Webinar FAQ: The Value of Docker Support and Subscription
At Docker, we believe that a vibrant commercial company and open source project can co-exist and in fact their mutual success is linked together. For those of you who have been with us since our open source beginnings, our first … Continued6 Things You (Maybe) Don’t Know About Ansible
Ansible is a very flexible and extensible automation tool, and it can be used in a lot of different environments that may not fit your preconceived notions of Ansible as an SSH-based tool to configure Linux and Unix systems. Here are a few other things you can do with Ansible, and a few ways to further customize and configure how your automation works. I hope these tips are useful! If you have any of your own to share, feel free to send us a tweet @ansible!
1. Ansible can be used to manage more than just servers
Most Ansible playbooks are used to configure and manage servers. Web servers, database servers, and so on. But anything with an SSH interface or an API can be managed with Ansible, too. For example we have modules to talk to cloud platforms, Citrix NetScaler and F5 load balancers, and other networking equipment. These modules are really helpful for tasks like multi-server rolling upgrades or other complicated orchestration tasks that need coordination with your broader networking environment.
You can also implement custom connection plugins for those really weird or legacy devices. There are a number of lesser-known ones shipped with Ansible, including Continue reading
A New Galaxy
We launched Galaxy back around the beginning of 2014 with the intent of creating a place for the community to find and share Ansible roles.
Since that time some truly amazing things have happened including: tremendous growth in the Ansible community, huge successes with Tower, and the steady growth of our company to name just a few. During this time Galaxy grew as well, reaching more than 16,000 users and over 3,000 Ansible roles.
Galaxy as a web site and an application, however, changed very little since the early part of 2014. The home page looks almost exactly as it did the day we launched the site. About the only thing we changed was removing the BETA label and maybe fixing a bug or two.
Well, I’m happy to announce that this is changing. Galaxy will now get the attention it deserves - the attention our community and users deserve. Starting 4 weeks ago we officially made the decision and commitment to treat Galaxy as a product. Galaxy is now on a regular release schedule, and we have a team in place, dedicated to building Galaxy. Our first release launches today. Yay!
From this point forward Ansible is committed to making Continue reading
Deploy to Metal? No sweat with RackN new Ansible Dynamic Inventory API
At Ansible, we’ve been talking quite a bit with our friends at RackN about the work they’ve been doing to make things easier to stand up complex system configurations from bare metal. We’re happy to share some of what they’ve accomplished.
Deploy to Metal? No sweat with RackN new Ansible Dynamic Inventory API: by Greg DeK + Dan Choquette
The RackN team takes our already super easy Ansible integration to a new level with added SSH Key control and dynamic inventory with the recent OpenCrowbar v2.3 (Drill) release. These two items make full metal control more accessible than ever for Ansible users.
The platform offers full key management. You can add keys at the system, deployment (group of machines) and machine levels. These keys are operator settable and can be added and removed after provisioning has been completed. If you want to control access to groups on a servers or group of server basis, OpenCrowbar provides that control via our API, CLI and UI.
We also provide a API path for Ansible dynamic inventory. Using the simple Python client script (reference example), you can instantly a complete upgraded node inventory of your system. The inventory data includes items Continue reading
NGINX and Ansible
Kevin Jones (@WebOpsX) wrote a nice post over on the NGINX blog about installing NGINX and NGINX Plus with Ansible.
One of my favorite features of Ansible is that it is completely clientless. To manage a system, a connection is made over SSH, using either Paramiko (a Python library) or native OpenSSH. Another attractive feature of Ansible is its extensive selection of modules. These modules can be used to perform some of the common tasks of a system administrator. In particular, they make Ansible a powerful tool for installing and configuring any application across multiple servers, environments, and operating systems, all from one central location.
