Linux

My 9th Book – The Modern Developer Experience Published on O’Reilly!

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I’m thrilled to share that my latest book, The Modern Developer Experience (ISBN: 9781098169695), is now available on O’Reilly! 🎉It is a shorter book known as a report with 4 chapters total. You can read the book on O’Reilly’s learning platform.

I am excited about this book because in today’s fast-paced tech world, developers don’t just write code, they navigate cloud platforms, cloud native tools and frameworks, integrate AI, automate workflows, and collaborate across teams to drive innovation. This book is a deep dive into the evolving role of developers and how modern tools, frameworks, and methodologies are shaping the future of software engineering.

Here is the offical book description:

DevOps has delivered transformative changes to tooling and processes, but with it comes new layers of complexity. More modern frameworks and tools, like containers, Docker, Kubernetes, Platform Engineering, GitOps, and AI can accelerate development, but understanding their unique challenges (and how to address them effectively) can make the difference between a team that struggles and one that thrives.

This report explores how organizations can improve the developer experience (DevEx) by reducing complexity, streamlining workflows, and fostering supportive environments. Whether your organization is deeply invested in DevOps or simply looking to improve team performance, this report highlights strategies to elevate your development practices and outcomes.

Here are the chapters:
1. The Modern Developer Experience

2. Raising the Bar, Providing the Right Developer Environment

3. Using AI to Enhance DevEx

4. Developer Experience and the Secure Supply Chain

📖 Whether you’re a developer, team lead, or engineering manager, this book will help you refine your processes and create an environment where developers can thrive.

🔗 Check it out here: The Modern Developer Experience on O’Reilly

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New Platform Engineering Course and Blog

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Many organizations have embraced DevOps and adopted technologies like Kubernetes, cloud computing, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform or Pulumi. Despite these efforts, they often face challenges in delivering on the promises of DevOps and cloud-native. Platform engineering has emerged as the next step in the evolution, breaking down barriers and empowering developers to bring software to the market faster and more efficiently.

Recently I have been working on content to help educate and share my knowledge in this space. I am happy to announce two new pieces of content on Platform Engineering including a new course and a new blog.

Course: Platform Engineering: The Big Picture

Last week my 22nd course was published on Pluralsight! I am really excited about this course because it covers something that has been really hot in tech lately. It is about Platform Engineering. Platform Engineering has emerged as the next step in the evolution, breaking down barriers and empowering teams. Being someone that works with Kubernetes and cloud native this course was right up my alley because I work directly in this space.

The course is titled “Platform Engineering: The Big Picture“. This course will help you explore platform engineering and discover how it can elevate cloud-native development, making developers’ lives easier while achieving new heights in software delivery. Platform Engineering unifies and centralizes toolchains & workflows for self-service making developers’ lives easier while achieving new heights in software delivery.

In this course, you will gain an understanding about Platform Engineering, its benefits, architecture, tooling, workflow and how to adopt it.

Some of the major topics covered in the course include:

  1. A Platform Engineering overview and why it’s needed, how Platforms enhance DevOps and streamline cloud native.
  2. A comparison of DevOps, SRE, and Platform Engineering.
  3. You will learn about Platform Engineering Architecture, its tooling landscape, and Internal Developer Platforms.

Check out the “Platform Engineering: The Big Picture“ course here:

https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/platform-engineering-big-picture

I hope you find value in this new Platform Engineering course. Be sure to follow my profile on Pluralsight so you will be notified as I release new courses! 

Here is the link to my Pluralsight profile to follow me:

https://www.pluralsight.com/authors/steve-buchanan

Blog: 8 tools every platform engineer should know about

I am also excited to announce my second Platform Engineering-related blog post on Pluralsight. This one is titled: “8 tools every platform engineer should know about”. In Platform Engineering there are a lot of tools that can make up a platform. It can be confusing and hard to know what tools to focus on in the Platform Engineering space. In this blog post, I list 8 tools that are a must-know when you are in the Platform Engineering space.

👉 Read the blog post here:

https://www.pluralsight.com/resources/blog/it-ops/top-platform-engineering-tools

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Co-hosting a Learn Live “Linux on Azure” session in the Azure Core IaaS Study Hall

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I am excited to be a part of another Learn Live series. This study hall is all about Azure core IaaS. In this series, we will walk through how to build infrastructure solutions with Azure IaaS services and products. This twenty two-part weekly series will answer your questions live and walk through how to build infrastructure solutions with Azure IaaS services and products.

In the study hall sessions, together with you live, we will work through Microsoft Learn modules focused on various IaaS scenarios in Azure. You can see all of the sessions in this study hall series here:

Learn Live: Azure Core IaaS Study Hall – Events | Microsoft Learn

The series has a solid lineup of speakers from Microsoft and the community! And I will be co-delivering a session focused on Linux on Azure and the 2nd topic will be on open-source database migration on Azure.

