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Top DevOps tools for 2019

Software development has undergone a revolution of sorts thanks to the integration of Development and Operations. But if you’re unfamiliar with DevOps processes and still wish to enhance your existing processes, it can be quite challenging to figure out the best tool for your team. However, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 most effective DevOps tools in 2019 so you can make an informed decision and add them to your stack. Find more details below:

  1. Puppet
    This open source configuration management, deployment orchestration is ideal for managing various applications servers at the same time. Puppet provides a unified platform that can be used by the development team for automatic configuration and remediating sudden changes.
    The product solutions for this tool cover cloud services, networking systems, and applications. There are over 5,000 modules present and the best part is, it integrates with other useful DevOps tools. Manage different teams effectively with Puppet Enterprise that supports role-based access control and reports in real-time.
  2. Docker
    Docker is at the forefront of the containerization trend that has taken the IT industry by storm. This tool provides secure packaging, deployment, and execution of applications without being impacted by the running environment.
    Each application container holds the source code, run time, supporting files, etc. used to execute applications. Access containers with the Docker Engine and execute applications in a remote environment. Docker helps companies minimize infrastructure expenses.
  3. Ansible
    A simple but powerful IT configuration management and orchestration tool, Ansible is perfect for organizations needing a program that doesn’t guzzle up their device resources in the background. Ansible’s primary function is to push fresh changes within the present system along with the configuration of machines that have been recently deployed. Increasing scalability replication speed while reducing infrastructure costs are just two reasons why Ansible has become the go-to DevOps tool for many IT firms.
  4. Git
    Git is among the most well-known DevOps tools and with good reason. This distributed source code management tool has been a godsend for open source contributors and remote teams. It lets you monitor your development activity’s progress.
    Numerous versions of the source code may be saved with Git but you’re free to restore a previous version if required. The tool allows for extensive experimentation since you’re able to form individual branches and combine new features once they are ready.
    Integrating Git with the DevOps workflow requires you to host repositories so team members are able to push their work. Bitbucket and GitHub are two of the finest Git repository hosting services right now. Both offer amazing integrations.
  5. JFrog Artifactory
    This is the sole universal repository manager in the world whose clients comprise 70 percent of the Fortune 100. That gives JFrog Artifactory enough clout in the industry to fully support software developed in any language and be compatible with any technology. Developers enjoy the fact that this open source tool integrates with current ecosystems to support end-to-end binary management.
    JFrog works to hasten development cycles with binary repositories, forming a single place where teams can manage their artifacts efficiently. The tool is updated continuously and tracks artifacts from the development phase till version control.
  6. Chef
    Chef is used for data management, roles, attributes, and environments. This configuration management automation tool is quite powerful and allows you to generate code from infrastructure.
    Chef can easily be integrated with cloud-based platforms and supports others such as FreeBSD, AIX, and RHEL/CentOS. This open-source tool also benefits from the support offered by an active, fast-growing and smart community.
  7. Bamboo
    This popular DevOps tool is a CI/CD solution meant for delivery pipeline automation, from deployment to builds. Considering how Bamboo is not an open source software, companies should consider their goals and budgets before investing in this tool.
    However, once a company does opt for Bamboo, they will benefit from numerous pre-built functionalities. That’s the reason why the number of plugins is less compared to other DevOps tools. Seamless integration of Bamboo is possible with other Atlassian products, like Bitbucket and Jira.
  8. Jenkins
    This tool is prized by software developers for its ease-of-use. Compatible with Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows, Jenkins lets you automate various stages of the delivery pipeline while monitoring the execution of the repeated tasks. The plugin ecosystem for Jenkins is quite vast and varied, making it easier to pinpoint issues in a specific project.
  9. Sentry
    Sentry’s clients include the likes of Microsoft and Uber, so that should tell you everything worth knowing about this bug or error detection DevOps tool. The open source tool supports languages like IOS, Ruby, JavaScript, and others, and contains in-built SDKs which are customizable for supporting the majority of frameworks and languages. The tool constantly scans lines of code throughout the whole system and pushes notifications when a problem or error is detected. Suitable solutions may be incorporated using a single click.
  10. Nagios
    This free DevOps monitoring tool helps you keep an eye on your infrastructure for locating and fixing issues. Nagios lets you record outages, failures, and events. It’s also great for tracking trends through reports and graphs, so you can predict errors and outages and locate possible security risks.
    The rich plugin ecosystem of this tool makes it a standout among the competition. The four monitoring solutions offered by Nagios include Nagios XI, Nagios Fusion, Nagios Log Server, and Nagios Core.
    Nagios is a great addition to any Development and Operations team due to its comprehensive infrastructure monitoring capabilities. However, keep in mind that the tool could take some time to set up properly as you first need to make it compatible with the environment. Concluding Remarks
    It’s 2019 and the DevOps market is currently booming. No wonder it has become one of the most competitive business segments this year with a fast rate of growth. Thanks to applications becoming increasingly complex, it is important for software companies to prepare for international market demands that require high-performance automation. Choosing the right DevOps tool is the only way to support the fast rate of business evolution.
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Must-Have Windows System Admin Tools in 2018

Open source applications and tools simplify the lives of Windows system administrators considerably. You will find plenty of open source system admin tools that improve the performance and efficiency of system administrators. While some automate the basic administration functions, others help with troubleshooting and maintenance.

 

Thanks to the introduction of new technologies and web services, system administrators are keeping busy nowadays. Not only must they configure, upkeep, and ensure smooth operations of computer systems within a limited budget, but they must also contend with the growing number of digital threats, changing security policies, training, and technical support. No wonder these individuals need all the support they can get!

