Highlighting and sharing patterns to enable new approaches and increase velocity on old applications. Just as a car undergoes a binary conversion from “new” to “used” as soon as it leaves the lot, so do custom applications.

iPad Code-Server Owns Its Namespace

Code-server pod can create resources in its namespace

The new capability is running additional pods and services (and ingress and statefulsets) within the development namespace using the developer service account. This limited access role can’t impact other services but can start a container and use internal DNS and services to access them.

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Lab Assistant 1.1 and Deploy Fast

Repository File API call reduces pipeline by 61 lines, also explore the Segregation of Auto Duties / Deploy but Fast project

Lab Assistant 1.1 and Deploy Fast

In support of simplifying the Segregation of Duties pipeline definition, the Lab Assistant app will now create a dotenv formatted file and deliver it to the newly created branch. This perfectly meshes with what the Auto Deploy Image is expecting to allow Segregation of Auto DevOps Duties.

To help make it clear what the intermediate step is between the existing Deployment project example and real DevOps, I created a streamlined version.

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DevOps: Transition the Path to Production

Multiple projects with automated handoff to mitigate generic roles

DevOps: Transition the Path to Production

When transitioning from classic methods to Agile and DevOps, the gatekeepers can feel stuck in limbo. The first step to easing the transition for security reviews, change management, and independent verification is to give them a place they control. As of GitLab 13-ish, the existing roles do not meet this need, despite the merge request approval with branch, tag, and environment protections.

This article lays out a 2 project workflow with an automated merge request handoff to support the access levels needed for segregation of duties with Auto DevOps.

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iPad and Code-Server in Kubernetes Workflow

Building software with a comfortable device and capable tools

Pushing the limits of mobility and performance has become easier now that the iPad Pro has the Magic Keyboard and Visual Studio Code can be web-based as code-server.

TL;DR: It’s pretty nice but has some shortcomings. This article covers both the workflow and configuration.

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Kubernetes Problems to Solve

GitLab's delightful Kubernetes development workflow

One of GitLab’s strengths is creating productivity-boosting constraints that positively impact system architecture and DevOps cycles. This is very clear in the Kubernetes-powered workflow, but discovering this can be impossible if an org is already locked into an ops-focused Kubernetes deployment.

Also, Kubernetes is entirely optional so don’t force it before the operations team is ready. Avoid ClickOps, even if that means delaying orchestration.

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