Don't do devops without a solid Config Management

Abstract:

Everybody is now taking about devops and continuous delivery, which is basically a means to get the software from idea to production as quickly (and often) as possible. So we get started right-away with a ""deployment pipeline"", but forgetting to put in place some proper configuration management. This talk will focus on managing application configuration.

So why do you need config management?

Before configuration management (in the context of the organization I was working at (which applies to many other organizations)): - Incorrect application configuration leading to broken tests - Stakeholders (Dev, Ops, QA, functional managers) have no clue what is running where - Wastage of development cycle time

How did we go about it: - Following the classic principle (to quote Jez Humble and David Farley in the bible on Continuous Delivery): ""Keep binary files independent from configuration information, and keep all configuration information in one place."" - An auto-discovering CMDB which provides realtime insight - Making use of the Configuration management functionality of the automated deployment tool which we had bought

The results: - Improved quality and reduced risks - Quick changes without touching code - Dashboard of version of software is running where - Longer test timeslots became available - Increased collaboration, everyone happier!

Speaker:

I have about 10 years of enterprise IT experience. I began my career as a Java web developer. After about 3 years, out of sheer curiosity I jumped the wall and took on the role of a deployment and hosting engineer. I then became part of an effort to break down the proverbial "wall between dev and ops" in the organization.

As a "configuration manager", I have been working the past 2 years (at a large airline company) along with application teams to implement configuration management, devops and continuous delivery.