DEVOPSdigest

XebiaLabs launched DevOps as Code features for the XebiaLabs DevOps Platform.

DevOps as Code allows development teams to specify their end-to-end DevOps pipeline flows, infrastructure configurations, and deployment settings all in code that can easily be versioned and stored alongside application code.

Developers work in code and not in GUIs, so it’s hard for them to connect to the entire DevOps process. DevOps as Code makes the software release process more useful for developers by exposing all of the DevOps processes, including environment, infrastructure, and pipeline information, in their preferred format—“code.” As a result, development teams can manage these settings just as they manage application code: writing simple code in their usual editor, checking it into source control management, applying it as part of their Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines, and testing it with automated testing tools.

XebiaLabs’ latest DevOps as Code features include:

- Everything as Code – The XebiaLabs DevOps as Code format allows teams to define deployment packages, infrastructure, environments, release templates, dashboards, and more in YAML files they can store in source control alongside application code. It’s simple and quick for developers to create, store, reuse, and share pipelines and components defined in code.

- Command Line Interface (CLI) – The new, lightning-fast XebiaLabs CLI lets teams kick off DevOps processes straight from the command line. The CLI also makes it easier to export DevOps configurations as YAML files, so it’s simple for teams to get started using settings they’ve already defined in the XebiaLabs DevOps Platform.

- Best Practice DevOps as Code Blueprints – Development teams can create pipelines in minutes using XebiaLabs’ best-practice blueprints. These blueprints help developers define everything they need to push an app to production “as code”—from configuration items to full releases. Blueprints are built on knowledge that XebiaLabs has gained through delivering DevOps success, so teams can get started quickly and feel confident they are “doing DevOps right.”

Many developers use code-based tools such as Jenkins, Ansible, Puppet, and Chef for portions of the DevOps process that require advanced technical skills. With DevOps as Code, the XebiaLabs DevOps Platform offers a format that is ideal for developers. At the same time, it also includes an easy-to-use GUI that supports less technical team members who don’t work as well in code-based tools.

“Developers prefer working with code and don’t like wasting time in GUIs. Even more, they hate being interrupted by status meetings and non-stop questions about where a feature is,” said Andreas Prins, VP Product Development at XebiaLabs. “DevOps as Code lets developers create, manage, and update the DevOps pipeline using their code-based workflows and still apply strong mechanisms like branching and pull requests on the DevOps as Code items. And with XebiaLabs orchestrating and automating the pipeline, the entire business gets up-to-the-minute, detailed release information without meetings or interruptions, while developers keep on coding.”

Benefits of DevOps as Code

- Simplifies migration of applications from legacy infrastructure to cloud and containers.

- Extends CI tools, allowing teams to kick off releases instantly from within their respective CI pipelines.

- Makes it easy to onboard new projects, pipelines, and teams.

- Standardizes security and compliance, making compliance with IT governance and security requirements a “non-event.”

- Enables complete “Your Mode” DevOps, accessible through the GUI and “as code,” extending DevOps across the entire organization.