Open source projects are by their nature intended to be welcoming, pulling in contributions from many different volunteers. But in reality, open source and the tech industry in general often lack diversity. Speaking at the Open Source Leadership Summit in February, Mozilla’s Chief Innovation Officer Katharina Borchert told the crowd that working to bring ethnic, gender, and skill diversity to open source projects isn’t just the right thing to do because of moral grounds, it’s the right thing to do to make projects more successful.
“The next generation of people coming online and potentially willing — even eager — to engage with us, to contribute to our work, they’re not going to look like us, they’re not going to talk like us, and they’re going to have different expectations,” Borchert said.
“If we want to future-proof our communities, if we want to future-proof our work and everything that we really care about, we need to engage those people. We need to understand those people, and we need to be able to open up our communities and embrace those people,” she continued.
Several studies have outlined the benefits of bringing diverse viewpoints and backgrounds into an organization, and Borchert drew from a handful of those in her presentation. A study from McKinsey Research, for example, showed that across industry, gender diversity on a leadership team brough 15 percent higher financial returns than those without; those with ethnic diversity brought 35 percent higher returns.
Borchert also highlighted work from Karim Lakhani, a professor at Harvard Business School and a member of the Mozilla board of directors, who has dedicated his career to researching open innovation and Open Source communities.
“Open Source is really, really good at taking big problems and breaking them down into small tasks, which in turn allows a much larger pool of potential contributors to join,” Borchert said. “[Lakhani] has also identified some things that we’re not really good at. The main thing is we’re still not very good at avoiding group think and avoiding monocultures by bringing very different disciplines to the table. This is really, really important in the problem solving process.”
According to Borchert, open source projects tend to favor code over software and engineering over product. But, by excluding — whether consciously or not — contributors from other disciplines, projects are stunting their own growth potential.
“[Undervaluing non-coders] leads to undervaluing other roles that are also really important in the work that we do and that you need to have at the table if you do want to build really good products,” she said. “That’s researchers, UX designers, marketers, all the people that you do need if you really, really want to reach your customers. This actually has impact on our work.”
The solution is to deliberately design communities that are inclusive of people with varied backgrounds and skillsets. That doesn’t have to be a dreary exercise in forced cooperation, she said; the best results come from a fun, creative process that brings people on board and then retains them.
The key, she emphasized, is designing with specific inclusionary intentions in mind. “It is so hard to fix problems that have manifested overtime in established communities. We clearly need to do that, and we need to address the issues we have. We can avoid so much of the problems if we are very intentional about our values, our principles upfront.”
Borchert urged projects to publish their efforts and their findings and shine light on their mistakes as well as their successes, so that the community could start learning from each other. Such sharing of information, she said, is fundamental to success. “I have usually learned way more from the dramatic failures in my life than the great successes. It’s really important to share the lighthouses, to share the best practices, and to celebrate together.”
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At the same time that Docker offered to donate its containerd technology to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), CoreOS did the same with its competing rkt. Containerd (pronounced “container dee”) and rkt (say “rocket”) are both container runtime facilities, managing container images, a key component of cloud native computing.
Both can work for any number of container managers, but the CNCF is probably best known as the open forum overseeing the development of Kubernetes, the container manager that Google devised in 2014 and donated to the CNCF in 2015.
3 suggestions on how to stay simple and avoid complexity.
“You don’t understand — as soon as I install consul, set up service discovery for my microservices, build my own containerized continuous integration pipeline to build my code from source using my custom language-specific Dockerfile and set up my highly available production database my system for deploying code to production will be so simple.”
“How many people are in my team? Oh, it’s just me. But one day..”
Sigh ;-).
There’s a lot of complexity in things we use to reduce complexity. This is worth noticing. Three examples:
The HPC community is trying to solve the critical compute challenges of next generation high performance computing and ARM considers itself well-positioned to act as a catalyst in this regard. Applications like machine learning and scientific computing are driving demands for orders of magnitude improvements in capacity, capability and efficiency to achieve exascale computing for next generation deployments.
ARM has been taking a co-design approach with the ecosystem from silicon to system design to application development to provide innovative solutions that address this challenge.
This morning IBM announced the next logical step in its work with Docker containers: Kubernetes support on its Bluemix Container Service. Currently available in a limited beta, its feature set should match Google’s and Microsoft’s offerings.
Kubernetes, the Bluemix way
Previously, the default for managing Docker containers on Bluemix Container Service was to spin them up individually by hand or to use Bluemix’s container groups metaphor, where Bluemix directly managed multiple containers running the same image.
