enables IT admins to manage and analyze log data from multiple sources. Use this tutorial to set up the tool and learn its primary features, such as pipelines and extractors.Continue Reading

• How to use Clair to scan Docker images

  Container vulnerabilities open the door to security issues and cascading failures across an IT environment. Use this Clair tutorial to scan for compromised Docker container images.Continue Reading

• Prepare for the rise of the IT automation architect

  As IT infrastructures become more complex, and development cycles more rapid, organizations increasingly lean on automation -- and those with the skills to oversee it.Continue Reading

• How to set up Prometheus for Kubernetes monitoring

  Prometheus enables IT teams to automate and quickly configure infrastructure monitoring with open source tools natively in Kubernetes. Follow this tutorial to get started.Continue Reading

• From coding to automation, SRE skills reach far and wide

  A site reliability engineer wears many hats. In addition to development and IT troubleshooting responsibilities, this role requires top-notch communication skills.Continue Reading

• How to integrate DevOps into an IT monitoring strategy

  When it comes to IT monitoring, a DevOps toolchain presents opportunities and challenges. Follow best practices to ensure your teams see and fix problems appropriately.Continue Reading

• IT monitoring

  IT monitoring is the process to gather metrics about the operations of an IT environment's hardware and software to ensure everything functions as expected to support applications and services.Continue Reading

• It's time to dismiss these 7 DevOps collaboration myths

  DevOps is taking root in IT organizations across the globe -- but that doesn't mean it's well understood. Misconceptions persist, but they can be conquered.Continue Reading

• Get started with threshold monitoring

  IT monitoring doesn't have to be difficult to set up and use. Learn how to set thresholds and dashboards, know when and how to escalate responses, and keep IT systems humming along.Continue Reading

• Learn Kubernetes step by step with this interactive book

  SearchITOperations spoke with author Zach Arnold about what IT pros can expect from The Kubernetes Workshop, an interactive book that progressively builds readers' knowledge of container orchestration.Continue Reading

• Implement compliance-as-code with this Chef InSpec tutorial

  Rather than rely on manual compliance checks, IT admins can use Chef InSpec to automate the process. Watch this brief video to learn essential InSpec commands and run some practice scans.Continue Reading

• How to respond to 3 common IT alerts

  When those IT alerts pop up, the ops team needs to respond. Take steps to deal with the problems -- but also look out for possible sources of the trouble.Continue Reading

• 5 IT automation examples that ops teams should implement today

  IT automation use cases are plentiful and highly variegated -- but organizations should emphasize these five examples in their roadmaps.Continue Reading

• Container auditing best practices for large-scale deployments

  Container auditing and reporting are essential security and compliance measures in a production environment. Apply these practices to uncover abnormalities, control user access and choose the right tool.Continue Reading

• How -- and why -- to add SolarWinds modules

  SolarWinds is known for its capabilities in network monitoring, but flexible modules give IT operations staff the ability to monitor systems far and wide.Continue Reading

• A Kubernetes namespaces tutorial to manage cluster resources

  Namespaces in Kubernetes serve several purposes -- from allowing teams to share a single cluster to enforcing resource quotas. Use this tutorial to get started with this important Kubernetes feature.Continue Reading

• Create an AKS cluster with this Ansible and Kubernetes tutorial

  IT admins familiar with Ansible can use the configuration management tool, alongside Azure Cloud Shell, to spin up a Kubernetes cluster in AKS.Continue Reading

• Craft a DevOps transformation roadmap around these 5 milestones

  As organizations embark on a DevOps journey, they can use these five milestones to ensure team members stay on track -- and collaborate efficiently along the way.Continue Reading

• How many Kubernetes nodes should be in a cluster?