Here is a complete description of my session:

Discover the unique benefits of running Linux on Azure, and how to run Linux-based applications and workloads in the cloud with Azure. Then you’ll learn about the issues and considerations for migrating on-premises open-source databases to Azure, the services Azure provides to help you migrate your databases, and how to plan a migration. In this episode, you will:

  • Differentiate between Linux on Azure infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) computing, and the value of each
  • Describe Azure tools and services that bring additional value to Linux workloads
  • Explain the components of Linux virtual infrastructure in Azure, and the role of Microsoft in supporting different Linux distributions
  • Describe the features and services available in Azure for hosting an open-source database
  • Explain the key considerations for implementing a migration project
  • Describe different approaches that you can take for migrating databases

This event will be on March 30, 2023, at 10:00AM – 11:30AM (Pacific).

Register here:

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/reactor/events/18744/

***Update***

If you missed the live session don’t worry. The recording of it posted already. Here is the link to the recording:

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Kubernetes Panel Event

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In February Come Cloud With Us is hosting a Kubernetes panel with some of the industry’s BEST Kubernetes experts. I am honored and humbled to be one of the panelists. This panel consists of K8s experts from Dell, Google, Microsoft, Intercept, United Wholesale Mortgage, and Admincontrol. This is a global panel with panelists and hosts from the United States, Norway, United Kingdom, and Canada. Several of the panelists are also authors, Microsoft MVP’s and CNCF Ambassadors.

Here is a breakdown of the hosts and the panelists:

The hosts:

Abdul Kazi – Cloud Expert

Chris Gill – Cloud Expert and Microsoft MVP

The K8s Panelists:
Kristina Devochko – Microsoft Azure MVP
Kaslin Fields – Developer Advocate at Google
Kat Cosgrove – Lead Developer Advocate at Dell
Steve Buchanan – Principal Program Manager at Microsoft
Nills Franssens – Director of Digital and Application Innovation at Microsoft
Richard Hooper – Microsoft Azure MVP
Glen Belton – Kubernetes Platform Engineer

The panel will discuss Kubernetes and answer attendee questions. This will be a virtual event. This will be an event that you DON’T want to miss! Mark your calendars for the event on Thursday, February 16, 2023 4:00PM-5:30PM CST!

Register for the event here:

https://www.meetup.com/comecloudwithus/events/290494259

***Update

If you missed the live panel here is the recording for it:

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17th Pluralsight Course Published – “Python for Linux System Administration”

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I am excited to announce that I published a Python course on Pluralsight! This course is titled “Python for Linux System Administration“. This is my 17th course with Pluralsight overall and 6th for 2022. It will teach you how to utilize Python to administer Linux servers. This course is suitable for system administrators, DevOps engineers, and anyone working with servers running on cloud.

In this course, Python for Linux System Administration, you’ll learn the core of the Python language, various Python admin modules, & how to combine python scripts with other Linux tools for administration.

Here are some of the major topics that are covered in this course:

  1. Gaining an understanding of the many benefits of using Python for systems administration.
  2. What goes into setting up a Python environment and what IDE’s are the best options to assist you with your Python scripting.
  3. How to install and use Python to Interact with the Linux System.
  4. How to utilize Python modules such as the OS module & psutil to perform various administrative functions.

When you’re finished with this course, you’ll have the skills and knowledge about the core of Python, how it can be used for administration, why you would use it for administration, how to get setup for Python scripting, insight into Python administrative modules & scripts, as well as some real-world examples of administering Linux servers with Python.

Check out the “Python“ course here: https://app.pluralsight.com/library/courses/python-linux-system-administration

I hope you find value in this new Python for Linux System Administration course. Be sure to follow my profile on Pluralsight so you will be notified as I release new courses! 

Here is the link to my Pluralsight profile to follow me: https://app.pluralsight.com/profile/author/steve-buchanan

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Azure Arc Book Published

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I am excited to kick off the new year announcing that my 8th book has been published! This book is “Azure Arc-Enabled Kubernetes and Servers“.

I had the honor to co-author this book with a long-time friend and fellow Microsoft MVP John Joyner. This is John’s latest book since his last 8 years ago!

The forward was written by Thomas Maurer a former MVP and now Microsoft Azure Evangelist. This book was reviewed by fellow Microsoft MVP Adnan Hendricks and a chapter contributed by a buddy of mine Fred Limmer.

This book covers an exciting technology from Microsoft exploring Azure Arc-Enabled Kubernetes and Servers. This book is for DevOps professionals, system administrators, security professionals, cloud admins, and IT professionals that are responsible for servers or Kubernetes clusters both on-premises and in the cloud.

Author copies!

