Best of Platform Engineering — 2024

  1. 1
    Article
    Avatar of itnextITNEXT·2y

    Internal Developer Platforms: A Real Thing or Just a Trend?

    Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) are becoming increasingly popular as a way to streamline and manage developer operations. IDPs aim to provide a self-service platform for developers, often integrated with portals that act as interfaces for managing services. Key components include self-service capabilities, Kubernetes overviews, standard service catalogs, and CI/CD pipeline integrations. The post highlights the importance of understanding the cultural and technical shifts required to successfully implement an IDP, discussing its pros and cons and emphasizing a focus on both developers and other stakeholders.

  2. 2
    Article
    Avatar of last9Last9·2y

    Top 10 Platform Engineering Tools in 2024

    Platform engineering is revolutionizing software development and operations by providing robust, scalable, and user-friendly platforms. This guide outlines 10 top tools in 2024, such as Kubernetes, Terraform, and Argo CD, which simplify workflows, improve collaboration, and increase efficiency. Distinguishing platform engineering from DevOps and SRE, it focuses on building technical foundations for efficient development. Key tools include infrastructure provisioning, CI/CD pipelines, and monitoring solutions that enhance developer productivity and system reliability.

  3. 3
    Article
    Avatar of medium_jsMedium·2y

    Zarf: The Open-Source Deployment Tool You Need 💠

    Zarf is an open-source deployment tool that simplifies software deployment, especially in air-gap or disconnected environments. It offers features such as simplifying Kubernetes cluster creation, enabling cluster logging, automating the creation of Software Bill of Materials, and supporting highly regulated industries. The post provides a hands-on example of how to use Zarf to deploy the podinfo app.

  4. 4
    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·1y

    Platform Engineering Is The New DevOps

    Platform engineering is emerging as a replacement for DevOps in cloud native environments, helping to separate operations from application development. Instead of developers handling operations, platform engineering allows for more focused roles, returning DevOps teams to their core responsibilities. This shift addresses the confusion and inefficiencies that have arisen from the vague definition and expansive scope of DevOps.

  5. 5
    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·1y

    DevOps vs Platform Engineering

    DevOps and Platform Engineering are often confused, but they serve different purposes within software development. DevOps is a philosophy aimed at fostering collaboration between development and operations teams to improve software quality and deployment efficiency. It has evolved into a job role focused on automation and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD). Platform engineering, on the other hand, revolves around building internal developer platforms to streamline development workflows and enhance developer autonomy. While not a replacement for DevOps, platform engineering is a way to implement its principles effectively.

  6. 6
    Article
    Avatar of spaceliftSpacelift·2y

    Platform Engineering vs. DevOps – Key Differences in 2024

    Platform engineering and DevOps are crucial practices in modern software development. DevOps focuses on integrating development and operations to enhance collaboration, automation, and delivery cycles. Platform engineering complements DevOps by creating centralized Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) that provide essential tools and workflows, improving developer productivity and consistency. Both practices aim to streamline the software delivery process but with different focal points.

  7. 7
    Article
    Avatar of nordicapisNordic APIs·2y

    Using Backstage to Catalog Your APIs

    Backstage is an open-source tool that can be used to improve internal DevOps processes and serve as a catalog for internal APIs. It has been adopted by thousands of companies, including Traveloka, to centralize and standardize API contracts and documentation, accelerating development and avoiding bottlenecks.

  8. 8
    Article
    Avatar of itnextITNEXT·2y

    From Kubernetes to Local Development

    Learn how to use Podman to run Kubernetes manifests on your local machine and run existing Kubernetes Pods on your local workstation. Discover how to run Pods with network and storage configurations and how to run a Deployment in a local environment.

  9. 9
    Article
    Avatar of arcjetArcjet·2y

    Whatever happened to DevSecOps?

    The concept of DevSecOps aimed to integrate security throughout the development lifecycle, but it hasn't worked out as planned. The clash between development speed and security needs remains an issue. The future might resemble the rise of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), where dedicated security teams build tools and provide guidance, allowing developers to handle application-specific security details. This approach mirrors platform engineering with a security focus.

  10. 10
    Article
    Avatar of hnHacker News·2y

    A Eulogy for DevOps

    DevOps as a trend promised to streamline software deployment by integrating development and operations teams but failed to address underlying communication and coordination challenges. Despite improvements like containers, it brought complexities and inefficiencies, pushing the industry towards Platform Engineering, which aims to abstract infrastructure work from developers. The focus is now shifting towards simpler, less specialized tools and workflows, emphasizing stability and honest assessment of organizational needs over rapid technological adoption.

  11. 11
    Article
    Avatar of itnextITNEXT·1y

    Ask 5 different Person about Platform Engineering, you will get 5 different Answers

    Platform engineering, often equated with an evolution of DevOps, is not a new concept but rather an older practice that has gained renewed focus. It involves creating and managing a comprehensive platform to streamline and optimize the software development lifecycle. The approach has progressed through different phases from traditional DevOps to dedicated Platform Engineering teams, and now to the use of Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) to simplify application deployment. The varying interpretations of platform engineering emerge from the diverse needs and workflows of different organizations, highlighting the importance of a tailored approach.

