Adventures in DevOps

Charles is joined by Caleb Fornari and Jeffrey Groman as we discuss the challenges of public versus private package managers and the security implications of using public repositories.

Links

• Adventures in DevOps - Devchat.tv
• Dependency Confusion: How I Hacked Into Apple, Microsoft and Dozens of Other Companies
• Devchat.tv | JSJ 357: Event-Stream & Package Vulnerabilities with Richard Feldman and Hillel Wayne
• Malicious code found in npm package event-stream downloaded 8 million times in the past 2.5 months
• GitHub | The Node Security Platform

Picks

• Caleb- Have a plan to mitigate damage if someone is able to get inside your network. Don’t just secure the public side of your technical infrastructure, make sure your internal security as just as strong as your external security.
• Charles- Dev Heroes Accelerator | Devchat.tv
• Charles-  The Umbrella Academy | Netflix
• Charles- Personal Retreat
• Jeffrey- Asset management: Know and document where all of your digital assets reside. Whether servers, VMs, EC2 instances, and all of your structured and unstructured data.
• Jeffrey- You can’t secure what you don’t know about

Will and Warren dive deep into the world of career longevity and adaptability in the fast-evolving tech industry. They explore the often-overlooked importance of staying with a project long enough to understand and resolve complex issues, and how job dissatisfaction can be a tool for negotiation rather than a cue to immediately move on.
They touch on early career experiences and the shift towards specialization, echoing advice from past guest Kelsey Hightower. Warren also shares his intriguing perspective on the value of early career terminations, the necessity of soft skills, and the challenges of expanding teams. The conversation will unfold to reveal a balanced view on the evolution from hands-on engineering to management roles, the continual learning required to stay relevant, and the often humorous realities behind career transitions.
Listen in as they discuss scaling career paths, the nuances of job switching, and the criticality of balancing technical and business acumen. They also delve into the personal facets of tech careers, from dealing with burnout to the idea of retirement, all while sharing our thoughts on professional books and the lessons they impart. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a seasoned developer, or someone navigating the complexities of the tech industry, this episode promises a wealth of knowledge and a dose of humor to keep you engaged.


Socials

• LinkedIn: Warren Parad
• LinkedIn: Will Button

In today's episode, Warren and Will dive into the difficulties of coordinating between marketing and engineering teams, particularly around handling increased traffic and sales during the holiday season. The discussion covers the importance of auditing code and looking for potential issues or technical debt at the end of the year. The hosts also explore strategies for pitching and justifying technical projects or rewrites to management, emphasizing the need to frame them in terms of business impact. They conclude by reflecting on the value of stepping back from day-to-day tasks at the end of the year to gain a broader organizational perspective.

Socials

• LinkedIn: Warren Parad
• LinkedIn: Will Button

Picks

• Will - Half-Life: Alyx

Will and Warren dive deep into the world of Mastermind groups and their impact on career success within the DevOps landscape. They explore the origins of mastermind groups from Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" and debate why a staggering 99% of them might be ineffective, according to Will. Warren shares his own experiences and expresses his curiosity about what truly makes such groups effective.
They also draw intriguing parallels between accountability in mastermind groups and emergency preparedness in aviation, emphasizing the importance of ingrained habits and continuous skill development. From military training insights to the challenges of creating genuine, trust-filled mastermind groups, we'll cover it all.
Additionally, they touch on the broader aspects of professional growth—public speaking, networking, mentorship, and the evolving dynamics of teamwork. Plus, don't miss on practical tips on forming mastermind groups and fostering meaningful professional relationships. Tune in for an episode packed with valuable insights, compelling analogies, and shared experiences that can help you navigate and succeed in your career!


Picks

• Warren - The Formula
• Will - Onyx

In today's episode, Will Button and Warren are joined by special guest Eyal Solomon, co-founder of Lunar.dev. This episode dives deep into pressing DevOps topics like the complexities of Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions and the intricacies of the API economy. They explore the challenges of API management, the importance of visibility and monitoring in API consumption, and strategies to prevent issues like rate limiting and billing surprises.


Eyal shares his journey from infrastructure optimization to specializing in API management, highlighting how Lunar dot Dev helps companies handle API quotas, security, and performance through their innovative platform. We also delve into integrating AI within APIs, managing API costs, and the rising trend of AI agents.


Join them as they dissect the importance of combining storytelling with educational insights in various content forms, from books to YouTube channels. Learn how running can be a form of meditation and problem-solving, and get top book recommendations from our hosts. Whether you're dealing with API challenges or looking to optimize your DevOps practices, this episode is packed with valuable insights straight from the experts. Don't miss out!