This book covers:

  • Introduces the basics of hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge computing and how Azure Arc fits into that IT strategy
  • Teaches the fundamentals of Azure Resource Manager, setting the reader up with the knowledge needed on the technology that underpins Azure Arc
  • Offers insights into Azure native management tooling for managing on-premises servers and extending to other clouds
  • Details an end-to-end hybrid server monitoring scenario leveraging Azure Monitor and/or Azure Sentinel that is seamlessly delivered by Azure Arc
  • Defines a blueprint to achieve regulatory compliance with industry standards using Azure Arc, delivering Azure Policy from Azure Defender for Servers
  • Explores how Git and GitHub integrate with Azure Arc; delves into how GitOps is used with Azure Arc
  • Empowers your DevOps teams to perform tasks that typically fall under IT operations
  • Dives into how to best use Azure CLI with Azure Arc

You can order the book and watch for its official release here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1484277678

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Guest on The Women in Linux Youtube Channel

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Recently I was a guest on The Women in Linux Youtube channel. It was great to reconnect with Tameika Reed, Dionne Parler, and their team! Here is their website: www.womeninlinux.org. It has been many years since I was on their podcast. They have a weekly show named “How we Linux”. I highly recommend you check it out. I was on episode #14. We talked about many things from authoring tech books, the job market in tech, being a Microsoft MVP, the future of tech and even stocks! Check it out here:

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Speaking at DevOpsDays Minneapolis 2021

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I have been attended DevOpsDays Minneapolis for 4 years. Its always a great event with rockstar speakers and great content. I also always meet some great folks in the DevOps space.

This year I will be speaking at DevOpsDays Minneapolis! This is a huge honor for me as I have a lot of respect for the event organizers and its always world-class event! I will be speaking about Kubernetes and GitOps. My session can be found here: https://devopsdays.org/events/2021-minneapolis/speakers/steve-buchanan

The event is July 20th-21st. It will be a hybrid event (in-person & virtual). I will be speaking in person on the 20th.

Here is my session info:

GitOps and Kubernetes: a Winning Combo

GitOps is an emerging pattern for cloud-native applications. This operating model simplifies Kubernetes ops while simultaneously improving the developer experience. GitOps enables continuous delivery of configuration updates and application deployments to Kubernetes.

Through the lens of GitHub, Argo CD, and Azure Kubernetes Service, we’ll explore use cases and benefits, principles and practices, architecture and tooling, and what GitOps changes in our day-to-day.

Check out the full program for the event here: https://devopsdays.org/events/2021-minneapolis/program

For those that won’t be attending in person you can Live stream it on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_L5NW8kmClZyYz-HFgKsKA

———-Update 7/21/21———-

Today I delivered my session on GitOps and Kubernetes: a Winning Combo. This was my first in-person event since the pandemic in the US started. I went on stage right after Ian Coldwater gave the keynote. Ian had an amazing keynote talking about community, how the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd impacted Minneapolis last year along with how the community came together. I presented to a crowd of a few hundred as well as another couple hundred online.

The online reach of this event was amazing. I even received a message that my session was watched by some folks in Japan!

In my session, we went on a journey through how companies should focus on being software businesses moving to digital, how the pandemic accelerated companies and consumers going digital as well as companies using Kubernetes and GitOps as a way to help power digital transformation.

The conference organizers did a great job pulling off another excellent event while ensuring everyone followed safety guidelines.

Here is the stream recording of my session:

NOTE: If you are interested in learning more about GitOps check out my Pluralsight course titled “GitOps: The Big Picture” here: https://app.pluralsight.com/library/courses/gitops-the-big-picture

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Guest on New Relic Observy McObservface Podcast – GitOps, Kubernetes, Linux on Azure, AI, Blockchain, and more

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I was recently a guest on New Relic‘s Developer Relations team podcast “Observy McObservface” with Jonan Scheffler.

Jonan Scheffler and I talk about Microsoft’s Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Linux on Azure, how Microsoft’s been successful at working in enterprise and open source, where I believe GitOps & Kubernetes is eventually going to go, and my excitement in regards to AI and blockchain as well as how they’re going to impact the world. You can listen to the podcast and read the article links below.

Listen to the Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1225223/8618776-open-is-not-optional-shifting-sands-and-faxing-on-blockchains-with-steve-buchanan

Read the Article:
https://www.therelicans.com/mandymoore/open-is-not-optional-shifting-sands-and-faxing-on-blockchains-with-steve-buchanan-495p

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Speaking at Microsoft Ignite 2020

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I am excited to announce that I am one of the experts in several Ask the Expert sessions during Microsoft Ignite 2020 this week.

I will be a part of a variety of sessions with topics ranging from Linux and PowerShell on Azure, Kubernetes on Azure, Azure Migration, and Transforming Windows Server workloads in Azure.

My Speaker profile:

https://myignite.microsoft.com/speaker/ce1ea0e0-3f42-4986-90ab-aee809e3735d

The sessions are:

Here is the link to the Ignite home page myignite.microsoft.com. I hope to see you on the digital Ignite event and in one of the Ask the Expert Sessions!

Update 9/30/2020

Being a part of several Ask the Expert sessions was really fun! My most memorable session was the Ask the Expert: Linux and PowerShell on Azure session.

This session was packed full of superstars from Microsoft product groups and fellow MVPs including; Jeffery Snover, Jason Helmick, Janaka Rangama, and Alexander Nikolić. Here is a screenshot from the session:

After the session, I tweeted about the session and shared some wisdom about PowerShell, and both Jeffery Snover and Jason Helmick retweet my tweet!

2020 is not all bad. It’s pretty cool when the inventor of PowerShell and the PowerShell Program Manager retweet you!

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