
A software lifecycle originates from development-centric people and ends with operational-centric individuals. Well, that pretty much sums up the traditional software lifecycle. Companies earlier on were pouring in millions to develop software and keep them bug-free to help serve their customers and make profits. But unfortunately, the expenses were shooting up due to costly errors, bugs, and faulty workflow. As a result, for decades software industry was stuck in producing sub-par quality software. So, in this blog, we have put together a list of the top 10 DevOps tools that can be used to achieve a successful DevOps transformation.
That all changed when the DevOps concept was first introduced as an extension to Agile methodologies back in 2007. Suddenly companies started taking note of this new way of developing and maintaining software while completely shattering the barriers between the development and the operations team. As a result, DevOps adoption grew massively over the years, and today, surveys forecast that the global DevOps Software market will grow to a USD 6.6 billion market in 2022. In addition, the demand for DevOps professionals in today’s IT market has grown exponentially. DevOps Master Certification training is an advanced level course for the individuals/professionals and organizations that look ahead to gain a thorough understanding of DevOps skills, knowledge, and principles.
DevOps created a perspective shift toward considering software as a means rather than an end. It isn’t a technology but rather a methodology that combines “Development” (Dev) and “Operations” (Ops) teams who have different objectives and mindsets towards a software lifecycle.
The following are the driving forces behind massive DevOps success and benefits:
Team collaboration
Automation
Tools
So, here we will discuss top DevOps tools that play a pivotal role in churning out high-quality software that consistently enhances customer experience and improves over time.
Need of DevOps Tools?
DevOps reduced a major chunk of tasks, leaving many that need to be automated to improve efficiency and productivity. So here’s how DevOps tools help businesses:
It provides help to every DevOps stage, starting from planning to monitoring
Tools offer an entire picture of the workflow that helps identify various tasks prior
Combined with automation, each tool maximizes efficiency
Through these tools, business is optimized and streamlined
Speeds up software development and maintenance lifecycle
Enables a company to focus on creative and innovative aspects rather than tending to repetitive, redundant tasks
Top 10 DevOps Tools
Every industry that deploys DevOps tools doesn’t have the same requirements. No two companies will have similar requirements even if they belong to the same domain. Before zeroing in on a particular tool, organizations must keep their requirements on top. For example, a company could choose a third-party vendor for a paid centralized, integrated service or choose open-source tools that better integrate with other tools.
Here we stacked a list of the top 10 open-source DevOps tools that will help a company get a better idea of selecting a tool they need. It will also help those DevOps aspirants who are upskilling their careers to break into the DevOps domain. So without further ado, let’s get started.
Git
It’s a version control system (VCS) that allows you to keep track of changes within your file. It boosts productivity and eliminates the inefficient process of making separate files and folders for each source code version. In addition, Git helps developers easily coordinate the work among the team. If a version goes haywire, it can instantly revert to the most stable version.
Key Features of Git:
An open-source tool that is free to use
Very scalable and reliable
Secure Hash Functions (SHA1) to name and identify objects within its repository.
Features branch workflow
Allows distributed development that continues without disruption, unlike a centralized development environment
It’s easy to implement and compatible with most HTTPS, FTP, and SSH protocols.
Good package for developing mission-critical software
Enables a faster release cycle
Supports Pull Requests
Git is perhaps the most used version control tool among all its competitors. Because it has impeccable support for multiple workflows and packs in high performance, it’s considered the de facto tool for handling the code.
Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Accenture, etc., are some of the numerous tech companies that use Git.
Docker
Docker packages deploy and run apps securely, irrespective of the running environment. The containerization trend is quickly picking up the pace and momentum in the IT sector. And Docker is playing a pivotal role in all this.
In addition, every app container consists of a source code, supporting files, system config files, run time, and all other components required for executing the app.
Docker Engine helps access the containers and thereby execute apps even in a remote environment. As a result, Docker has paved the way for lower infrastructure costs which is a huge plus for the adoption of containerization. Moreover, according to an industrial survey, 2 out of 3 companies have adopted Docker within 30 days of trying it out.
