#275: In the constantly evolving landscape of technology, embracing new methodologies can significantly enhance our system management capabilities. One such methodology that has risen to prominence is GitOps. This practice enhances the declarative nature of infrastructure management, aiming to increase efficiency and reliability. In this episode, w…

#274: When we talk about problems in the tech space, one recurring issue is what we call the "XY problem", where understanding the root cause of a problem is crucial for crafting an effective solution. In this episode, Darin and Viktor explore what the XY problem is, why it happens, and how we can mitigate it to create better outcomes for everyone …

#273: Platform engineering plays a crucial role in modern software delivery. The platform engineering team is responsible for creating a development environment that is both productive and scalable. However, many platform engineers might not be familiar with foundational software design principles, and this can lead to inefficiencies and technical …

#272: Public speaking, especially at conferences, can be a daunting task. The fear of failing, the pressure of performing in front of peers, and the challenges of preparation can make even the most confident individuals second-guess themselves. In this episode, Darin and Viktor offer practical advice for aspiring conference speakers. Today's sponso…

#271: Platform engineering has traditionally centered around technological excellence. From building robust Kubernetes clusters to implementing intricate CI/CD pipelines, the emphasis has been on mastering the technical aspects. However, as the industry matures, there's a growing realization that technological prowess alone isn't enough. In this ep…

#270: In the ever-evolving world of software development, getting a new machine up and running can be an time consuming process. The journey from unboxing to being fully operational has undergone significant transformations over the years, with each phase offering its own solutions and challenges. In this episode, Darin and Viktor talk about their …

#269: As developers, when we begin writing applications, the focus is often on the code itself. But what if we prioritized the user from the very beginning? This is where human-centered computing comes in. It's about placing the user at the heart of the development process, not merely making assumptions but actually going out and talking to them to…

#268: Kubernetes has become the de facto standard for container orchestration, but its true strength lies in its API. Today, containers are prevalent, but tomorrow we might be dealing with a completely different runtime. The Kubernetes API, with its robust and flexible design, is poised to support these transitions seamlessly. In this episode, Dari…

#267: In the fast-paced world of Kubernetes development, ensuring the reliability and effectiveness of applications is crucial. End-to-end testing plays a vital role in detecting bugs, ensuring proper functionality, and maintaining the overall quality of Kubernetes resources. But what happens when existing testing tools fall short of meeting the ev…

#266: The tech industry has witnessed an explosion of new configuration languages that are reshaping the way we manage data structures and generate configuration files. From traditional formats like JSON and YAML to newer languages like Pkl, CUE, and KCL, the landscape of configuration languages is constantly evolving to meet the demands of modern …

#265: The worlds of Kubernetes and GitOps are constantly evolving, each iteration bringing us closer to a more streamlined, efficient, and powerful way of managing and deploying our software architectures. Kubernetes has become the cornerstone of container orchestration, offering an unmatched level of flexibility and scalability. Meanwhile, GitOps …

#264: In recent years, the very definition of open source has been subject to scrutiny and reinterpretation. Where once open source projects were largely managed and maintained by individuals or small groups for passion or as a hobby, today, they are at the forefront of business, technology, and innovation. The world's dependence on open-source sof…

#263: In an era where technology is evolving at an unprecedented rate, the role of a DevOps architect has become increasingly significant. This career path is not just about overseeing development and operations. It involves a deeper understanding of the entire system, requiring a unique blend of experience across development, operations, and beyon…

#262: In the ever-evolving world of software development and IT infrastructure, striking the right balance between ambition and realistic expectations is a common challenge. This balance becomes even more precarious when dealing with the development and implementation of projects, be it in a Greenfield scenario or maintaining and upgrading existing…

#261: The future of developer portals is one of seamless integration and intuitive operation. By bridging the gap between complex platforms and the developers who use them, portals can significantly enhance productivity and innovation. This vision aligns with the ethos of companies like Port, which emphasizes an open and adaptable approach to devel…

#260: In the fast-paced world of technology, advancements are constantly reshaping the way we work. As we strive to stay ahead of the curve, the debate between embracing innovation and resisting change becomes more relevant than ever. In this episode, Darin and Viktor talk about where they see how AI is being used now, as well as how it will be use…

#259: Terminals have been around for decades, serving as the backbone of many workflows and operations in the tech world. From managing servers to local file manipulation, terminals offer a direct line to the heart of computing. However, with the advent of graphical user interfaces (GUIs), the terminal's prominence has waned among the general user …

