SRE NEWSLETTER

Issue #8 // January 1, 2021

The Commodification of DevOps
// aparker.io
DevOps is a reaction to the commodification of Agile, and the rise of SRE is a reaction to the commodification of DevOps. Many of the trends you see in software development and delivery can be understood as a cyclical reaction to anarchists running headlong into the invisible backhand of the free market.
How we Compress Pub/Sub Messages, Saving a Load of Money
// blog.lawrencejones.dev
Outside of well known use cases, there are a variety of opportunities to improve efficiency or save a load of money by leveraging compression. It’s useful to be aware of common use cases, so you can take these opportunities when they arise.
APIs All the Way Down
// notboring.substack.com
Packy, a less than technical guy goes down the API-first ecosystem rabbit hole with Shopify, Stripe, Twilio, and more.
Let’s Encrypt Comes Up with Workaround for Abandonware Android Devices
// arstechnica.com
Let's Encrypt's transition to a standalone certificate authority (CA) isn't going to break a ton of old Android phones. This was a serious concern earlier due to an expiring root certificate, but Let's Encrypt has come up with a workaround.
Scott Hanselman's 2021 Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for Windows
// hanselman.com
Scott Hanselman finally updates his personal list of tools that he touches at least a few times per week. If it saves him time, and seamlessly integrates with his life, it's the bomb. Many are free some aren't.
AWS Lambda the Terraform Way
// github.com
The objective of this tutorial is to understand AWS Lambda in-depth, beyond executing functions, using Terraform. This tutorial walks through setting up Terraform, dependencies for AWS Lambda, getting your first Lambda function running, many of its important features & finally integrating with other AWS services.
How are Docker Images Built? A Look into the Linux Overlay File-Systems
// napicella.medium.com
This post starts with a brief description of overlay filesystems. Then goes into how it applies to docker images and how docker builds an image from a dockerfile. Then conclude with layers cache and OCI format for container images.
Linux Hardening Guide
// madaidans-insecurities.github.io
Linux is not a secure operating system. However, there are steps you can take to improve it. This guide aims to explain how to harden Linux as much as possible for security and privacy.
Ransomware Is Headed Down a Dire Path
// wired.com
2020 was a great year for ransomware gangs. For hospitals, schools, municipal governments, and everyone else, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
How Will DevOps Change in 2021?
// dzone.com
This articles goes over some hard-learned lessons from 2020 and changes to the DevOps process that developers and organizations can expect to see in the coming year.