First cloud computing then multi-cloud. How can we get ahead of this digital transformation nightmare? These are the laments heard in conference rooms and board meeting around the world. While the goal seems simple, adopting and migrating to a cloud service provider requires much more than executive willingness and a sharp IT organization. A lot more!!
While many see the move to cloud computing as only the use of another data center, in reality, it will affect nearly every organizational process. The technical team, business team, procurement, and acquisition team, and even your legal team must be brought into the loop. Everyone needs to be informed, educated and updated throughout the process. Key to building consensus and teamwork requires a focus on outcomes that can align activities and deliverables across the organization’s infrastructure, operating model and applications.
Migrating to any cloud environment is taxing. Taking on the multi-cloud challenge, however, has been known to be career limiting. To avoid this scary fate, leaders must build and socialize a practical road map that envisions an end state that embraces an integrated infrastructure, operating model and application portfolio. Major dependencies between these areas can have a significant impact on the success of any digital transformation activity. Successful leaders leverage a shared vision for the organization’s target state to drive their multi-cloud strategy. In fact, in a recent study commissioned by Dell Technologies, Dell Digital Transformation Index showed that 78% of all leaders felt that digital transformation should be more widespread throughout their organization. IT transformation doesn’t just happen, and leaders are struggling with achieving organizational top goals.
To hear more about how digital transformation can help your company reinvent processes, innovate faster and create value, Dell Technologies is hosting their largest annual customer event that will showcase features that will get you on course, no matter where your company is on your journey.
Hope to see you in Las Vegas at Dell Technologies World, April 29-May 2!
This post was sponsored by Dell, but the opinions are my own and don’t necessarily represent Dell Technologies' positions or strategies. #DellLuminaries
He grew up in Silicon Valley, landed his first job at Apple Computers, was introduced to Nobel Prize winners by his dad and today, he takes a self-driving car to work so that he can squeeze in a few morning conference calls with the US east coast Team. Is this George Jetson!? No. It’s just a normal day for Steve Wilson, VP of Products for Cloud at Citrix
As a Silicon Valley native, Steve grew up around hi-tech. From a job at Apple, a business degree from the University of San Diego, and joining a start-up after graduation, he seemed headed to a lucrative career with one of the technology giants. That path, however, took a detour when Mr. Wilson started working for Florida headquartered Citrix. So after getting tired of his 45-minute commute to the Citrix west coast office, he became the George Jetson, of Citrix.
Since futurism is an everyday thing for this Citrix VP, being responsible for the company’s “Workplace of the Future” strategy really makes sense. This was the topic of discussion when Steve Wilson discussed his vision with Dez Blanchfield on “Conversations with Dez”.
According to Mr. Wilson, his job involves bringing together a company’s physical workplace with their digital workspace – optimizing both for today’s mobile-first world. This means enabling them to access the multiple digital workspace assets from different places and with different classes of devices that are also secure. In his vision, Steve sees a merger of different kinds of applications on the server as well as the differing clients. The top question in this quest is,” How do organizations enable the secure use of these different computing device classes?”
“And so really, what we see is an interesting merger going on, where we're starting to see traditional computing devices, like your laptops and your desktops being supplemented, obviously, with things like phones and tablets. But the next generation is bringing in new sets of devices into the enterprise, where we're seeing people bring in things like Amazon Alexa for business and Apple TV, and making them enterprise devices and saying, “How do I bring this into my enterprise infrastructure?”
Read more about Steve Wilson and how Citrix can help improve productivity in your organization on my LinkedIn post. You can also me me and Steve by attending CitrixSynergy, May 21-23, in Atlanta, GA. Register for Synergy at https://www.citrixsynergy.com/ or visit Citrix online at https://www.citrix.com/products/citrix-cloud/.
#CitrixCircle
( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)
As a cloud solution architect, my passion is learning the details about how cloud computing uniquely supports specific business cases. This curiosity is what drove my excitement when Ericsson invited me to work with them during Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. As the largest mobile event in the world, MWC Barcelona brings together the latest innovations and leading-edge technology from more than 2,400 leading companies. With its highly-rated conference program and assemblage of telecommunications visionaries, it seemed like the perfect venue for getting details about how the cloud is driving changes across the mobile and wireless landscape.
