Learn the DevOps toolchain from its foundation level to apply DevOps efficiently and effectively in your software development business or job. Keep reading!
How Does DevOps Influence Software Development?
DevOps is the most productive framework for software development. It relies on the concept of a minimal viable product or MVP being released in short sprints, like a week or month, depending on the software product. The MVP goes immediately to the IT operations team for internal consumption or marketing so that the target user can use the app and provide feedback. The operations team would route the feedback in real-time so that their development counterpart in the DevOps team can implement the changes in the next development sprint. And all the software developers worldwide like the concept and implement it on different scales depending on their business size. It would be clear from the following statistical data from Global Market Insights: At the core of DevOps lies the DevOps toolchain. These are a set of offline or online tools that the DevOps teams use to deliver functional apps and web services. But what is DevOps toolchain exactly? How to choose these tools? What tools do you need? — and there are more! Find the answers below!
What Is DevOps Toolchain?
A DevOps toolchain is a blend of tools to enable software development, maintenance, and delivery. IT companies use various DevOps tools to automate and manage DevOps workflow throughout the entire software development lifecycle. A toolchain for DevOps empowers the software or app development teams to execute complex tasks. These development tools, forming a toolchain (a set of tools), usually run in a cascade. In an easy language, each tool’s output becomes the input for the next software development tool. Additionally, in the flow of the DevOps pipeline, there are some tools you may need to run in parallel. DevOps workflow emphasizes the collaboration and communication between developers and the rest of the IT workforce. The process also includes automation tools and concepts to facilitate software delivery and implement infrastructure changes quickly in an error-free way. Since the broad implementation of automation in every stage of DevOps, teams now mostly rely on automated DevOps tools in most cases. Whether automated or manual, the tools chosen for the DevOps toolchain may come from one or more vendors.
Why Do You Need DevOps Toolchain?
Today’s software development scenario is different from 10 years ago. Back then, devs could take months to create an MVP for the IT operations team. Today, you have only a week or so, if not days, to publish a new app or upgrade an existing one to stay relevant in an ever-changing software market. Hence, you need digital and programmable tools to facilitate software development, tests, releases, feedback collection, debugging, upgrade, and more. Also, such tools make the process flawless. Hence, you need the DevOps toolchain. Find below some other reasons:
Such tools help you to transform the software development operation culture in your company. They also help you to establish an integrated software development pathway or lifecycle. It’s the best way to achieve better development automation using the DevOps toolchain. If you want to orchestrate and automate the entire DevOps process, you must choose a set of tools for DevOps. DevOps toolchain also helps you to set up a standardized software, service, or product development pipeline if your company manages the development cycles of many products. You can release the best and most functional software in less time with assured quantity with such tools. Modern software development companies also use such tools for service or app quality control. If there is any security or other kind of incident that might damage the project, you can rely on some tools for DevOps to act to resolve the situation proactively.
How to Create DevOps Toolchain
When creating a toolchain for DevOps, you must understand the DevOps fundamental practices and how the tools will assist you. You can choose from the following two toolchain concepts:
#1. Custom DevOps Toolchain
In this approach, you keep the toolchain flexible for the DevOps project. The team members can suggest and agree upon a set of tools for one project. For the next project, the members might choose other DevOps tools. This approach is suitable for innovative software development processes where your company is exploring an idea for the first time. You do not know which apps will work well for the project, so keep your options open.
#2. All-in-One Toolchain
If you’re getting started with DevOps, new to this software development concept, or working on something everyone develops, then you can use the all-in-one toolchain concept. Here, the DevOps team starts with a predefined set of DevOps software. These apps may or may not allow third-party business app integrations downstream of the production line. However, things are not uncertain because the app you create is common, and many have used the same toolchain. Some other critical considerations you must follow when creating a DevOps toolchain are:
Analyze existing DevOps tools and try to find data patterns for processing time, working hours consumed, and so on. Then, try to minimize those by implementing better toolsets. You must build a prototype toolchain first. Then test it in a live DevOps project to figure out if it will float or not.
Next, we will explore the essential tools for the DevOps toolchain.
Essential Tools for DevOps Toolchain
The list of DevOps tools will vary with the project. However, the following are the standard tools:
#1. Source Code Tools
A repository for all source codes enables all the DevOps team members to access the most updated scripts for their latest tasks. You can use CVS, GitHub, Git, GitLab, Bitbucket Server, Monotone, etc., as source code management platforms.
#2. Communication Apps
You also need one or more apps to interconnect all the project members from different offices, remote locations, time zones, and more. The com tools must be highly secured. Also, the apps must offer some business app integration capabilities. Tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, Trello, and Asana can greatly help.
#3. Project Planning Tool
DevOps project management tools empower you to create a full project timeline from kickoff to handoff. You can include tiny tasks, subtasks, dependencies, and more. In the end, you can see the whole picture in front of you. Jira, Azure Boards, ClickUp, GitLab, AWS DevOps, etc., could be great choices for your company.
