The quick and reliable building, testing, and deployment of software get easier with DevOps practices. DevOps provides tools that are used by software developers to establish an efficient and transparent collaboration between operations and development teams while delivering the highest-quality applications.
Ansible is one such DevOps tool. An Ansible training course, that you could obtain from an online training provider like Simplilearn, that is designed for beginners who wish to get started with automating organizational infrastructure. So, let us have a look at some of the latest trends in DevOps and how Ansible, Docker, and Kubernetes contribute to DevOps practices.
Recent trends in DevOps
A collective study has shown that the global DevOps market is expected to reach $6.6 billion by 2024 (Source). In this light, we must look at some of the upcoming DevOps trends:
- Zero-touch automation is set to become the primary focus.
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will enable rapid, reliable, and error-free analysis of the vast amount of data generated by DevOps.
- The present year will see organizations making a significant shift from on-premise server farms to cloud servers.
- DevSecOps will be implemented for increased security in the development cycle of the app.
- Google developed Kubernetes will grow as an essential container orchestration tool.
- DevOps will promote increased collaboration between business functions and technology.
- Companies will focus on a shift from the Continuous Integration pipeline to DevOps Assembly Lines that offer more advantages.
Top DevOps tools
- Ansible – It is a tool for configuration management that allows automation of setups, updates, and restarts, as well as maintenance of infrastructure and application components. Ansible eliminates human intervention and saves time. Ansible training courses can help you get started with this tool.
- Jenkins – It focuses on building robust deployment automation and the CI/CD pipeline. Jenkins is an open-source server for automation. Your team structure architecture and toolchain may call for both Ansible and Jenkins, but different applications.
- Docker – It has facilitated containerization, distributed development, and automating the process of app deployment. Docker apps are not dependent on the platform and OS; all dependencies can be packaged into the app’s container and conveniently run on any machine or platform.
- Kubernetes – It serves as a platform for container orchestration. An open-source system, Kubernetes is used to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It is specifically helpful to automate the complicated process of the management of hundreds of containers.
- Git – Developers use GitHub for sharing open-source projects and collaborating around repositories that are shared. GitLab and Bitbucket help engineers across all disciplines in faster and more reliable deployment, testing, release, and shipping of code.
- Microsoft Teams and Slack – These are tools for collaboration and communication and can work in conjunction with other devices in the DevOps toolchain. These platforms allow open communication among the teams regarding deployment failures, production incidents, and more.
- Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform – These tools offer robust cloud computing and storage facilities to DevOps-minded teams. Depending on the type of your applications and services, you can opt for a single cloud provider or adopt a hybrid cloud strategy.
- Zoom, Skype, GoToMeeting – A geographically distributed workforce that follows DevOps practices requires high-quality live call and video conference functionality. Tools that offer reliable conference call features are a must for a quick and transparent resolution of significant issues.
Ansible, Docker, Kubernetes defined
Ansible – It is an IT automation engine. Ansible is open-source and aims at improving the reliability, scalability, and consistency of the IT environment. A course in Ansible training will help you master the skills required to automate system administration tasks that are repetitive. In essence, Ansible can be used to automate three kinds of tasks:
- Provisioning – for setting up the various servers needed in your infrastructure
- Configuration management – for changing the OS or device configuration, installing and updating applications, implementing security policy, etc.
- Application deployment – whereby internally developed applications can be automated for deployment to your production systems
Docker – This tool simplifies the creation, deployment, and running of containerized applications. Containers allow the packaging and deployment of an application and its dependencies into a single unit. As a result, the application can be run on any machine. With Docker, applications can use the same Linux kernel as that of the system they are running on, reducing the size of the application and boosting its performance. Docker is open-source and beneficial to both system administrators and developers who include Docker as a part of their DevOps toolchain. The advantages of Docker include small footprint, lower overhead, and security to shared applications.
Kubernetes – It is an open-source platform for orchestrating containers and aids in the automated deployment, management, and scaling of containerized applications. Kubernetes helps in the seamless management of a cluster of hosts running Linux containers in virtual, physical, and cloud environments. It is ideal for hosting cloud-native applications on private, public, or hybrid clouds. With Kubernetes, you can:
- Control, automate, and scale the deployment and update of applications
- Optimally use your hardware resources
- Manage services
- Run health-check of your apps
Differences in the three tools
Ansible:
- It is an IT automation tool
- Used for configuring systems, software deployment, and zero downtime rolling updates
- Pros – simple, robust, agentless, proper configuration
- Cons – backward compatibility, complicated installation, Windows incompatible
Docker:
- It is a container platform
- Used for building, sharing, and securely running applications across any platform
- Pros – reproducibility, testability, rapid build-up and integration
- Cons – erratic networking, quick movement
Kubernetes
- It is an orchestration platform for Docker containers
- Used for scheduling onto nodes in a cluster of computers
- Pros – Google-backed, simple, robust, leading solution for container management
- Cons – poor development workflow, the learning curve is steep, only orchestrates infrastructure
Summary
Automation of manual work saves time and allows companies to focus on value-adding tasks. Consequently, DevOps skills have emerged as a priority within most organizations. Ansible integrates automation across applications and services. The key to mastering this automation tool lies in signing-up for an Ansible training course. Be it Ansible, Docker, Kubernetes, or any other tool, DevOps is sure to improve the way the IT sector collaborates with businesses.
