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Although DevOps focuses on infrastructure automation, many manual processes still exist. These can include rewriting scripts to create new servers, updating cloud policies, and configuring computing environments. This manual labor can be time-consuming and inefficient, and often leads to the creation of large, single-use scripts that are difficult for other developers to reuse.
To improve deployment agility, more infrastructure automation is necessary. However, finding the time to automate daily tasks can be challenging, especially when developers are already overwhelmed with work. For those who are short on time, the question is where to begin with automation and how to effectively reuse and share it with others in the organization. Automating key processes can help streamline workflows and free up time for other tasks.
DevOps recently spoke with John Laffey, technical product marketing director at Puppet. Laffey has over 30 years of experience in tech support and engineering operations and has been working in the field of DevOps for a long time. He shared five tips for introducing more infrastructure automation into workflows. These tips include considering the best practices around automation as the industry shifts toward platform engineering.
1. Automate Things That Interrupt Your Day using Infrastructure Automation
Laffey’s first tip is to begin by automating simple, repetitive tasks that take up time and disrupt your workflow. These tasks might include troubleshooting minor issues that take a few minutes to resolve, but can add up over time and hinder productivity. Automating these processes can save time and help improve overall efficiency.
2. Automate Things You Can Reuse using Infrastructure Automation
Laffey’s second tip is to avoid automating tasks for a specific, one-time use. Instead, focus on creating more generic automation that can be useful for a wider range of tasks and be valuable to others. This follows the principles of collaboration and teamwork in DevOps and ensures that the automation you create can be easily reused and shared with others. One-off automation that is too specific to a particular situation is less likely to be useful in other contexts.
3. Automate Stuff That Doesn’t Change Much
Laffey’s third tip is to automate the parts of your infrastructure that are unlikely to change. These are the stable components that you expect to be part of your systems for a long time. Automating these parts of your infrastructure can save time and improve efficiency, but be careful not to automate components that may need to be updated frequently. In these cases, maintaining the automation may be more trouble than it’s worth. As Laffey says, “Don’t trade fixing problems for fixing automation.
4. Start Small
Laffey’s fourth tip is to start small when introducing automation into your workflow. Begin by automating simple tasks that have proven value, and make sure these tasks are modular and do one specific thing. For example, you might automate the process of rebooting a machine or draining a log file. This modular approach makes it easier to change and reuse the automation and helps avoid getting bogged down in trying to automate everything at once.
By starting small and focusing on specific tasks, you can gradually build up your automation capabilities and avoid creating technical debt.
5. Share and Be Open
Laffey’s final tip is to promote a culture of collaboration and sharing within your team. Rather than keeping your automation to yourself, share it with others and make it easy for them to use and reuse your work. Some engineers may be hesitant to share their automation for fear of losing their job, but Laffey emphasizes that there will always be more work to do, and automating repetitive tasks can free up time to focus on more interesting projects. By adopting a culture of collaboration and sharing, you can maximize the value of your automation and improve your team’s overall efficiency.
Laffey encourages DevOps and SREs to be open about the automation they create and to document and store their code in a central repository so that it can be easily accessed and reused by others. This can prevent duplication of effort, where multiple teams within the same organization create different versions of the same script in different languages. By sharing and collaborating on automation, you can maximize the value of your work and improve the overall efficiency of your organization.
Next Step: Move From Scripts to Industry-Standard Tooling
Investing in infrastructure automation can be challenging, especially when engineers are already stretched thin and have a lot of work to do. However, small improvements in automation can have a big impact in the long term and can help streamline workflows and improve overall efficiency. Although it may take time and effort to implement automation, the benefits can be well worth it in the long run.
Laffey suggests moving away from using scripts in your toolchain, which he describes as a low-level approach to DevOps maturity. Instead, he recommends using modern, industry-standard tools like Terraform or Puppet’s DSL to automate your infrastructure. This can help improve your processes and make them more efficient. However, Laffey advises against trying to revamp all your scripts at once, as this can be overwhelming and lead to technical debt. Instead, he suggests gradually updating your scripts one by one and avoiding a monolithic approach. By starting where you are and making incremental improvements, you can gradually improve your automation capabilities and enhance your overall workflow.
According to Laffey, platform engineering involves applying DevOps principles at a higher level to make them more efficient. As platform engineering becomes more widespread, there is likely to be a greater focus on infrastructure automation. In the future, automation will become a necessity in order to keep up with the demands of platform engineering. By automating key processes and making your infrastructure more efficient, you can improve your overall workflow and stay competitive in the rapidly changing world of technology.
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