Key Features of Docker:
Docker could be used with any language
Containers can run in any environment
Capable of scaling to thousands of nodes
Update without even facing a downtime
Many multinational enterprises and businesses use Docker every day to improve their productivity and lower costs. For example, Uber, eBay, The New York Times, and Paypal use Docker to achieve their objectives.
Slack
Slack is undoubtedly one of the most popular communication and collaboration tools among its competitors.
Key Features of Slack:
Slack offers standard, free, and even enterprise versions (paid)
It’s an intuitive, user-friendly tool
Features user-friendly project management architecture that works well with project management tools such as Trello, Twitter, Google Hangouts, etc.
Strong search capabilities that ease document tracking, file sharing, and management
Offers direct chat, video, or voice calling capabilities
Have a host of pre-built integration points, paving the way for numerous solutions for many business tools
Slack can be accessed from Desktop and Mobile as well
Features extensive storage space
GitHub
GitHub is a popular tool in the collaborative space. Developers use this tool to make quick iterations of the code. While they change the source code, the notification stating this change is sent instantaneously to other team members. So in case of any mishap, developers could easily roll back to the previous version within a few seconds.
Key Features of GitHub:
Easy project management
Effective team management
Packages and code are secured
Easy code hosting
Jenkins
Jenkins is a popular open-source continuous integration server. It automates the complete build cycle of software. In addition, Jenkins offers a Pipeline feature, which developers use to commit code to the repository, run test cases, and even fetch test reports. You can also use it for reporting.
Jenkins offers a highly customizable tool offering real-time feedback. It helps in tracking bugs faster and eliminating them in the development process. In addition, Jenkins automates most tasks and tools within the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC).
Key Features of Jenkins:
Free Open-Source Tool
Easy distribution
Extensible using plugins
Easy to install
Puppet
Puppet is an open-source configuration, server management, and deployments tools used within DevOps. It could be organized as reusable modules for a speedy setup and is compatible with many platforms.
Key Features of Puppet:
It’s based on master-slave architecture
User-friendly intuitive tool
Real-time node management, reporting, etc.
Many top companies such as Cisco, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Teradata, etc., use it.
Ansible
Ansible helps in automating apps and infrastructure such as cloud deployments, network configuration, development environment creation, orchestration, etc.
Key Features of Ansible:
Open-source tool
Based on master-slave architecture
Supports push configuration
Completely agentless
Easy to learn
Features minimal commands and is user-friendly
Doesn’t hang your device because it doesn’t feature loaded like Puppet or Chef
Lowers infrastructure costs and increases replication speed
Chef
The Chef could transform infrastructure into code and is a powerful configuration management automation tool. Therefore, it configures IT and system components like networks, servers, applications, and storage. In addition, it’s a crucial stage in any SDLC. If we remove the automation part, configuration management is a tedious, resource-draining task.
Key Features of Chef:
Open-source tool
Easy to integrate with cloud-based platforms
Active and fast-growing community support
Companies such as Mozilla Firefox, HP, Rackspace, Walt Disney, and Expedia use Chef to handle this crucial phase of their SDLC.
Nagios
The software life cycle will face infrastructure problems despite following the best industry practices. From an organization’s point of view, they must be able to identify and resolve it before it affects their business processes.
Key Features of Nagios:
Automatically fix problems when detected
Server performance issues are monitored and troubleshooted
Helps in planning infrastructure upgrades before facing failure due to outdated systems.
Major corporations such as Sony, Siemens, Toshiba, and Yahoo, use it to monitor and troubleshoot various issues.
Sentry
Sentry is the last tool in our top 10 DevOps tools many companies use for error and bug detection. Moreover, this tool supports many languages and frameworks.
Sentry is built to continuously scan lines of code across the entire system and is programmed to send notifications if it finds bugs or errors. Therefore, it’s much like using Grammarly; it highlights issues and offers an appropriate solution implemented with a single click.
These are our top 10 DevOps tools used across various companies worldwide. And as we mentioned earlier, the features of a popular tool don’t mean it could be deployed in the development of every software. Instead, the business requirements are the basis of deciding which tool is suitable for maximizing productivity, efficiency, and team collaboration.
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