When I reset my PC or setup a new test machine, I always have to download a lot of software. In the past, I’ve used Chocolatey, Boxstarter, or just installed everything by hand.
I’ve played with winget, as part of the Windows Insider program. It was first announced in 2020 but was highlighted during Build 2021. With the release of Windows 11, I’ve setup machines a few times and wanted to automate the process using the new winget command.
When I talk about DevOps, I usually don’t focus on the things like pipelines or automation. While these topics and activities can be part of DevOps, there is so much more to it. I’m sure this will be a multipart blog series so lets get started.
The Definition # Let’s make sure we are all on the same page. The definition of DevOps that I love and subscribe to was coined by Donovan Brown at Microsoft.
This is a phrase I end up using a lot while talking with clients. I used to use a different phrase about elephants but moved away from that language to be more respectful. Let’s start with what it means, at least in the context I use it, and why this phrase is so useful when talking about Devops.
The Meaning # I’ve seen and heard a few meanings and usages of the phrase, “Boil(ing) the Ocean”. I’ve heard many negative contexts like: to undertake an impossible task or project. I usually use it in this context, Here is a big task with lots to do, how do you get started and make progress?
As a DevOps Consultant a lot of what I do is spent on People and Processes. If you remember the definition of DevOps that I love is from Donovan Brown, “DevOps is the union of People, Processes, and Products to continuously deliver value to our end users”. I want to keep reiterating this, continuously deliver value to our end users. I bring this up because my job as a DevOps Consultant is to delivering value to my end users. But not all of us do. My amazing coworker (@_s_hari) and I have discussions about this quite a bit. As far as I know, he coined the term and gave me his blessing to blog about it.
What Isn’t DevOps? # Before I define DevOps, let’s get started with what DevOps isn’t. DevOps isn’t just a title, or a guy, or a department. DevOps isn’t just automating everying, and isn’t just logging everything. DevOps isn’t dozens of alerts every day, and isn’t an on-call rotation. DevOps isn’t agile or small releases. DevOps is a mindset.
I’ve got a template straight from Microsoft. I want this wired into a CI/CD pipeline to I can play around and get quick feedback. I’m going to use Azure DevOps to help make all this possible. Let’s get those templates into a repository to get started. New repository, initialize it, add new files.
Next, I’m going to create a new resource group to play around with my web app resources.