Cloud computing and digital transformation have rapidly redefined telecommunications. From a service provider point of view, this redefinition requires entirely new skills including:
The ideation of new customer services and revenue streams;
The operational flexibility to create, develop, test, deploy and manage these new services; and
Automated and continuous service improvement across much more comprehensive service portfolios.
Telecom service providers also need to efficiently manage the multitude of network types, service types, system stacks and infrastructure layers which can cause untenable complexity for many operators. Complexity is also the root cause of an inability to maintain profit margins or deliver customer desired service performance for new services (i.e., 5G and IoT). To be competitive, network operators experiencing this situation need to “digitally transform” operations through deployment of network virtualization capabilities and software-defined networking.
As the market leader, Ericsson is delivering a powerful, cloud computing-based solution to address all of these requirements today. They actually call it their “5G Platform.”
As part of Ericsson's 5G Platform, the Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration solution is a pre-integrated software suite that enables service providers to leverage both physical, virtual and cloud native network functions to design, launch and manage modern network services.
The solution includes:
1. NFV Orchestration Ericsson is adding the capability to orchestrate cloud native workloads on Kubernetes (K8s). This is augmenting hybrid orchestration capability to seamlessly combine PNFs, VNFs and Kubernetes based workloads into a single network service.
2. Service Orchestration . This is a new module built on cloud native principles providing Ericsson customers with the capability to create network services spanning across private, central and edge data centers.
3. CENX Service Assurance (acquired in September 2018). CENX Service Assurance is now natively integrated into Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration and gives visibility of the entire network in near realtime. It delivers assurance of services and network slices end to end across core, radio, and transport networks.
4. WAN Orchestration . This is a new module that automates the transport resources as part of a network slice. The module also includes pre-integration of Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration with Juniper nodes for quick time to market, reduced SI complexity, and enhanced TCO.
5. Ericsson Cloud Deployment Engine This module provides automated testing, onboarding, and continuous deployment of new services for both Ericsson and non-Ericsson applications.
The Pre-integrated and modular solution delivers the appropriate path for updating manual datacenters processes. Using automated provisioning and insight-driven service assurance, Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration simplifies operations while simultaneously moving companies closer to the zero-touch experience. Being a single radio, transport and core orchestrator that manages physical, virtual and cloud-native network functions, it enables tailored service level agreement design, delivery, and management capabilities. Also included are the essential network slicing capabilities for meeting quality of service requirements for applications like drones, factory robotics, and smart cars.
On top of all that, it uses artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to power closed-loop assurance functions that automatically adapts the network in real time. Its automated onboarding and continuous deployment accelerate time to market in multivendor environments. Finally, network slicing automation enables the quick monetization of new 5G and IoT business opportunities.
Ericsson Digital taught me quite a lot about the intersection of cloud computing and telecommunications. I could appreciate their long industry experience and in-depth operational knowledge. If you’re interested in putting Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration to work for you, feel free to engage an Ericsson Digital Services Expert.
(This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)
According to Tulane SoPA, they pick the text based on its:
Specific support the institution's mission of providing high-quality degree and certificate programs that are directly relevant to the needs and interests of working adults;
The holistic approach enabled the University to quickly and effectively update their applied computer technology curriculum;
Effectiveness in addressing a business relevant, cost-effective and efficient approach to the adoption of cloud computing and the pursuit of digital transformation; and
Adaptability of hands-on activity chapters for course labs, which provided a much needed practical extension to the curriculum
The course labs will use Burstorm Cloud Infrastructure Modeling and Design online software to create and modify cloud infrastructure designs in real-time. This capability uniquely supports the iterative "what if" business-driven analysis capability critical to modern information technology infrastructure design. Tom Thomas, of the Tulane University's School of Professional Advancement, said, "We selected "Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions" because of the book's practical approach to important business requirements."Scott Goessling, Burstorm Vice President Cloud Services adds, "Successful IT transformation requires new skill sets and real-time data delivered via automated and insightful enablement platforms. Tulane University quickly identified "Architecting Cloud Solutions" as a very innovative way to train and enable the development of next generation of technology leaders and strategists."
"Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions" reaches #3 on the "Amazon Best Sellers" list for Cloud Computing
Tulane University, School of Professional Advancement (SoPA) SoPA offers high quality, distinctive undergraduate and graduate professional programs to a diverse student population in New Orleans and beyond. The school dates back to 1886, when it was founded as the outreach division of Tulane with a mission to offer courses to teachers. While the school's offerings have greatly expanded and changed over time, its focus on programs relevant to working adults has remained. The Applied Computing Systems & Technology program offers flexible degree and certificate options based on the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) published model. Students enrolled in this program will be prepared to pursue careers in information technology, cybersecurity, and programming. The curriculum balances advanced problem-solving techniques and business acumen with practical solutions for computer-based problems. Courses cover an in-depth range of topics in the information systems and technology fields.
Founded in 2004 in Birmingham, UK, Packt's mission is to help the world put software to work in new ways, through the delivery of effective learning and information services to IT professionals. Working towards that vision, we have published over 6,000 books and videos so far, providing IT professionals with the actionable knowledge they need to get the job done - whether that's specific learning on an emerging technology or optimizing key skills in more established tools. As part of our mission, we have also awarded over $1,000,000 through our Open Source Project Royalty scheme, helping numerous projects become household names along the way.
Burstorm is a cloud technology platform company enabling enterprises, service providers and systems integrators to model, design, benchmark and optimize cloud infrastructure. Combining an easy-to-use drag-and-drop modeling application with a continuously updated catalog of service provider assets, the Burstorm platform helps organizations more quickly and accurately assess and select the optimal computing storage, networking and data center solutions for their digital transformation to the cloud.
(This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)
Healthcare is in the middle of massive change. Called
digital transformation by many, this term describes the industry’s pursuit of
the many promises offered by connected patients, connected caregivers, and
connected hospitals. While the goals of this transformation are many and
varied, a recent
HIMAA Media survey revealed the top four as:
Seeking improved quality of care (68%);
Delivering better clinical outcomes (54%);
Improving communications and care coordination
(54%); and
Reducing readmission rates (42%).
Key obstacles preventing attainment are limited budget
(53%), privacy/security concerns (47%) and clinical resistance to the adoption of
digital technologies (43%).
The promise of connected healthcare, however, is being
leveraged today by Rush
University Medical Center and the Rush System for Health in Chicago. This
system, which encompasses multiple hospitals and healthcare providers across
the city, is using both AT&T's 5G network and its multi-access edge
computing (MEC) cloud-based edge IT service environment.
Working with Rush, AT&T Business is helping to deliver
on the connected healthcare promise through 5G technologies by expanding
telemedicine, delivering near real-time remote healthcare monitoring and
delivering a capability to transmit large imaging files quickly. According to Anthem,
86% of doctors say wearables, which are a common type of remote monitoring,
increase patient engagement with their health. Additionally, wearables are
predicted to decrease hospital costs by 16% in the next five years.
With 5G, healthcare systems can enable mobile networks to
handle telemedicine appointments, which can significantly
increase the reach of the program. When healthcare systems utilize this
technology, patients can often get treated sooner and have access to
specialists otherwise not available. It can also allow doctors and other staff
members to collaborate more efficiently. According to a study by Market
Research Future, this is a
crucial need because the telemedicine market is expected to grow at a compound
annual growth rate of 16.5% from 2017 to 2023. By using IoT devices, healthcare
providers can monitor patients and gather data that can be used to improve
personalized and preventive care.
Adding a high-speed 5G network to existing architectures can
help quickly and reliably transport substantial
data files of medical imagery, which can improve both access to care and the
quality of care. An example is the Austin
Cancer Center where the PET scanner generates huge files — up to 1 gigabyte of information per patient per study.
With 5G they can now send study results as soon as the patient leaves the
scanner.
73% of hospitals surveyed are using Wireless
bedside telemetry;
82% of hospitals surveyed are using Simplified
check-in with self-service and mobile applications; and
79% of hospitals surveyed are using Enhanced
in-room entertainment and education.