Links

• Lunar.dev

Socials

• LinkedIn: Eyal Solomon

Today, Will and Warren dive into the intersection of DevOps and AI with our special guest, Görkem Ercan, CTO of Jozu and a seasoned expert in developer tools and DevOps. In this episode, they explore the practical applications and challenges of integrating Machine Learning into DevOps workflows, utilizing real-world examples like global shirt distribution and the US Army's sizing issues. They also discuss the critical role of psychological safety in successful teams, the surprising origins of the webcam, and the remarkable engineering feats of the Voyager spacecraft.
Moreover, they unpack the intricacies of AI model management, confronting issues like non-deterministic outcomes, data drift, and the need for a unified control plane to handle complex, dynamic environments. They touch on the rise of internal AI management, the innovative use of sentiment analysis in customer support, and the surprising interest from consulting firms in AI-driven solutions.

Socials

• LinkedIn: Görkem Ercan
• Gorkem Ercan

In today's episode, Warren, Will, and guest Markus Thurner, the director of technology at Vista dive deep into the world of DevOps with an exciting lineup of discussions about engineering excellence, the fast pace of technological innovation, and the ever-present need for balance between training and production.


Together, they explore how practice makes perfect in software development, drawing from analogies like the Brazilian soccer player practicing with brain diodes. They talk about the costs and benefits of training engineers, managing cloud expenses, and the evolving landscape of on-premise versus cloud data centers.


They dig into the importance of challenging the status quo, the complexities of operational versus capital expenditures, and best practices for writing scalable code. Whether you're curious about the latest in Kubernetes and AWS ECS, or just looking for some practical advice on continual learning and improvement, this episode has something for everyone.


Plus, stay tuned as they share personal recommendations, from the best gaming tablets for those long flights to must-listen podcasts and even a Metallica song that ties back to a gripping World War I tale.


This packed episode concludes with a thoughtful discussion on engineering excellence, and how teams can find balance, define their metrics, and drive both innovation and quality in their projects.


Socials

• LinkedIn: Markus Thurner

In today's episode, Warren, Will, and special guest Falit Jain dive deep into the intricate world of incident management and response, drawing from rich experiences at tech giants like Amazon and Disney. They explore real-life scenarios, including Amazon's complex debugging challenges with over 150 engineers maintaining their detail page, and the high stakes of live streaming events at Disney.\


Join them as they discuss the crucial aspects of effective incident response, from the importance of familiarity with systems and the role of on-call processes to the value of communication and meticulous postmortems. They also deep-dive into cultural influences from leadership, the balance between new feature launches and system stability, and the significance of metrics like mean time to resolution and error budgets.



Socials

• LinkedIn: Falit Jain

Picks

• Warren - Radical Focus
• Will - The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross

In today's episode, they dive deep into the world of AI and prompt engineering with our dynamic panel of experts, featuring Anthony Spiteri. He shares their fascinating journey over the past 18 months, manipulating language models like ChatGPT to achieve remarkable results. They explore the intriguing development of a location-based app for finding the European delicacy, Black Pudding, and dive into the complexities of using AI for mentorship, accountability, and even fitness.
Join them as they uncover the technical intricacies of building apps with AI, the philosophical questions surrounding AI's future, and the growing importance of prompt engineering. They also touch on critical issues of data security, the ethical implications of AI, and the ever-evolving landscape of DevOps. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting, this episode is packed with insights and stories that you won't want to miss. So, grab your headphones and get ready to explore the cutting edge of DevOps and AI!


Socials

• LinkedIn: Anthony Spiteri

In this episode, they dive deep into the intricate world of DevOps and the nuances that drive its continuous evolution. This episode brings you into a thought-provoking conversation featuring Michael Cade, Global Field CTO at Veeam Software. Join them as they explore a wide array of topics, from the controversial practice of intentional data leaks as an advertising strategy to the intricate details of Michael's groundbreaking "90 days of DevOps" project. This initiative, which began in 2022, has grown to feature 91 sessions and contributions from a spectrum of subject matter experts, aiming to enrich our understanding of varied DevOps topics. Michael brings fascinating insights into cloud-native data management and the challenges of integrating databases with Kubernetes.
They delve into the critical aspects of business continuity, data backups, and the shared responsibility model for platforms like GitHub while emphasizing the importance of security measures such as multi-factor authentication. The episode also covers the evolution of programming languages in DevOps, the significance of physical and digital note-taking for task management, and the personal balance between professional responsibilities and physical activity.
The discussion extends to the mentorship challenge within the DevOps community, the importance of creating and sharing valuable content, and the role of storytelling in simplifying complex technical concepts. Whether you're interested in hearing about the use of various cloud platforms, the behind-the-scenes of Michael's career at Veeam, or tips for achieving work-life harmony, this episode has something for everyone. So, plug in your AirPods Pro 2, lace up your running shoes, and get ready to be inspired by another exciting journey into the world of DevOps.


Socials

• LinkedIn: Michael Cade
• Michael Cade
• GitHub: @MichaelCade