Posted in 2018

Posted in 2017

Træfik — as an alternative reverse proxy to nginx for self hosted dockerized applications

Containers continue to be a buzz word this year too. A lot of teams try to implement microservices, dividing application into individual units: mini- website contains only presentation layer, REST API (sometimes several REST APIs) handling all business logic. Databases are hosted externally, in some situations running in containers too. Database — sometimes one, sometimes many (depending on business task)

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Evaluating ansible-container as a tool for custom docker containers build

Even today, approach to creating and managing containers is both manual and, in many ways, antiquated. Even for startups that use automation for their build processes, implementing containers often means maintaining complicated shell scripts to build the containers themselves. At the same moment, in classic server provisioning there are bunch of tools like Ansible, Chef, Puppet, Salt that efficiently take care on box provisioning. At the same moment, trying to apply those tools inside containers usually lead to size problem, as well as eliminating garbage upon use. That’s why for now still, if you want minimal image, you manage Dockerfile on your own.

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Posted in 2016

Getting a Development Environment Set Up Before You Finish Your Coffee

As a contractor - software developer, I remaster my work environment often, depending on the project requirements. Also, depending on the NDA, sometimes I work remotely on the boxes provided by my client. All in all, it is important for me to get a typical set of work tools quickly. So, let me share here how I get my new environment up and running while I am drinking coffee.

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Secure Jumpbox to Access your Network Infrastructure from Remote Locations

A jump server https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_server or jump host or jumpbox is a (special-purpose) computer on a network typically used to access devices in a separate security zone. The most common example is managing a host in a DMZ from trusted networks or computers. This could be accessing your home network from remote location. Access internet from your mobile device in public locations via VPN and so on.

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Automating Network Mastering Scenarios for Amazon VPC with Ansible

For a long time, Amazon Web Services has been one of the most often used platforms to deploy and run new projects. For more complex projects, you usually start with mastering your network infrastructure. Fortunately, Amazon provides a definitive guide to most-used network topologies. You can review some at http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonVPC/latest/UserGuide/VPC_Scenarios.html.

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Deploying a Ruby Application with Ansible

Nowadays, you can get your own dedicated server up and running in seconds. Once you get it up, do you really need to spend several hours on configuring it for your application’s needs? Do you really want to repeat the same steps with each new server? In this article, I will give you an idea about automated installation with Ansible, a Simple IT Automation toolkit, and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS server as your box OS.

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Implementing git-flow Releasing Model in Continuous Integration Process

Perhaps most developers are familiar with the git-flow model that makes the release process controlled. In this article, I will demonstrate one of approaches to introduce git-flow releasing into your project, and this git-flow can be integrated with the continuous integration tool of your choice. In this article, I will be using Atlassian Bamboo as an example.

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