In accomplishing digital
transformation, healthcare organizations must leverage secure
telecommunications and digital technologies. AT&T can help these
organizations transform the continuum of care—from the waiting room to the operating room, to the living
room—with edge-to-edge technologies, including networking, mobility,
cybersecurity, Internet of Things, and more. Visit https://www.business.att.com/industries/healthcare.html for more information.
This post was brought to you by AT&T Business. For more content like this, visit https://www.business.att.com/
As a girl, Maria and
her family traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to get cancer treatment for her sick brother. The miracle she observed, as the healthcare providers saved her brother’s life, ignited a passion for healthcare. Unfortunately, that passion didn’t apply to blood, so she went into electrical engineering and biomedical engineering, eventually falling in love with networking and data. Now Maria
Lensing, Vice President of AT&T Healthcare Solutions, is in the perfect
position for pursuing her dual passions of healthcare and advanced technology.
Maria’s
interview with Dez Blanchfield started with this story as they talked AT&T
healthcare solutions just ahead of HIMSS 2019 in Orlando Florida. HIMSS 2019
is the annual convention hosted by the Healthcare Information and Management
Systems Society. This American not-for-profit organization dedicates itself to improving health care quality,
safety, cost-effectiveness, and access through the best use of information
technology and management systems. Listening to Maria, her primary goal, when
working with AT&T’s healthcare industry clients is helping them:
·Deal with the growth, aggregation, consumption, and distribution of data;
·Manage devices of the Medical Internet of Things
ecosystem, that use data (i.e., Fitbit,
health sensors, medical instruments);
·Self-define the healthcare provider engagement
model (How do I engage my patients? How do I engage my doctors? How do I engage
my payers? How do we prepare for the future?); and
·Maintain security and privacy across all of
these connections.
During the engaging and far-ranging
discussion, the pair talked about how healthcare spending has grown
significantly in the United States, most of which from private investors. That
private investment is allowing for more innovation. While on the bright side,
this innovation is driving longer lifespans, a dichotomy also exists. As people
are living longer, we now have seniors that are suffering multiple chronic
diseases: not diabetes or arthritis for instance, but
diabetes and arthritis. Also,
while urban areas are enabling telemedicine
with 5G, the rural community in the US doesn’t have the same high bandwidth
wireless coverage.
As AT&T
FirstNet rolls out to provide high bandwidth wireless capability to first
responders, it can also improve our society’s ability to deliver telehealth
solutions to our rural community elders. Imagine a First
Responder drone, connected via high bandwidth wireless technology,
delivering a medical sensor to a distressed patient. Through that network,
healthcare providers could collect and interpret critical data as the initial
conversation is taking place. This scenario could deliver lifesaving care
almost immediately. The intersection of technologies like 5g, IoT, smaller computer chip form
factors and better batteries coming together with
lower prices for connectivity can create the perfect environment for healthcare
innovation. Availability of these technologies pushes
our concepts around the delivery and consumption of healthcare services into
realms we've never experienced before.
AT&T Business is Delivering
The Network
Platform for Healthcare’s Future today. Called Edge-to-Edge, by moving computing power closer to the edge, it delivers the data needed to support the
required action. Be that action needed by the doctor holding a phone or action
by a subcutaneous implant (an under the skin implant used to deliver a drug
over a long period). By connecting
quickly and reliably to the desired endpoint, data can be analyzed faster which
leads to faster action.
With technologies like software-defined
wide-area network (SD-WAN), AT&T
healthcare solutions team is not talking about replacement technology. They’re
talking about technology that extends and enhances existing infrastructure. SD-WAN
can also reduce the management costs and allow a business to seamlessly transition
between all of those other critical technologies (i.e., MPLS, 5G, LTE, WiFi) so that the experience becomes truly
mobile. By understanding this difference, the healthcare IT executive can focus
on how all these technologies seamlessly transition data back and forth so that
the healthcare team can deliver the best possible patient experience. According
to Ms. Lensing, that is what’s meant an Edge-to-Edge solution.
All of this change is happening I an environment which sees
the healthcare consumer expectation changing dramatically as well. In the past, making an appointment and
showing up at the doctor’s office at the appointed time was expected. Society
has gone past going to the neighborhood health clinic for care when they feel
sick to now some expect their wearable health monitor to collect real-time
health data, use an artificial intelligence-driven
assistant to diagnose an illness, and order the correct medication over the
internet.
