What are the most common DevOps practices for Cloud Computing?

Implementing CI/CD on the cloud involves best practices like automated testing, version control, infrastructure as code, frequent integration, environment parity, immutable deployments, secure configurations, monitoring, and rollback strategies. Embracing these practices ensures efficient, secure, and reliable software delivery, facilitating faster development cycles and higher-quality releases.

Though its termed CI/CD and is related, very often a novice don't see the relation. CI focuses on the integration of code changes and automated testing during the development phase to maintain code quality and catch issues early. (Instead of renaming the old files to filename_MMYYDD to keep a copy before the developer replace it. I see it very often with php projects) CD extends CI process for the entire software delivery pipeline, including deployment to production, with focus on automating and streamlining the release process. Fully automated (most have release gates) release till prod is rare though. Out of many, I would prioritise 1. Auditability & less errors 2. Faster Release Cycles 3. Rapid Feedback 4. Better Code Quality

CI/CD is a software development approach that automates the building, testing, and deployment of code changes. It accelerates development, improves software quality, and ensures rapid and reliable delivery of new features and updates to production environments. CI/CD streamlines the development pipeline, enabling agile development, faster problem resolution, and efficient, automated software release cycles. Nowadays it used for intrastate deployment too using the IaC Tools to build the infra on the cloud platform.

The most common DevOps practices for Cloud Computing includes - Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) - Infrastructure as Code (IaC) - Automated Testing - Monitoring and Logging - Communication and Collaboration - Microservices architecture - Containerization - Security and Compliance

In my role as an Information Security Officer, I led a pivotal shift towards CI/CD for our cloud projects. One standout moment was when we migrated a critical network application to Azure. Embracing Azure DevOps, we automated testing and deployment, ensuring every code change met stringent security standards. This streamlined process drastically reduced deployment hiccups and bolstered our application's resilience. It was a testament to the transformative power of CI/CD in the cloud.

Make sure when you’re choosing your preferred IaC tool it aligns with your team’s capabilities. For Azure, if you’re utilizing tools such as Terraform be aware of infrastructure drift/state files, if you plan on making configurations in the portal post-deployment consider using languages like BICEPA instead.

Infrastructure as Code allows development and operations teams to predefine configurations, system states, communication channels and more. When doing business, being able to predefine process is incredibly valuable. IaC allows the power to predefine processes related to governance, risk and compliance. This sort of practice lowers risk of human error, and it makes adjusting processes simple and straight forward down the road. Being able to define datacenter and cloud infrastructure with files and lines of code also allows for flexibility in that infrastructure code can be recycled for other use cases. Companies can save months worth of manual configuration by adopting IaC. Automate the boring tasks to make more room to innovate.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) revolutionizes IT infrastructure management by treating it as code. Tools like Pulumi, alongside GitOps workflows, enable automation with familiar programming languages, replacing manual processes. This fosters standardized, documented, and secure infrastructure that scales, updates, and replicates effortlessly. To maximize IaC's potential, consider your cloud environment and team's skillset when choosing tools like Pulumi. Start small, leverage GitOps for version control, prioritize security best practices, and continuously monitor and test your infrastructure for optimal results. This combination of IaC and GitOps empowers you to manage infrastructure efficiently and confidently.

IaC is the backbone of the DevOps team to build and maintain the cloud infrastructure. Also, the code is reusable hence they can use it to replicate the same infra in one click deployment to run the business in the peer region if something goes wrong in the primary site of the business application. in Azure, we can use Terraform, ARM, and Biceps and all are the best IaC tools to build the infra however bicep is the native tool that supports the preview services of Azure.

Totally agree about following IaC as a practice. Irrespective of any of the cloud applications/ projects, IaC should be followed from the beginning which keeps your infrastructure well structured.

Robust monitoring and logging are essential for DevOps teams to maintain reliability. Monitoring collects performance metrics like CPU usage, request rates, and error codes to gauge system health. Logging captures event data like access requests and errors for diagnostics. Together, they provide visibility into apps and infrastructure to rapidly detect and debug issues before impacting users. Monitoring identifies high-level problems like resource usage spikes. Logging enables granular troubleshooting of errors and events. With effective tools to ingest metrics, logs, and build dashboards, teams can spot and fix problems quickly. This helps ensure high availability, service levels, and fantastic user experiences.

Monitoring and logging are important in DevOps for ensuring system reliability and performance. Monitoring tracks metrics like CPU usage, memory, and response times, generating real-time alerts for anomalies. Monitoring tools visualize data, helps in root cause analysis. Logging captures detailed records of system activities, centralizing them for unified analysis tools . Logs are searchable for troubleshooting, with retention policies managing storage. Both systems integrate into the CI/CD pipeline, providing continuous visibility and feedback, thus enabling proactive issue detection and resolution.

Cloud environments are dynamic and complex; Monitoring and logging provide visibility into your cloud resources, applications, and infrastructure. They help you understand what's happening in real time and identify trends and anomalies. When issues arise, logs are invaluable for troubleshooting, as they contain detailed information about events, errors, and system behavior, making it easier to pinpoint the root cause of problems and resolve them quickly. By monitoring for unusual or suspicious activities and analyzing logs for signs of security breaches, you can detect and respond to security threats promptly.