Thankfully, we’ve compiled a list of open source tools that will not only serve this purpose in 2018 but for the next few years as well.

 

  1. Git

 

System administrators will find it easier to handle projects of varying sizes with Git, an open source distributed version control tool. This free system is not only easy to use but fast and efficient. You get access to lots of handy features, such as staging areas, different workflows, enhanced GPG signing for commits and tags, colour controls, etc. for a more powerful performance. Thanks to Git, you don’t have to spend the whole day creating a test setup; you can simply develop a branch and then clone it. And thanks to the Change history option, the configuration changes can easily be monitored.

System administrators can now maintain numerous independent local branches due to Git’s branching model. Developing, merging, and deleting a particular takes just a few seconds. Plus, users can form a branch whenever they wish to test out a new idea, and delete it quickly in case it doesn’t live up to expectations. Perhaps the most surprising aspect is, Git’s internal data formatting is capable of supporting dates beyond 2100.

 

  1. Kubernetes

Google’s Kubernetes is an incredibly powerful system offering horizontal scaling features to Windows system admins. Now, depending on the CPU usage, they can control a user interface to scale the app up and down with a single command. Kubernetes is capable of automating functions like scaling, deployment, and management of containerized apps. Thanks to this tool, sysadmins can place containers as per their infrastructure and other requirements automatically without losing any of their availability.

Nodes are servers in Kubernetes that configure container networking and take care of assigned workloads. Using the Kubernetes, the nodes stay connected to the cluster group. When a container fails to respond to the user-defined source, it gets removed. And if a particular container fails, it is immediately restarted. Upon the death of nodes, they are replaced and rescheduled.

 

 

A unique IP address is assigned to containers with Kubernetes, while a set of containers gets one DNS name. So, creating clusters only requires two commands.

 

  1. Eclipse

One of the most commonly used integrated development environments (IDEs), Eclipse started off as a Java development tool but soon evolved into something that could be used to create apps in other programming languages, such as Perl, PHP, Python, C/C++. Eclipse’s cloud versions support web technologies, like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. And system administrators are benefitted from the support of more than 250 open source projects, most of which are connected to development tools.

 

  1. Docker

 

 

Developed using open source technology, Docker addresses different kinds of infrastructure and applications for both developers and system administrators. Now, apps can be created easily, deployed, and then run in virtual containers with Linux servers. Due to the low overhead and small footprint, sysadmins enjoy plenty of flexibility and require fewer systems. If you are moderately skilled in developing software, Docker can be used to create Linux container easily. All that is required is a working Dockerfile and Docker setup.

 

There are two editions of Docker available – the Community Edition and the Enterprise Edition. While the former provides developers with the tools necessary to create applications, the latter offers multi-architecture operations to IT. Many big tech companies like Microsoft and Red Hat use Docker in collaboration with their services.

 

  1. PowerShell

This is a task-based scripting language and command-line shell developed by Microsoft and built using the .NET framework. System administrators use PowerShell to control and automate Windows administration. Loaded with amazing features, like Get-Module, Get-Help, remote management, among others, PowerShell allows system administrators to remotely manage and run Windows PCs, Windows Server, and PowerShell commands or access complete PowerShell sessions on Windows.

 

To use this remote management tool, you must download Remove Server Administration Tools Active Directory PowerShell module on your system along with the WinRM tool. Due to the Filter parameter, you can apply filters in PowerShell and locate what you’re searching for easily.

 

  1. NetBeans

A well-known open source IDE, NetBeans allows system administrators to develop mobile, web, and desktop applications quickly and easily. The major features include code generating, code editing, debugging tools, a GUI builder, etc. NetBeans supports JavaScript, HTML5, Java, PHP, and C/C++. The small size of this admin tool makes installation simple and convenient; all you need to do is download the program and install it. The IDE features are all fully-integrated, which means you won’t have to hunt anymore for plug-ins. Plus, all the features work simultaneously upon launching NetBeans.

  1. Vim

 

 

Vi Improved, popularly known as Vim, is an open source text editing app that supports command-line interface, and apps in a graphical user interface (GUI). Vim offers plugin support and system for numerous file formats and programming languages. It is quite speedy and works great on its own as the tool relies less on Cntrl/Alt sequences, enabling you to focus more on the modes. Vim also boasts of great keyboard macro facility for automating editing tasks. Developers might take a while to get the hang of this tool, but once they do, they will realize just how versatile Vim is.

 

  1. Bootstrap

Earlier known as Twitter Blueprint, the Bootstrap framework was developed by Twitter developers to improve reliability throughout open source toolkits. Thanks to Bootstrap, you can develop CSS, HTML, and JavaScript-based apps quickly and efficiently. The framework features a 12-column grid system and a responsive layout for dynamically adjusting the site to a compatible screen resolution. The results work consistently across different browsers and the output is uniform.  A lot of customization options are present, and if you encounter any issues, you can seek help from the extended support community.

 

  1. Cordova

This free Apache-sponsored open source tool can be used for developing mobile apps with JS, CSS, and HTML. Cordova wraps the application into a native container so it can access system functions across different platforms. The best part is, moderately-skilled web developers don’t need to learn any new programming languages. Prototyping can also be done fairly quickly. Apart from the various library options, you can create vector graphics to design specifications.

 

 

Any system administrator worth his salt will know that certain tools are important for the job as well as peace of mind since they make him more agile and efficient. The more you become familiar with those tools, the more you can improve upon your OS’ default set of tools and perform various functions.