According to Verizon,
there were over there were over 53,000 security incidents in 2017, with over 2,200
of those identified as confirm data breaches. A Ponemon Institute study also
showed that companies experiencing a data breach took an average of 147 days to
detect that breach. These statistics serve a key motivator of Stuart McIrvine, Director of
Product Management at Broadcom. In
this role, Stuart is responsible for helping Broadcom’s customers protect data
held on mainframe systems around the world.
A rapidly broadening aspect of this job is keeping up with evolving data
protection and privacy laws. Stuart highlighted his ever relentless drive to
build and maintain customer trust in this area during his Conversations
with Dez podcast.
With his extensive experience in hardware with IBM,
Software with HP and Operations Management with the newly acquired CA
Technologies, Stuart believes that all business comes down to one simple truth.
That is a business customer is not going
to buy from a company unless they have first established trust. Being a proud
husband and father of two young women, one of whom is also working at Broadcom,
Mr. McIrvine extends this customer-focused
passion towards always delivering the service that any specific customer
requests in the way that customer wants and expects.
Maintaining Customer Trust
As the product manager of Broadcom’s computer mainframes, the
most secure platform ever built, Mr. McIrvine finds himself in an excellent
position from which to pursue his passion. In today’s era of Big Data and Big
Regulation, enterprises are increasingly focused on establishing and enhancing
their security and compliance strategy. Cross-enterprise data security and
compliance must, therefore, protect business-critical data, drive productivity
and enhance the enterprise’s overall digital profile. Those companies that
chose to take advantage of Broadcom’s leading mainframe security product
portfolio are using proven enterprise
data security solutions.
During the podcast, Mr. McIrving highlighted that companies
must establish and maintain trust with their customers and that protection of
their customer’s data is foundational to that trust. To do this, he shared the results of a recent
Ponemon Institute study in which indicated that 65% of consumers lose trust
in a company that has suffered a customer data breach. Although it’s common
knowledge that public companies also see their stock price decline after a
breach, those that have superior security posture and quick response to a
breach recover from this equity loss over 12 times faster. More importantly,
over 30% of consumers discontinued their relationship with a breached company. Regaining
that lost customer also costs a company
seven times more money when compared to a new acquisition. This data means that a company’s success is heavily
dependent on their ability to prove themselves as a trusted institution.
Protecting “Big Iron” data
From an internal point of view, the most
significant security spending driver is compliance. In reality, this represents the company’s ability
to demonstrate compliance to outside auditors. Since mainframe computers
represent the largest repository of customer data, they wind up being the most
attractive target for data thieves. According to
Mr. Irvine, the typical large company experiences about 2.9 audits per year.
To avoid data and value loss and to keep up with rapid
change in data regulations, companies must update their data management policies
by:
Recognizing that data security compliance isn’t
something demonstrated just to auditors, but that it must be demonstrated
to customers as well. Recognition means embracing continuous compliance as
a competitive differentiator.
Leveraging these reinforcing views of data as a
means of tightening
up data access controls and gaining the ability to demonstrate knowledge of
where all an organization’s sensitive data is located
at all times; and
Learn more about how to follow these proven steps toward
protecting your company’s customer data by talking with a Broadcom
mainframe expert. They are available
to help you find the right solution to meet your organization’s specific needs.
In Jul of 2018, Broadcom announced its intentions to acquire
CA Technologies. In the press
release, Hock Tan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom, said:
“This transaction represents an important
building block as we create one of the world’s leading infrastructure
technology companies. With its sizeable installed base of customers, CA is
uniquely positioned across the growing and fragmented infrastructure software
market, and its mainframe and enterprise software franchises will add to our
portfolio of mission critical technology businesses. We intend to continue to
strengthen these franchises to meet the growing demand for infrastructure
software solutions.”
While those words look really nice on paper, the acquisition
is now old
news. With crunch time now here, customers of both companies are now asking,” What’s in it for me?”
