Announcing Packer, an open-source tool for creating identical machine images for multiple platforms like AWS AMIs and Vagrant boxes.
Explains the core principles and workflow of Vagrant for creating consistent, automated development environments that mirror production.
A review of the book 'Instant Munin Plugin Starter', covering its practical guide to creating monitoring plugins for the Munin system.
A guide to creating a custom Jenkins CI widget for the Panic StatusBoard app using a script and static HTML.
A guide on using Munin, a lightweight monitoring tool, to track Drupal application statistics like users, nodes, and comments.
A technical guide on deploying JetBrains YouTrack issue tracker on a Windows Azure virtual machine, covering setup, configuration, and firewall rules.
A guide to unit testing Chef cookbooks using ChefSpec, focusing on testing instructions rather than results to catch regressions.
A guide on migrating Chef cookbooks to individual repositories using Berkshelf for dependency management.
A guide to dynamically add SSH known hosts using a custom Chef LWRP, solving automation issues during server provisioning.
Discusses the importance of proper software versioning, common bad practices, and the specific challenges in the .NET ecosystem.
Explores deploying Python applications using native system packages (Debian/RPM) for reproducible, scalable deployments, comparing it to container-based approaches.
A developer shares common mistakes and anti-patterns to avoid when deploying Python web applications, based on professional experience.
Announcing PyMuninCli, a new Python client library for querying Munin monitoring servers.
A technical guide on configuring Microsoft Web Deploy (msdeploy) to work with non-administrator user accounts for IIS deployments.
Automating OBIEE 11g startup/shutdown on Linux using an improved Ant-based script from Oracle's Windows version.
A guide on configuring MongoDB to run as a Windows service, including command setup and troubleshooting tips.
An introduction to using Phing, a free automation tool, to streamline and automate performance optimization tasks in web development.
A reflection on how uneventful days in system development and support can foster a false sense of security and complacency.
A detailed review of the SQL Server MasterClass 2010 event, covering sessions on DevOps, myth-busting, recovery, and GUID performance.
A collection of useful links and tools for Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) development and administration.