#258: As startups journey through their growth phases, the choices made regarding technology infrastructure can significantly impact their agility, scalability, and ultimately, their success. In this episode, Darin and Viktor discuss a blog post from someone that leads infrastructure at a startup where he writes about the decisions that they made a…

#257: As the digital world continues to evolve, businesses and technology leaders find themselves at a critical inflection point, particularly when it comes to the deployment and management of infrastructure. The journey from traditional IT to cloud-native platforms has been significant, pushing the boundaries of innovation and efficiency. Yet, the…

#256: KubeCon season has started again and in this episode, we give you our thoughts on KubeCon EU 2024, along with our friend Whitney Lee. Whitney's contact information: Twitter: https://twitter.com/wiggitywhitney LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneylee/ YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/devopsparadox Review the podcast on Apple Podcas…

#255: In an era where software development and operations are increasingly converging, the need for effective and efficient observability tools has never been more critical. As systems grow in complexity and the lines between development and operations blur, the role of observability in understanding and managing these systems becomes more prominen…

#254: When you first started out working with infrastructure, you probably used point and click to get your work done. Over time, you created scripts to replace some of that point and click work. But then, many infrastructure as code tools exploded on the market. You may have started working with one or two or you may have chosen to just keep doing…

#253: As we move forward in 2024, one thing stands firm - platform engineering remains a significant focus for companies and has become a key component in the digital transformation journey. This realization drove the creation of the Platform Engineering Maturity Model, a comprehensive guide that serves organizations in various stages of their plat…

#252: In today's rapidly evolving technology landscape, it's crucial for organizations to keep their software stacks up-to-date. This is especially true for complex systems like Kubernetes, which require regular upgrades to ensure stability, security, and performance. In this episode, Darin and Viktor delve into the challenges of upgrading Kubernet…

#251: We're becoming more and more dependent on sophisticated systems that transport data from one part of our application to another. This infrastructure, often referred to as message brokers, is a vital backbone supporting many products we use daily. But are we fully leveraging their power and simplicity? In this episode, we speak with Valera Bro…

#250: Sure, we can use Generative AI to write code for us and generate cool pictures...sometimes. But who has the responsibility for making sure all that infrastructure stays up and running? Look no further than your favorite sysadmin or cloud engineer. There is nothing new under the sun... In this 250th episode, we have our friend Patrick Debois b…

#249: One of the prominent discussions in the software industry is the concept of 'build versus buy.' Often the argument focuses on creating a whole system from scratch or opting for pre-built solutions. But think about it. You never start from absolute zero. When you begin developing an application, it isn't devoid of pre-existing libraries or sys…

#248: When thinking about starting to learn a new technology, where do you start? Are you so busy at work that you're not able to spend any time learning something new? Are you concerned that when your company finally jumps on the AI bandwagon, will you be left behind? In this episode, Darin and Viktor talk about when and how you might want to star…

#247: What do you think of when I say “Developer Relations”? Is it a person that flys from conference to conference giving talks? Is it someone that is chasing you down to scan your badge in a booth? What if the answer to both of those questions is both yes and no? In this episode, we speak with Lian Li about the realities of developer relations an…

#246: You may have been in the tech space for a number of years, but now you are ready to up-level and head down the path of being a DevOps Architect. However, you're not really sure where to begin. In this episode, Darin and Viktor give their opinions on where you should start and the two tools that you'll need to know how to use if you really wan…

#245: Imagine this. You think you've been hired into a team of all A players. Think Wayne Gretsky, Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi, etc. Instead, what's really happened is you've been assigned to the team that is nothing more than the people that played behind the people that played behind the A players. Yeah, you've been demoted to the third string t…

#244: 2023 is in the rearview mirror. Welcome to 2024, the year of our AI overlords. In this episode, Darin and Viktor make their predictions about all the technologies that will potentially impact our day to day work for both the good and the bad. Not surprisingly, AI is at the top of that list, but maybe not for the reasons that you might think. …

#243: Here we are at the end of 2023. Darin and Viktor look back at the predictions they made back in episode 192. Let's see how they did. YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/devopsparadox Books and Courses: Catalog, Patterns, And Blueprints https://www.devopstoolkitseries.com/posts/catalog/ Review the podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://www.devops…

#242: Darin and Viktor look back over the past year. What do you have to be thankful for this year? Also, listen all the way to the end of the episode for a handful of holiday themed tunes. YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/devopsparadox Books and Courses: Catalog, Patterns, And Blueprints https://www.devopstoolkitseries.com/posts/catalog/ Revie…