Here are a few NGINX Ansible Galaxy Roles
https://galaxy.ansible.com/list#/roles/466
https://galaxy.ansible.com/list#/roles/551
https://galaxy.ansible.com/list#/roles/471
https://galaxy.ansible.com/list#/roles/1580
Read the full post here: Installing NGINX and NGINX Plus With Ansible
Introducing the Technical Preview of Docker Engine for Windows Server 2016
written by Arnaud Porterie, Docker Senior Engineering Manager It’s here… Never been more stoked before then when I started the docker daemon on Windows today eeeeeeeeeeeee — jessie frazelle (@frazelledazzell) August 11, 2015 As core engineer on the Docker Engine … ContinuedBuild It Better: Five Tips to Develop a Killer DockerCon Europe 2015 Proposal
Have you finished your DockerCon Europe 2015 proposal yet? The September 1st, 2015 deadline will be here before you know it—here are five tips to take your DockerCon Europe 2015 proposal to the next level. 1) Know your … ContinuedDocker Global Hack Day #3: Update on Local Editions, Prizes and More!
Join us for the next Docker Global Hack Day from Wednesday, September 16th through Monday, September 21st! Submit Your Hack Ideas! We are excited to announce first round of cities committed to participating in this global event along with the prizes … ContinuedYour Docker Agenda for LinuxCon
Docker and containers are making a big splash in Seattle next week! LinuxCon runs from Monday, August 17 through Wednesday, August 19 but there are plenty of co-located events during the week including ContainerCon, MesosCon and the Linux Plumbers Conference. … ContinuedSpousetivities at VMworld 2015
It’s that time of year again—time for VMworld! And along with VMworld comes another highly-anticipated event: Spousetivities! That’s right, Spousetivities is back again this year for another set of outstanding activities organized for spouses traveling with conference attendees. If your spouse is traveling with you to San Francisco for VMworld, this is a great opportunity for him (or her) to meet up with other spouses and attend some exclusive activities.
So what’s on tap for Spousetivities this year? Here’s a quick look at some of what’s planned:
- The week will start out with the ever-popular “Getting to Know You” breakfast, held again this year at Jillian’s (right next door to Moscone North). Meet some new folks, eat some great food, and win some great prizes. (Low-fat and gluten-free breakfast options will be available.)
- Following the breakfast is a cooking class at Sur La Table
- Not interested in a cooking class? No worries—Monday afternoon also offers a walking city tour that includes an exclusive opportunity to shop at the San Francisco Jewelry Mart and Gift Exchange (not open for regular retail customers!) as well as a stop at the Ferry Building.
- On Tuesday will the first of two wine Continue reading
VMworld 2015 Prayer Time
Last year, a group of believers gathered for a brief time of prayer while at VMworld 2014. This year, I’d like to again offer believers attending VMworld 2015 the same opportunity to gather together for a time of prayer before starting the day. If you’re interested in attending, here are the details.
What: A brief time of prayer
Where: Yerba Buena Gardens, behind Moscone North (by the waterfall)
When: Monday 8/31 through Wednesday 9/2 at 7:45am (this should give everyone enough time to grab breakfast before the keynotes start at 9am)
Who: All courteous attendees are welcome, but please note that this will be a distinctly Christian-focused and Christ-centric activity. (I encourage believers of other faiths/religions to organize equivalent activities.)
Why: To spend a few minutes in prayer over the day, the conference, and the attendees
Like last year, there’s no need to RSVP or let me know that you’ll be there, although you’re welcome to do so if you’d like. There’s also no need to bring anything except an open heart and a willingness to display your faith in front of others. This is a very casual gathering of believers—we’ll gather together, share some prayer requests and needs, Continue reading
Getting to Know Robyn Bergeron, Community Architect at Ansible
Knowing the members of our Ansible community is important to us, and we want you to get to know the members of our team in (and outside of!) the Ansible office. Stay tuned to the blog to learn more about the people who are helping to bring Ansible to life.
This week we're happy to introduce you to Robyn Bergeron, who recently joined Ansible as a Community Architect. Her prior role was as a Developer Advocate at Elastic, where she worked closely with the ELK stack community. And many of us at Ansible know her from her days at Red Hat, where she was the Fedora Project Leader -- a role that her illustrious boss once himself had.