  There's no one-size-fits-all answer in terms of how many nodes should make up a Kubernetes cluster. Instead, that number varies based on specific workload requirements.Continue Reading

• Lean on these core Ansible features for IT automation success

  These six articles break down Ansible playbooks, roles and other key concepts for IT pros who are new to the tool -- or could benefit from a refresher.Continue Reading

• 6 articles to modernize an IT log management strategy

  Enterprises must adapt IT log management best practices and tools to handle an ever-growing volume of log files. Here are several modern approaches to tackle IT logging efficiently.Continue Reading

• ServiceNow

  ServiceNow is a cloud-based company that provides software as a service (SaaS) for technical management support.Continue Reading

• 4 components of a disaster recovery plan to prepare for a crisis

  IT teams must take a proactive approach to crisis management and disaster recovery. Use these four guidelines around communication, monitoring and more to build a plan that works.Continue Reading

• Tap into these dark data use cases for IT ops and the business

  Untapped data sources cause enterprises to forgo a wealth of information that benefits both IT operations and the business. Here's why -- and how -- to shine a light on dark data.Continue Reading

• The evolution of containers: Docker, Kubernetes and the future

  Container technology is almost as old as VMs, although IT wasn't talking about the topic until Docker, Kubernetes and other tech made waves that caused a frenzy of activity.Continue Reading

• Lay the groundwork for a SecOps team structure

  A good partnership between IT operations and security teams requires trust, mutual commitment and continual work -- but results in significantly reduced security exposures and a healthier work culture for all.Continue Reading

• What to expect as AI for DevOps advances in the enterprise

  While still an emerging practice, the use of artificial intelligence in DevOps shops will have major implications on monitoring, cost optimization and more.Continue Reading

• Walk through 5 common PowerShell uses for IT ops teams

  PowerShell use cases have expanded past Microsoft's original design -- but IT automation is still at the tool's core, whether it's to support an AIOps strategy or monitor server performance.Continue Reading

• Kubectl commands and best practices for new Kubernetes users

  Kubectl is a simple and powerful means to control containers in Kubernetes. But as with any CLI, it demands familiarity with available operations, resource types and associated syntax.Continue Reading

• Perform Nagios configuration step by step

  Nagios Core helps IT teams monitor system uptime and availability -- but first, they have to install and configure the tool properly. Follow this video tutorial to get started.Continue Reading

• Docker

  Docker is an open source software platform to create, deploy and manage virtualized application containers on a common operating system (OS), with an ecosystem of allied tools.Continue Reading

• Kubernetes

  Kubernetes, also referred to as K8s, is an open source system used to manage Linux Containers across private, public and hybrid cloud environments.Continue Reading

• 3 ways IT teams can use PowerShell in AI initiatives

  As they embark on AIOps strategies, IT admins -- particularly those in Windows shops -- can lean on a familiar tool for data gathering and issue remediation: PowerShell.Continue Reading

• What are containers (container-based virtualization or containerization)?

  Containers are a type of software that can virtually package and isolate applications for deployment.Continue Reading

• A step-by-step tutorial for Kubernetes implementation

  This Kubernetes implementation example demonstrates how to create a single-node cluster on Windows 10 to get a containerized application up and running.Continue Reading

• Follow this Ansible Vault example for encryption best practices

  IT admins can choose between two types of encryption methods when they use Ansible Vault: file-level and variable-level. Walk through each model with this brief video.Continue Reading

• Dig into Kubernetes pod deployment for optimal container use

  Improve your Kubernetes deployment strategy with balanced application hosting and sound pod-to-nodes mapping. Learn the ins and outs of resource pools and Kubernetes communication.Continue Reading

• Master these 3 common Kubernetes troubleshooting tasks

  Not enough nodes? Have some noisy neighbors? Plenty of things can cause containers to underperform. Here's how to chase down and resolve three common Kubernetes problems.Continue Reading

• How to approach Kubernetes multi-tenancy for resource isolation

  Multi-tenancy in Kubernetes can partition IT resources and operations, but it can be tricky to determine just how much isolation is necessary.Continue Reading

• Build a SaaS disaster recovery plan for IT automation tools

  While cloud-based IT automation software offers speed and flexibility, it poses the same potential risk of other hosted tools: a loss of availability during an outage.Continue Reading

• ModelOps (model operations)