The Apache Camel community introduced a new release a few months ago with a set of components for building microservices. The new key component for microservices support is ServiceCall EIP, which allows calling a remote service in a distributed system where the service is looked up from a service registry on Kubernetes, Openshift, Cloud Foundry, Zuul, Consul, Zookeeper, etc. In addition, it is worth mentioning that now Apache Camel compiles against Java 8 and has improved support for Spring Boot. A full list of changes is available on Camel community site.
The main purpose of this article is to show how to create microservices with Apache Camel in the most common way using its new features available from release 2.18.
IT virtualization has radically changed the face of compute, storage, and network services in data centers and beyond. In response, Colt — a network and communications service provider — back in 2015 began developing a program that has transformed the way the company offers network services to customers, says Javier Benitez, Senior Network Architect, Colt Technology Services, who will be speaking at Open Networking Summit.
According to Benitez, the aim was to move away from a traditional consumption model to one where network services are consumed through an on-demand model based on software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) technologies. Here, Benitez explains more about Colt’s SDN and NFV solutions, focusing on current development efforts and future plans.
Linux.com: What prompted Colt’s adoption of NFV and SDN?
Javier Benitez: Our transformation toward network virtualization started long ago, in 2010, when we defined Colt’s Ethernet and IP integration strategy which included the virtualization of the L3 CPE router used to deliver managed Internet access and IPVPN services. This virtualization was launched in production early 2012 and pre-dated the ETSI NFV group. The same year Colt joined the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) with special interest in the potential use of OpenFlow in the data center (DC) as well as in the transport network.
Javier Benitez, Senior Network Architect, Colt Technology Services
In a very organic way, we began to evaluate these new technologies whenever an area of the network needed to be replaced or evolved. This was the case with Colt data centers when in 2012 we evaluated a new architecture for the next generation switching infrastructure. OpenFlow technology and SDN overlay approaches were considered and, following a trial in one of our DCs in Paris, we deployed a Nicira SDN overlay solution in 2014. Around the same time, we also launched an RFI to evaluate NFV vendors capable of delivering virtual CPE solutions, and selected Versa Networks.
From 2014/2015, we started to observe a real interest and demand from customers, first to understand what the new technology was capable of, and second to request new services to be developed that would make use of SDN and NFV to solve some of their business requirements. Following several focused workshops with key Colt customers, we identified that their top priority was for a new on-demand consumption model, initially for basic Ethernet connectivity with the view to extend to other technology domains (e.g., IPVPN, Internet access, optical) in the future and up the stack to deliver added value services (e.g., virtualized firewall, DPI, application optimization, etc.) on demand on top of basic connectivity. This led to the creation of Colt’s Novitas program.
Linux.com: What is Novitas, and what role does it play within Colt?
Benitez: Novitas, branded Colt On Demand, is a company transformation programme created in 2015 with strong support from Colt’s executive team to completely change the way network services are offered and consumed by our customers. The vision is to move away from a traditional, slow, manual and paper-work based consumption model to one aligned with the IT/Cloud world where network services are consumed through an on-demand model, in real time, either through a web portal or API and based on the use of SDN and NFV technologies.
Novitas is having a profound impact internally, as it is transforming the entire organization. One of the most significant changes has been the need to adapt an agile development process as opposed to the traditional waterfall approach. The development framework is based on rapid development cycles, with a dynamic roadmap that is frequently updated based on both internal and customer feedback. At the same time, new product development processes, new operating models and new commercial models have been defined as new services and products are targeted by the On Demand roadmap.
Linux.com: Can you give us some examples of Colt’s development efforts? What issues are you currently focusing on?
Benitez: Based on the feedback received from our customers, our initial focus was delivering Ethernet On Demand. The value proposition gives customers a portal and/or an API so that they can reserve ports, create point to point Ethernet services, change the bandwidth of an existing service, and finally cease a service, all in real-time. And, all of that can happen across Colt’s Ethernet network deployed across more than 40 metro networks in Europe, to be expanded worldwide (US and Asia) in subsequent phases. The technical solution is based on Cyan (today Ciena) BluePlanet SDN controller controlling Colt’s Modular MSP, an integrated IP/Ethernet, multi-vendor packet network. We initially focused on a service proposition known as DCNet delivering the capability between key data centers in Europe, but it has now been extended and launched to cover any business on-net site, as well as Direct Cloud Access On Demand to Microsoft Azure as well as Amazon AWS.
The second development, also based on customers’ priorities, is the introduction of SD WAN as an evolution to the traditional MPLS IPVPN technology. Customers are interested in a new IPVPN proposition that would allow seamless support of multiple access technologies (MPLS, Internet), dynamic patch selection based on customer on demand configuration and value-added services activation. Another key development is Colt’s SD WAN proposition, based on Versa Networks and an initial NFV platform to virtualize some of the components (e.g., SD VPN-MPLS Gateway, SDN Controller).