#241: On today's episode, we go in depth with one of our friends, Whitney Lee. You may know her from her Enlightening series on Tanzu.TV or maybe from the You Choose videos she does with Viktor. But did you know just over 4 years ago, she was a server in a vegetarian restaurant and since that time she's spoken five times at KubeCon conferences - 2 …

#240: Imagine being handed a nicely-wrapped box containing Platform Engineering, much like when we were sold DevOps in a Box. An enigmatic gift, with potential benefits yet accompanied by potential complexities. It calls to question - how is this different from the countless developer platforms we've seen companies launch over the years? In this ep…

#239: In this episode, Ville Aikas and Matt Moore from Chainguard join us for a discussion about open-source projects, distroless containers, and software security. They share their stories about the creation and progress of ChainGuard, offering insights into the way the company operates and contributes to the open-source community. They also delve…

#238: You might just now be reaching the point of containerizing your workloads and running them in Kubernetes. However, how do you go about accessing those workloads? You might have started with an ingress, because other options seemed like they were too complex. However, you've now crossed the point where you need that complexity. That's where se…

#237: Darin catches up with Viktor and Whitney Lee just minutes after they've finished up at KubeCon NA 2023. We discuss the good things and bad things that they experienced while in Chicago. Could one of those things be AI? YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/devopsparadox Books and Courses: Catalog, Patterns, And Blueprints https://www.devopstoo…

#236: As you are heading into budget season for 2025, you're probably trying to figure out how to eliminate as much wasteful cloud spend as you can. But how did you get here? Instead of trying to reduce your cloud spend, maybe you should think about not spending the money in the first place. In this episode, we speak with Anton Grishko, Chief Archi…

#235: In the mid-2000s, Werner Vogels introduced the idea of "you build it, you run it". This concept suggested that the same team responsible for building a product should also be responsible for running and maintaining it. However, despite the initial enthusiasm, we have yet to see this phrase truly materialize in practice. The industry has faced…

#234: The shift to cloud computing has greatly increased the popularity of infrastructure as code. But think about it. Cloud is nothing more than an abstraction on top of bare metal servers. Why can't we just as easily manage our bare metal servers as code as well? In this episode, we speak with Rob Hirschfeld, founder and CEO at RackN, about the c…

#233: When you first start a job, you'll probably be doing good to get paired up with a senior person to walk you through the ropes. What if instead you could sit down and actually run through simulations that were created from actual events? In this episode, we talk with On Freund, Co-Founder and CEO at Wilco, about how Wilco can help not only ind…

#232: More than eighteen months in, Log4J appears to still be a huge problem for many organizations. What if there was a way to make sure those types of problems could be easily bubbled out to the right people at the right time in the tools they are already using? In this episode, we talk with Nir Valtman, CEO and co-founder at Arnica, about how pr…

#231: We never thought that exposing our databases to the public internet was a good thing. However, when we started creating middleware API services that sat in front of those databases, we probably ended up doing almost the exact same type work that we did when we created the database schemas themselves. Somehow or another, we thought this was go…

#230: In today's digital age, it's no secret that relying solely on passwords for security is no longer an effective solution. We all understand the risks associated with using just passwords, but the question remains: what other alternatives do we have at our disposal? What if you could eliminate passwords all together and still make all your comm…

#229: When Kubernetes was first released in September 2014, the only way we could get applications installed to the cluster was by using kubectl apply and big, ugly YAML files. Since that time, many tools have been introduced to help manage application installation into Kubernetes clusters. However, no matter what tool you are using in 2023, under …

#228: The Agile Manifesto is now more than 20 years old. However, even after all this time, instead of helping organizations create and deliver software faster to satisfy customer needs, many times Agile principles are turned into rigid processes that stifle innovation and limit customer satisfaction. Have far have we strayed from the core principl…

#227: Imagine this. You walk into your office and your manager pulls you to the side and says “Pack up your belongings. You’ve been made redundant. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.” Just like that, you no longer have a job. In even more extreme cases, just because a company exists today does not mean that it will exist tomorrow. Think…

#226: Dependency on third-party providers is an inescapable reality of modern operations. However, expecting third-party providers to solve everything for you is highly unrealistic. Even if you had all the money in the world, you probably still would have issues with your operations. In this episode, we break down an article that discusses what lev…