DevOps for Dinosaurs

How legacy sysadmins can thrive in the era of Continuous Delivery

Roger TetzlaffManager, DevOps & Managed ServicesRazorfishrogertetzlaff@gmail.com

When I was your age… Traditional SysAdmin background supporting server hardware,

networking, OS, middleware

Started in professional IT in 1996 installing Windows NT on desktops and putting ethernet concentrators in maintenance closets to serve offices

I remember Netware vs Windows NT, Token Ring vs. Ethernet, TCP/IP vs IPX/SPX, and dialup SLIP / PPP connections to remote branches

#Credentialism #OldMan

What’s changed in the workplace? Email Instant Messaging Server virtualization Cloud hosting Agile methodology Containers The Internet of Things

What’s stayed the same? Security Concerns

Stability Requirements

Drive for new functionality

Expectations of adding value, especially in a cost-center environment

Six years later and we’re still hearing: “So… What is DevOps?”

Ask five people and get six different answers DevOps can be:

A Project Methodology - A natural outgrowth of the Agile approach to development and project delivery

A Job Description – A utility infielder for technology projects, supporting Project Managers, Business Analysts, Developers, Testers

A Philosophy - Collaboration, blurring of roles, commonality of purpose

A Suite of Tools - Continuous Integration, Source Code Management, Team Chat, Automated Testing

Sounds like a bunch of buzzwords. I just keep the servers running! I hear you – oftentimes, non-Ops staff forget that to keep The Cloud going, it

takes a small army of engineers clicking GUIs and bashing prompts Maintenance versus Innovation – Embracing novelty often marginalizes

maintenance, and this applies to technology and to people Remember who your client is – in a support role, is this your team lead? The

project manager? Actual clients in retail establishments? Likely all of the above? Avoid “Us” and “Them” language - everything is “We.” Remember that even if

developers and managers don’t understand your contribution, you don’t always understand theirs-- work to bridge the gap.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help or training. Make the business case. Be engaged in the success of the common mission.

Validate the process via participation – Update your tickets, attend the standups, be engaged

Seems reasonable. So, now what? Some things you can do to understand the repositioning of your

role as a DevOps engineer when working on an Agile project focused on Continuous Delivery:

Tell stories, Listen, build mutual respect… build relationships that outlive your career

Read blogs by really smart people with ridiculous names like Jez Humble

Know when to embrace your inner curmudgeon, but be ready to back up your opinion – how does this add value or reduce risk, leverage anecdotes AND data

Adding Value and Getting Value

Automating – Script as much as possible and put it into Continuous Integration tooling

Building – build out sane monitoring and alerting solutions that benefit everyone, maintain OS and automation scripts in source control

Teaching - server provisioning, networking basics, security, leveraging of tools like Dynatrace to dig deep on problem-solving

Learning - Agile methodology, scripting, committing automation to SCM systems, testing automation