What’s your role at Ansible?
Open source communities work best when contributors are empowered and enabled to make things happen; the easier it is to contribute, the more likely they’ll continue to do so, and enjoy doing it. As a community architect, it’s my job to ensure that contributors, both long-time and new, are connected with the opportunities, ideas, tools, and people to make great things happen in the Ansible community, with minimal bureaucracy.
A good deal of my focus will Continue reading
Announcing Docker Toolbox
The fastest way to get Docker running in development written by Michael Chiang, Product Manager at Docker Inc. Today we’re announcing a new installer for Mac OS X and Windows called Docker Toolbox. We’ve been hearing again and again that … ContinuedIntroducing Docker Content Trust
written by Diogo Mónica, Security Lead at Docker, Inc. Image Signing and Verification using The Update Framework (TUF) A common request that we’ve heard from the Docker community is the need to have strong cryptographic guarantees over what code … ContinuedAnnouncing Docker 1.8: Content Trust, Toolbox, and Updates to Registry and Orchestration
written by Ben Firshman, Director of Product Management at Docker Inc. We’re thrilled to announce Docker 1.8 with support for image signing, a new installer, as well as incremental improvements to Engine, Compose, Swarm, Machine and Registry. You’ve been telling … ContinuedDocker Demo Webinar: FAQ
Thanks again to everyone who joined last week’s Docker Demo webinar! There were more questions than time to answer them – and we wanted to share the Q&A publicly so everyone had access to this information on their Docker journey. Don’t … ContinuedHow To Do DevOps Without Leaving Legacy Behind
An increasingly apparent and large challenge in IT organizations is how teams can effectively modernize software development and IT operations while still operating and maintaining legacy infrastructure. Often the approach is to merely draw a line in the sand, creating an arbitrary cut-off whereby new implementations make use of the much desired DevOps and Agile methodology.
But what about the legacy environments?
Just because something is “legacy” doesn’t automatically mean that it’s twenty years old. Many so-called legacy systems were deployed mere months ago-- and on modern hardware, operating systems, and storage. For the sake of an agile organization, however, a legacy deployment or environment is anything that is not included in the new processes and approaches required for a DevOps-enabled organization.
The question remains: how can IT organizations successfully apply DevOps and Agile methodologies to existing legacy environments, and what are the benefits from doing this?
Start with the Infrastructure
Regardless of the type and variety of applications in an enterprise IT environment, there are likely many commonalities in the operating system and infrastructure components.
Manual OS build processes typically require significant admin-hours to deliver a single build. Additionally, the reliability of the result is a totally dependent Continue reading
Reactive Containers: How Kitematic works hand-in-hand with the Docker CLI
written by Jeff Morgan, Software Engineer at Docker, Inc. Introduction Kitematic is a desktop app for Mac & Windows with the purpose of helping new Docker users run their first container in minutes. Kitematic streamlines the install process to setup … ContinuedUsing Vagrant and Docker Machine Together
In this post, I’m going to show you a quick tip I used today to combine the power of Vagrant with that of Docker Machine to quickly and easily create Docker-enabled virtual machines (VMs) on your laptop. This could be useful in a variety of scenarios; I leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine the best way to leverage this functionality in his or her own environment.
In my case, I needed to be able to easily create/destroy/recreate a couple of Docker-enabled VMs for a project on which I’m working. The problem I faced was that the tools I would normally use for such a task—Vagrant and Docker Machine—each had problems when used on their own:
- Vagrant has a Docker provisioner, but I could only get it to install the latest released version of Docker. In my case, I needed to run a test version (specifically, the RC2 build of Docker 1.8.0).
- Docker Machine has various back-end drivers that can create VMs into which Docker is provisioned, but the VMware Fusion driver for Machine only works with Boot2Docker. In my case, I needed to run Ubuntu 14.04 in the VMs.
As it turns Continue reading