Broadcom’s pursuit of this merger grew from a recognition of
the magnitude of the data center
market opportunity. Rapid growth in the companies networking and
storage businesses was being driven by the even faster growth in the industry’s
need to securely and reliably scale data centers. This datacenter metamorphosis was, in turn,
being driven by digital transformation initiatives across literally every
industry. Always looking to improve values to their individual customers, the
merger gave existing customers of both corporations the opportunity to benefit
from the natural synergy of Broadcom’s industry-leading IT Infrastructure
offerings and CA’s industry-leading suite of mainframe solutions.
Since the mainframe
holds most of today’s enterprise data, two of CA Technology industry leading
products, Zowe and Brightside, were seen as perfect compliments to any
organization’s digital transformation efforts.
As a new open source software framework, Zowe provides
solutions that allow development and operations teams to securely, manage,
control, script and develop on the Mainframe like any other cloud platform.
When paired with Brightside’s automation and self-service capabilities, this
combination unlocks additional mainframe business value through cost and risk
reduction. Brightside
empowers next-generation developers to more easily apply their experience with
modern DevOps toolchains and frameworks, helping to increase their ability to
innovate for the mainframe platform.
The value of these offerings paired with Broadcom’s IT infrastructure offerings is
immense. Value of offering. Working with
Broadcom’s infrastructure, enterprises can now fully meet today’s data context challenges
which include:
Data complexity and disparate data silos that inhibit
growth and drive up costs; and
Multiple data formats and exponential data
growth further complicate the matter.
New processes that enhance business situational awareness are
also helped by this combination. Organizations can now abandon the legacy view
of customer engagement as a “point in time” event. With broader situational
awareness, business owners can now effectively manage every customer across all
of their possible touch points. This
capability enables true understanding of what a customer is doing in real-time,
informing correct actions and up to the moment personalization. The end result is a digital transformation
that enhances the organization’s ability to be continuously active and engaged
with your end customer in a meaningful and engaging manner.
If your organization is undertaking or undergoing digital
transformation, reach out to Greg
Lotko to learn more about the mainframe synergies you can gain from the
Broadcom CA Technologies merger. As the General Manager for Broadcom Mainframe
Business Unit, he can bring his more than 30 years of experience in application
development, application outsourcing services, software development and
infrastructure to your transformation initiative. His team, in fact, helped
HSBC transition to weekly release cycles, which was foundational to that
company’s ability to deliver 2000 deployments per month. This feat is even more
impressive knowing that the financial services giant manages over 6 million
artifacts through applications written by over 6,000 developers making 750,000
element changes a year.
While public cloud is undoubtedly an outsized piece of the conversation, news headlines of the latest data breach can make this move a very frightening proposition. The question of how to balance the downside of cloud computing risks with the upside of promising cost savings is, therefore, top of mind. The dilemma becomes even more critical as your business starts leveraging the power of 5G telecommunications services. When added to existing network architectures and combined with other next-generation technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and Edge-to-Edge capabilities, 5G will dramatically alter user experience – from retail to financial services, transportation to manufacturing, to healthcare and beyond. Answering these, and other essential cybersecurity questions were the primary task during the “Security ‘In’ the Cloud and ‘Of’ the Cloud“ panel I participated in during the AT&T Business Summit in Dallas, Texas. Read more about how you should address this cloud computing transition issue in my newest blog post on AT&T Business Insights.
Hip Hop Icon. Movie Star. Television Star.
Fashion Model. Songwriter. Producer. Entrepreneurial Genius!? YES!
Dana Elaine Owens, her given name, is co-owner of Flavor
Unit Entertainment, a firm that includes television and film production
units, a record label and an artist management company. She has been managing
herself since age 21 and within 2 years of starting her business, had signed
over 17 rap groups including the hugely
successful Naughty by Nature and Outkast. “Her
first investment was in a delicatessen and a video store on the ground
floor of the apartment she was living in at the time.” With her background, you
can now see why I was really excited to
see her on the main stage at the AT&T Business Summit with AT&T
Communications CEO John Donovan.
Visit the AT&T Business Insights page to see her on stage and read more about my "Brush with Royalty" and how Queen Latifah's journey as a small business owner should inspire us all.
Puppet 5 is released and comes with several exciting
enhancements and features that promise to make configuration management much
more streamlined. This article will take a comprehensive look at these new
features and enhancements.