  ModelOps (model operations) is a holistic approach to enable analytics models to progress from the lab to production so that they can be scaled and managed to meet organizations' demand.Continue Reading

• Why to use staging environments for IT infrastructure testing

  A well-built and efficient staging environment pays off in a more stable production deployment. For this reason, IT ops teams should perform isolated infrastructure tests in staging.Continue Reading

• Put these Terraform best practices into action

  Terraform enables IT teams to complete a range of tasks, from deployment to multi-cloud management. Apply this collection of best practices to get started with, or optimize your use of, the IaC tool.Continue Reading

• Use this Nagios monitoring tutorial for proactive IT monitoring

  Learn how to install and run Nagios to monitor your organization's IT assets. Follow these steps so you're prepared to catch problems before they get out of hand.Continue Reading

• Optimize platform costs, use with an IT asset management strategy

  Without a thorough asset management plan that accounts for the complexities of today's IT environments, organizations risk cost inefficiencies and suboptimal support for the business.Continue Reading

• Practical advice to integrate IT systems after a merger

  A merger or acquisition can devour an IT administrator's time in many ways -- from running and supporting parallel sets of infrastructure to managing automation and security.Continue Reading

• Learn how New Relic works, and when to use it for IT monitoring

  New Relic is one of many tools that can help an IT team track application performance and health. Before adoption, understand primary use cases and SaaS installation requirements.Continue Reading

• Visual Studio Code vs. the native console for PowerShell debugging

  Unsure whether to debug a PowerShell script in Visual Studio Code or the PowerShell console? Follow this tutorial to make the decision a little easier.Continue Reading

• Apply the K-means clustering algorithm for IT performance monitoring

  Modern machine learning frameworks reduce the heavy lifting in IT performance monitoring. Follow this example, using Apache Mesos and the K-means clustering algorithm, to learn the basics.Continue Reading

• Docker image

  A Docker image is a file, comprised of multiple layers, that is used to execute code in a Docker container.Continue Reading

• Build a DevOps feedback loop with these CI/CD tools

  From Azure DevOps to Jenkins, DevOps teams can choose from a number of CI/CD tools to enable and maintain a continuous loop of feedback.Continue Reading

• Ensure Kubernetes high availability with master node planning

  Kubernetes ensures high availability in its worker nodes, but for a mission-critical workload, IT teams should take these extra steps for redundancy in the master node components.Continue Reading

• IT incident management best practices to minimize disruptions

  IT issues can come out of nowhere, but an incident response plan can guide teams through troubled times. Follow these best practices to optimize each part of the plan.Continue Reading

• GitOps

  GitOps is a paradigm designed around Kubernetes to allow developers and IT operations teams to use Git for cluster management and application delivery.Continue Reading

• Walk through common use cases for built-in Terraform functions

  Follow along with this Terraform tutorial to learn and apply various types of built-in functions -- including Numeric, String, and Date and Time -- within the IaC tool.Continue Reading

• Knative

  Knative is an open source project based on the Kubernetes platform for building, deploying and managing serverless workloads that can run in the cloud, on premises or in a third-party data center.Continue Reading

• How and why to set up an automation CoE for DevOps

  As DevOps automation efforts spread across IT and the business, use a center of excellence to establish standards, secure executive sponsorship and organize staff trainings.Continue Reading

• Kubernetes networking explained: Start with these building blocks

  To understand Kubernetes networking, admins must first master the core components of the container orchestration platform. Then, they need to map deployments to the right virtual networking model.Continue Reading

• Use this Kubernetes and Helm tutorial to simplify app deployments

  Helm charts are a helpful tool to deploy applications onto Kubernetes clusters. Follow this tutorial, which also features Windows and Chocolatey, to get started with the package manager.Continue Reading

• DevOps engineer

  A DevOps engineer is an IT professional who works with software developers, system operators and other production IT staff to create and oversee code releases and deployments.Continue Reading

• Emphasize app modernization in 2020 IT budget plans

  IT budgeting can be stressful and complicated, but it doesn't have to be. Communicate with business leaders and users to identify -- and capitalize on -- the right opportunities.Continue Reading