Implementing robust monitoring and logging practices has been pivotal. Tools like AWS CloudWatch and Azure Monitor offered real-time insights into resource performance. Centralized logging via ELK Stack provided invaluable visibility into system behavior. Proactive alerts based on thresholds ensured swift responses to critical events, bolstering our security posture.

One thing which is important is performance evaluation.Ignoring performance issue will lead to complaints by consumers or customers.Automated performance testing tools needs to be utilized.

In Cloud Computing, key DevOps practices include Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD), ensuring regular, automated merging and deployment of code changes. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is also crucial, allowing scalable and consistent environment management via code. Microservices architecture is widely adopted, breaking applications into smaller, independent services for easier updates and maintenance. Monitoring and performance tuning are vital for real-time insights into application performance, aiding swift issue resolution. These practices collectively enhance agility, efficiency, and reliability in cloud-based development and operations.

Utilizing platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams, we ensured seamless communication. Version control with Git promoted collaboration and provided a clear audit trail for security configurations. Regular team meetings and workshops fostered a culture of open communication and shared understanding of security practices. This approach significantly enhanced our security posture and responsiveness to threats.

You don't always, or even often, need a "quick call" to catch up on a project. Paper trails through email, chats, and documents means there's a point of reference for everyone to stay on the same page. Consider using a Wikia-style page everyone can add to, like Notion.

Collaboration and Communication are core DevOps practices in cloud computing. They enable seamless interaction between development and operations teams, promoting agile software development. Effective tools and processes, such as CI/CD pipelines, foster collaboration, ensuring efficient delivery of cloud services while maintaining quality, security, and scalability. This synergy enhances agility and innovation, central to successful cloud-based solutions.

Finalizing a easy to navigate site structure and version control is key to efficient collaboration. I have seen many time its very difficult to search a document in the lake of folders sometime upto 8 levels. And people creating a new verson with date as suffix or prefix with file name, version must be inside the file not on name and URL also remained Unchanged.

Perhaps the most important part of DevOps! Security must be baked into the design from the beginning. You can't expect your ops team to bolt-on third-party security solutions to close gaps in your design. Design cloud services with "secure posture" as the default.

Adhering to industry-specific standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS was a priority. Regular security assessments, vulnerability scans, and penetration testing ensured compliance. Robust access controls and encryption safeguarded sensitive data. Ongoing audits and collaboration with legal and compliance teams ensured our practices stayed aligned with evolving regulations.

Performing code analysis, dynamic analysis, protecting secrets, auditing and tracking is part of the process, not the whole. I would also include: Configuration Management and instrumented CMDB and Application Risk Classification (Not in total, but for me DevOps is part of this process), this way, it is possible to see the necessary controls based on the risks of each application.

Security and compliance are core DevOps practices in cloud computing. Security ensures protection against threats, vulnerabilities, and data breaches. Compliance ensures adherence to industry regulations and standards. Both are critical in the cloud, where continuous integration and deployment demand automated security checks and compliance auditing to maintain a secure and compliant environment.

Fully agree about the shift left approach and ensure security is a step since the design. Another important point to pay attention is about the credentials (secrets) used in the CI/CD tools and the code itself. Enterprises should think about a repeatable process to put in place and ensure there is no credentials embedded in the code and tools, always using a least privilege approach.

One of the most important things to consider when talking about DevOps, is that it's not siloed away into a DevOps Engineering Role. Instead of being an afterthought, where architects design a solution, developers build it, testers test it, and DevOps engineers do some infrastructural magic to release it on a Cloud Platform ??, DevOps is a Culture that the entire development team shares, and it starts with cloud-native architectural thinking. Because designing and developing cloud-native solutions is actually a big paradigm shift compared to traditional applications. Only with this native cloud culture/mindset can you build truly cost-effective, highly performant and elastic Cloud solutions.

The journey to implement DevOps practices and culture in an organization can be challenging but rewarding if done correctly. Some common obstacles that may arise include poor communication between teams, lack of automation, resistance to change, and limited collaboration. Resistance from employees used to waterfall development is typical, so evangelizing the benefits of DevOps through training and leadership is key. Most importantly, implementing a culture of shared responsibility, experimentation, and customer focus is essential to gain the full benefits of a DevOps model

It is important to understand the origins of the words DevOps = Developer + Operations. DevOps is not a destination it is more of a journey which is exploring the merging of different Engineering disciplines. And the journey needs to continue. DevSecOps is one branch were we bring together Develop + Security + Operations. And we need to be moving towards that Goal. CNCF is one of the beacons to guide us what are the latest tools available in the arena of Cloud Native computing. Every good engineer should check CNCF projects (graduated and sandboxed) to understand the advances in the field.

Devops is an evolutionary methodology both in terms of how it's implemented as well as evolved in true sense. Perhaps in 2018 Devops would look like just a few tools for faster and quicker deployment of resources and few enthusiastic people exploring beyond the pipeline jobs and automation benefits. Cut to 2024 Devops is omniscient it made seemless integration of AI/ML tools into data pipelines a possibility through data engineering. Innovation, inventive thinking stands as the backbone of Devops. Devops isn't simply CI/CD. Devops is a quality mindset of continuous improvement of people and processes leading to efficiency in availability of systems and reliability of resources.