Puppet 5 was
released in 2017, and according to Eric Sorensen, director of product
management at Puppet, the goal was to standardize Puppet as a one-stop
destination for all configuration management requirements. Here are the four
primary goals of this release:
To standardize the version
numbering of all the major Puppet components (Puppet Agent, PuppetDB, and
Puppet Server) to 5, and deliver them as part of a unified platform
To include Hiera 5 with eyaml
as a built-in capability
To provide clean UTF-8 support
To move network communications
to fast, interoperable JSON
Customer feedback
Customer and
community feedback played a major role in setting the goals for Puppet 5’s
release, having helped the developers with identifying and defining certain
patterns, such as:
Different version numbers
across components were a huge source of confusion
There was a lot of chaos when
it came to combining components to get a working installation as well as where
each component would fit
Since both Facter 3 and
PuppetDB 3 seamlessly rolled into PC1, guaranteeing a new Puppet Collection for
every major release didn’t make much sense
However, the
makers ensured that one critical aspect didn’t get affected: Modules that worked on Puppet 4 will work
unchanged under Puppet 5.
New features
Puppet 5 comes
with some power-packed new features; have a look:
The call function: The call (name,
args,…)function has been
added, which allows you to directly call a function by its name
The unique function: Earlier, you had to include the stdlib module to include the unique function. None of those hassles
anymore! The unique function is now directly available in
Puppet 5. What’s more, the function is also capable of handling Hash and Iterable data types. In addition, you can
now also give a code block that determines whether the uniqueness has been
computed.
Puppet Server request metrics: Puppet
Server 5 now comes with am http-client metric puppetlabs..http-client.experimental.with-metric-id.puppet.report.http.full-response to enable the tracking of how long Puppet Server requests to a
configured HTTP report processor take.
Enhancements
Time to take a
look at some exciting new enhancements that come with Puppet 5:
Switched from PSON to JSON as default:
Agents now download node information, catalogs, and file metadata, by default, in
JSON instead of PSON in Puppet 5. The move to JSON ensures enhanced
interoperability with other languages and tools, while also enabling better
performance, especially when the master is parsing JSON facts and reports from
agents. Plus, JSON-encoded facts can also be easily accepted in Puppet 5.
Ruby 2.4: Puppet now uses Ruby 2.4,
which ships in the puppet-agent package. All you have ensure is to reinstall user-installed Puppet
agent gems after upgrading to Puppet agent 5.0. This is necessary because of
the differences in Ruby API in Ruby 2.1 and 2.4. Further, some gems may also
need to be upgraded to versions compatible with Ruby 2.4.
HOCON gem is a dependency now: The HOCON
gem, which was previously shipped in puppet-agent package is also now a dependency of the Puppet gem.
Silence warnings with metadata.json: You
can now turn off warnings from faulty metadata.json by setting --strict=off.
Updated Puppet Module Tool dependencies:
The gem dependencies of Puppet Module Tool are updated to use puppetlabs_spec_helper1.2.0 or later, which runs metadata-json-lint as part of the validate rake task.
Hiera 5 default file: Default Hiera
5-compliant files go into confdir
and env-directory. Puppet creates appropriate v5
hiera.yaml in $confdir and $environment Moreover, if Puppet detects a hiera.yaml in either $confdir or $environment, it won’t install a new file in
either location or remove $hieradata.
Performance boosts
All these
enhancements and new features have contributed to ushering performance boosts
in a lot of aspects. The runtimes of Puppet 5 agent have decreased by 30% at
equivalent loads (that is, from an average of 8 seconds to 5.5 seconds). In
addition CPU utilization of Puppet 5 server has reduced by at least 20% as
compared to Puppet 4 in all scenarios, while the CPU utilization for Puppet 5
PuppetDB and PostgreSQL have also significantly reduced in all scenarios.
Catalog compile
times of Puppet 5 reported by Puppet Server have reduced by 7% to 10% compared
to Puppet 4. Puppet 5 can now scale to 40 percent more agents with no deterioration
in runtime performance, whereas Puppet 4 agent runtimes were disastrously long
when scaled to the same number of agents.
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( This sponsored post is part of a series designed to highlight recently published Packt books about leading technologies and software applications. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners.)