  12. 12
    Article
    Avatar of medium_jsMedium·2y

    Devcontainers: Minimizing local machine dependencies with replicable Setups

    Devcontainers offer a standardized approach to creating and managing development environments, minimizing local machine dependencies. They provide consistency, isolation, portability, and ease of onboarding. The key insights include specifying the OS and tools, using Visual Studio Code and Docker, and ensuring secure and immutable development environments. A hands-on example is provided for creating a Python project Devcontainer. Overall, Devcontainers enhance collaboration, onboarding, and reproducibility of development environments.

  13. 13
    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·2y

    DevOps and Platform Engineering Dynamics

    In exploring the dynamics between DevOps and Platform Engineering, it is highlighted that DevOps focuses on bridging development and operations through a collaborative culture, automation, and CI/CD pipelines to improve software delivery speed and quality. Platform Engineering, on the other hand, emphasizes building Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) to streamline developers' access to infrastructure and automate setups, thus enhancing productivity. Both disciplines are complementary, with each playing a critical role in organizational success through continuous improvement and innovation in software delivery processes.

  14. 14
    Article
    Avatar of newstackThe New Stack·1y

    Platform Engineering: A Workshop to Help Map Your Strategy

    Graziano Castro of Mia-Platform emphasizes the strategic importance of internal developer platforms (IDP) and introduces the Platform Journey Map workshop to align business and technology stakeholders. The workshop helps organizations identify their priorities, create an adoption strategy, and measure success through KPIs. It is designed to foster ongoing discussion and adaptation as the platform matures, integrating various elements such as infrastructure, data pipelines, governance, and API interfaces to enhance developer self-service capabilities.

  15. 15
    Article
    Avatar of spaceliftSpacelift·2y

    How to Build a Platform Engineering Team [Focus & Roles]

    Platform engineering is essential for managing the complex infrastructure of modern cloud-native architectures and microservices. Building a successful platform engineering team involves focusing on areas like Infrastructure as Code, continuous integration and delivery, and security. Key roles include platform engineers, site reliability engineers, cloud architects, and security engineers. Effective hiring strategies, including focused job descriptions and an efficient interview process, are crucial. Onboarding, goal setting, and continuous training help retain top talent and ensure team success.

  16. 16
    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·2y

    Another five myths about platform engineering

    The post debunks five more myths about platform engineering, covering topics such as the role of infrastructure teams, impact on staffing costs, and the application of platform engineering practices.

  17. 17
    Article
    Avatar of metalbearMetalBear·2y

    Bear in Mind #1: Platform Engineering

    MetalBear's 'Bear in Mind' series debuts with a focus on platform engineering. Highlights include insights on the role and benefits of platform teams in enterprises, metrics to measure platform engineering's success, and debunking common myths. Stay informed about evolving trends and best practices in platform engineering to optimize workflows.

  18. 18
    Article
    Avatar of itnextITNEXT·2y

    From Local Containers to Kubernetes

    Learn how to use Podman to generate Kubernetes manifests, work with different types of container volumes, and generate more complex Pods and Deployments.

  19. 19
    Article
    Avatar of cloudnativenowCloud Native Now·1y

    It’s Time to Make Kubernetes Disappear

    Kubernetes, initially designed to simplify resource management, has become a complex task for developers, necessitating further abstraction layers. The current DevOps approach focuses heavily on operations rather than development, which has led to friction and inefficiency. Introducing a choreography layer, beyond automation and orchestration, can streamline developer workflows and ensure processes are more consumable and self-service oriented, ultimately improving productivity and reducing friction.

  20. 20
    Article
    Avatar of faunFaun·2y

    DevEx Quick Wins for Platform Team Success

    Quick wins, measurement, and feedback cycles can have a meaningful impact on developer experience (DevEx) within a week or less. A SaaS company's platform engineering team demonstrated significant improvements in deployment processes during a hackathon, earning a standing ovation. By focusing on self-service, golden paths, automation, and local development, platform teams can boost adoption and productivity. Consistent measurement and feedback loops are critical to understanding and enhancing DevEx, with qualitative and quantitative metrics guiding improvements.

  21. 21
    Article
    Avatar of newstackThe New Stack·2y

    How a DevOps Team Became a Platform Engineering Team

    Allianz Direct transformed its DevOps team into a platform engineering team to optimize technology, people, and processes across its organization. The transition involved overcoming initial anti-patterns, defining clear DevOps principles, controlling the backlog, and adopting a cloud-native stack. Key achievements included revamping the CI/CD pipeline with Argo CD, reducing vulnerabilities, shifting to continuous security, and implementing organizational-level service-level objectives (SLOs). This approach helped boost software delivery performance and foster a culture of closer collaboration and shared responsibility.

  22. 22
    Article
    Avatar of itnextITNEXT·2y

    Build a Lightweight Internal Developer Platform with Argo CD and Kubernetes Labels

    Learn how to build a lightweight Internal Developer Platform using Argo CD and Kubernetes labels. This approach simplifies processes, aligns with the core philosophies of Kubernetes, and enables self-service capabilities for both developers and platform teams.

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