#4. Apps to Manage Repositories
You can store, share, and manage binaries, source codes, and other software development assets on repositories. Some popular tools for this requirement are npm, JFrog Artifactory, Docker Hub, Helix Core Version Control, etc.
#5. Automation Tools for Software Testing
Test automation tools eliminate guesswork and manual work from the software testing and feedback-incorporating pipeline. You can use these tools in your DevOps project for test automation: Selenium, TestComplete, Appium, Ranorex Studio, etc.
#6. CI/CD Tools
Continuous integration and continuous deployment are critical pillars of a DevOps project. CI/CD ensures that the dev team incorporates the right feedback into the next sprint and deploys an update soon not to annoy the users. You can try out Jenkins, TeamCity, GitLab, etc., for this purpose.
#7. Database Management Software
All software relies on a server-based database. To manage various DBs, you can try out MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite, etc.
#8. Config Management Apps
Using a configuration management system, DevOps teams can control which change they want and which they do not. Terraform, Ansible, Puppet Enterprise, AWS Config, and Microsoft Endpoint Manager are some of the best apps in this segment.
#9. Pipeline Monitoring Tool
DevOps teams minimize downtime and issues by using pipeline monitoring tools. Such systems facilitate the followings:
Tracking solution aggregates Analyze data from other toolchain components Identify the project pattern to eliminate bottlenecks
For monitoring purposes, you can use Prometheus, Splunk, Dynatrace, PagerDuty, etc.
Benefits of DevOps Toolchain
There are various benefits of using a thoughtfully designed DevOps toolchain. Some of these benefits have been explained below with real-world scenarios:
#1. Respond to Incidents Without Any Delay
Let’s say your incident response app notified you of a recent incident. Instead of wasting time in gathering a team and planning how to react, you can address the incident and minimize damages using a set of DevOps tools for the followings:
Incident recording, reporting, and managing Creating a service ticket and adding that to a Slack channel Invite remedy team members to the Slack channel automatically by skill segmentation Use Slack to open Jira issue and publish a status page portal so that users do not panic Figure out the solution and push that to the next development sprint or iteration immediately
#2. Eliminating Manual Incident Addressing
In the absence of a preconfigured DevOps toolchain for incident management, many DevOps teams manage such situations manually, wasting working hours when they could have coded new business solutions. With a toolchain for DevOps, your team already knows which tool to run should there be any incidents. Not to mention, you also streamline the workflow for incident response.
#3. Quick Updates
Almost all software and mobile app development companies need to push many updates a day. You can increase the update release time and quality by streamlining the process through automated DevOps tools.
#4. Program or Code Security
A DevOps project involves employees from different verticals. Not all of them understand their responsibilities to protect company and customer data against hacking attacks. With a DevOps toolchain for security, every team member will know their duty for software, data, or code security. Such a toolchain usually includes automated online monitoring systems for the network and app hosting servers—an online app to encrypt and tokenize data. Not to mention role-based access management tools to restrict access.
Learning Resources
#1. DevOps Beginners to Advanced Udemy
Become a DevOps specialist by learning it from the ground up by enrolling in this DevOps Beginners course on Udemy. The certification ensures that you systematically learn the following while engaged in a day job or regular college course:
DevOps concepts DevOps tools like Linux, Jenkins, AWS, Docker, Scripting, and more Version control system Creating and deploying a project on Kubernetes
#2. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional Whizlabs
You can become a cloud DevOps engineer by signing up for this AWS-certified DevOps course on Whizlabs. The course will cover all the DevOps concepts like development, delivery, and management of web apps, mobile apps, or PC software. After successful certification, you should be able to explain the following:
#3. DevOps Toolchain A Complete Guide
If you want to become a DevOps toolchain solutions developer, you must look at this complete guide on the DevOps toolchain book. After reading the book, you’ll also develop the following skills:
Troubleshoot DevOps toolchain projects Learn the diagnostics standards to troubleshoot DevOps Include the recent advancements in DevOps toolchain with the existing practices
It helps you ideate and brainstorm around DevOps, its tools, process, and so on.
Final Words
A software development pipeline involves so many things that your human workforce isn’t well equipped to handle all these data efficiently. To make an impact in the market, you must develop something innovative that reduces cost and increases user convenience. Also, you need to think about other phases like ideation, prototype development, production, testing, feedback, debugging, and more. When you and your team are involved in all these manual processes, you barely get time to create novel solutions. Hence, you must train yourself and your team to implement DevOps. Then use a standard method to choose your DevOps toolchain and start producing and hosting apps that make a difference. Use the resources mentioned above to train yourself with the advanced concepts of the DevOps toolchain. Next, you can check out the DevOps security best practices guide.