At the moment, the Novitas Programme continues with both the Ethernet On Demand development as well as SD WAN, delivering features in a phased approach. At the same time, new products are being added into the roadmap, such as Internet Access On Demand.
Linux.com: What are some challenges you’ve encountered in deploying SDN & NFV solutions and how have you handled them?
Benitez: Probably the biggest challenge initially when trying to bring SDN/NFV services in production has been dealing with the integration to existing OSS and BSS systems. Those systems will obviously evolve and potentially be replaced as we progress the development, but in the initial phases we have to use the systems already in place, and that integration task has been quite important.
Another industry wide challenge is the lack of standards, or maybe even better these days, de facto standards of reference implementations. Some of the areas are quite new and there is still a lot of work and industry convergence that needs to happen. A clear example is NFV orchestration, where a number of open source initiatives as well as commercial solutions are trying to lead the way following the directions given by the ETSI NFV ISG. Standards are also missing when we try to interoperate SDN commercial vendors, as we initially see vendor-proprietary implementations, as well when it comes to interconnecting service providers to extend SDN/NFV services beyond a single operator’s domain. Colt is trying to address this last challenge by actively collaborating in industry forums and engaging with other operators.
Another challenge is product maturity and performance. Unfortunately, here there is no other alternative than testing, testing, and feeding back to vendors to work together in improving the initial products.
Linux.com: What development areas would you like to address in the future?
Benitez: There are three research areas that we are working on at the moment in the context of the Novitas program:
1. Target NFV Platform: Further to the initial deployment of an NFV platform to support the SD WAN development, plus other individual network virtualization needs, we are now evaluating a complete, unified, and distributed NFV platform across Colt including NFV Infrastructure and MANO.
2. Standard SDN/NFV API: Colt is fully committed to help the industry agree on standard APIs that can be used to extend SDN and NFV services across different service providers. We are currently engaged in a collaboration with MEF, TM Forum, and other service providers like AT&T and Orange to deliver an initial set of standard APIS for Ethernet On Demand. This initiative uses MEF’s LSO (Lifecycle Service Orchestration) framework and TM Forum’s Open API framework
3. Optical SDN: We have started to research Optical SDN technologies that could extend Colt’s on demand offering to our optical portfolio. The main objective here is to explore SDN for the Optical layer to enable a fully disaggregated, software-controllable optical transport network, both at the Photonic/WDM layer as well as OTN.
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If you operate within the open source galaxy or the tech industry in general, you’ve likely run across the phrase “cloud-native” with increasing frequency — and you may be wondering what all the buzz is about.
Cloud-native refers to the model in which applications are built expressly for and run exclusively in the cloud — rather than designed and run on-prem, as enterprises historically have done. Cloud computing architecture, which leans heavily on open source code, promises on-demand computing power at lower cost, with no need to spend excessively on data center equipment, staffing and upkeep. Creating cloud-native applications and services is the natural next step for developers accustomed to working entirely in the cloud.
But enterprise-level cloud-native applications require a platform like Cloud Foundry to get up and running in the cloud. Platforms drastically reduce the resource drains associated with “snowflake” infrastructure, and in fact, they automate and integrate the concepts of continuous delivery, microservices, containers and more, to make deploying an application as easy and fast as possible — in any cloud you want, meaning you can operate in a truly multi-cloud environment.
On March 29 at 11 a.m. PST, join Pivotal’s Bridget Kromhout and Michael Coté for a free webinar that will take a deep dive into how cloud-native is the wave of the future and get answers to questions like:
What is the cloud-native approach? How will it benefit your software product team?
How does cloud-native enable cloud application platforms like Cloud Foundry to standardize production, accelerate cycles and create a multi-cloud environment?
Which companies are cloud-native? What lessons can we take from their new model?
Join Cloud Foundry and The Linux Foundation for “Better Software Through Cloud Platforms Like Cloud Foundry” on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at 11:00am Pacific. Register Now! >>
In his talk at Node.js Interactive, Butler said there are two things that stand in the way of achieving a state of development nirvana: one is the time spent coding and thinking about code, and the other is stress.
pm2 is a process manager for Node.js applications, it allows you to keep your apps alive and has a built-in load balancer. It’s simple and powerful, you can always restart or reload your node application with zero downtime and it allows you to create a cluster of your node app.
In this tutorial, I will show you how to install and configure pm2 for the simple ‘Express’ application and then configure Nginx as a reverse proxy for the node application that is running under pm2.
