Podcasts by Daily Check-In with Ned1313

Bringing Buffer Overflow Back? from 2022-02-23T02:20:30

I hosted a podcast called Buffer Overflow for about 4 years and 200 episodes. The company I worked for took down the podcast and all of its episodes. Should I host them on my own? Would anyone l...

Disney World Retrospective from 2022-02-21T21:52:54

I'm going to Disneyland! Er, World. I went to Disney World, and naturally it got me thinking about technology, in-groups, and market share. Sounds strange? It'll all make sense once you listen.

Certified Recycled from 2022-02-08T01:33:53

There's an age old debate in tech about the utility of certifications. It's an argument we've had a hundred times. So let's have it again! This time I'm thinking about how a certification can he...

Pendulum Central from 2022-02-05T00:57:29

Is there anything inherently good about decentralization? Is one approach always more effective or equitable than the other? The realm of technology is lousy with example of both centralized and...

Web3 is like a wrench from 2022-02-04T00:28:07

Tools and technology are mostly amoral. What matters is the intent of the individual using the tool. A system is what it does, or more accurately what one does with it. Blockchain, cryptocurrenc...

You're Already There from 2022-02-02T21:30:11

I read an interesting article today talking about how you don't need the cloud. Which is true! You don't need the cloud. Then the article went on to detail all the ways they are using cloud serv...

Scripting 2: Electric Boogaloo from 2022-02-02T03:04:49

Furthering my thoughts on when to script and not, let's turn our focus to live training, presentations, and keynotes. Also, guess what I just committed to at Pluralsight? Hint: it's a bunch of c...

A Pre-script-tion from 2022-02-01T01:38:31

A listener asked about my thoughts on writing scripts for creating training videos or doing it off the top of my head. I've tried both approaches, and the answer for me is a hybrid mix. Scripted...

Nostalgia is a Helluva Drug from 2022-01-20T02:05:15

Are you feeling nostalgic about 15 years ago? Was it really that good back then? When I take an honest assessment of the things I'm nostalgic for, the rose-tinted lenses drop away and I realize ...

Embracing the Grind from 2022-01-18T23:56:26

Most things worth doing take time to do them. And time is a commitment. As I've mentioned before, you should avoid overloading yourself, so it's important to think about whether the payoff is wo...

Maybe Enough Is That from 2022-01-15T00:27:17

I'm a restless person. It's hard for me to do a single thing for any period of time. I'm always looking forward to the next thing. Trying to achieve more, better, faster. And that is exhausting....

Web3 Infrastructure from 2022-01-14T10:15:17

I recently had a conversation with someone about what it takes to run components of a web3 application, and where web3 apps fit into the larger picture of applications in general. It was fascina...

Jobuary? from 2022-01-12T02:37:58

Seems like everyone is changing jobs to celebrate the new year. Is this unique to 2022, or is it a more common thing? What would it take to drag me away from my life of luxury and self-employmen...

Hard Habit to Break? from 2022-01-08T03:37:43

Being a generally contrary person, I find it hard to create habits. As soon as I have a steady schedule or solid set of expectations, my contrary nature wants to subvert it. I've used that to ha...

Resumes are an outdated concept from 2022-01-04T23:49:16

Except they aren't. The reality is more nuanced and complicated, especially for folks early on in their career. As you grow more senior and build your professional network, the need to have a re...

2021 Year in Review from 2022-01-03T21:36:21

2022 is upon us! And it's already off to a shaky start. Let's look back on 2021 and I'll share some of my accomplishment and things I'm proud of from the year. There was a lot of technical conte...

Clarity Through Writing from 2021-12-23T00:14:25

I've found a renewed focus on writing and I believe it is improving my presentations and courses. The process of writing out a technical topic forces you to really think through how things work....

Managing Terraform Cloud with Terraform from 2021-12-22T00:03:38

As I prepare my course on Getting Started with Terraform Cloud, I am learning a lot about how companies might want to manage Terraform Cloud at scale. The answer is to use automation, and what b...

Training for 2022 from 2021-12-21T00:03:17

This year was a fantastic year for creating educational content. My Pluralsight catalog grew by six courses, and I started working on a series of liveProjects for Manning. I thought I would refl...

Passing the Terraform Associate Exam from 2021-12-17T22:07:01

The Terraform Associate exam is meant to test those with an associate level understanding of Terraform and about six months of solid experience with the software. How can you prepare yourself to...

Networking without expectation from 2021-12-15T21:51:06

A few things have coalesced in my brain in the last couple weeks. The first is something I've strived to do in my career, and it has really paid off. That thing is being kind and approachable. T...

Web3 isn't what you think it is. from 2021-12-14T21:32:15

Blockchain, cryptocurrency, web3? Is it all just a solution in search of a problem? Or is there something real underneath. I believe there is a real use for blockchain, but it's not the revoluti...

Infrastructure as Data? from 2021-12-11T16:14:29

Continuing my thoughts on the need for a CDK when developing IaC, I came across an interesting post (hat-tip Scott Lowe) about Crossplane and the concept of Infrastructure as Data. While I'm not...

HashiCorp IPO from 2021-12-10T01:22:19

The software that HashiCorp creates has had a profound effect on my life. And the people behind that software are some of the best folks I know. I've never been prouder to be part of the HashiCo...

Why You Need a CDK from 2021-12-08T21:54:21

In Terraform, I was trying to do a data transformation and it broke my brain for a bit. I've since recovered, but it got me thinking about the proper place for data manipulation for infrastructu...

Can You Afford an Outage? from 2021-12-08T00:02:02

Yes. Yes you can. The recent AWS outage today served as a reminder that even cloud services fail, no technology is infallible, and you should always plan for downtime. It will also be a chance f...

Embracing Hybrid Cloud from 2021-12-01T21:57:37

This week's Day Two Cloud is all about Azure Arc and Microsoft's Hybrid strategy. Is hybrid cloud really a thing? You bet your sweet bippy it is. 78% of respondents to the 2021 Flexera State of ...

Making Time to Write from 2021-12-01T01:39:08

For the first time in a while, I wrote a technical post on my blog and it immediately got attention from Microsoft. It reminded me that there is a significant difference between writing and othe...

Five Reasons You Need a Platform Team from 2021-11-30T00:02:14

Do you need a platform team at your organization? The answer is probably yes. The platform team delivers a consistent experience to your application development teams, and works with specialized...

An "Overnight" Success from 2021-11-24T01:28:32

Every overnight success is years in the making. The recent growth of the Day Two Cloud podcast has caused me to reflect on how much work it took to get to this point, and how that applies to mor...

A Good Monday from 2021-11-22T23:57:55

Sending good vibes your way, I had myself an excellent Monday. Excellent podcast recording, got my home lab working, and finished the demos on a project for Manning. I know it's a short week, bu...

A Little Automation Advice from 2021-11-18T21:47:09

Today was all about automation in my corner of the world, and it got me thinking about some lessons learned. In a nut shell, automation is hard, try not to make it harder. Don't do too much at o...

What's Going On With YouTube? from 2021-11-17T21:55:07

My YouTube channel has been a bit stagnate lately. In case you're wondering why, I've got some answers and some plans for the future. More content is on the way, but it's gonna be a minute.

Prosimo at Cloud Field Day 12 from 2021-11-16T21:08:20

Multi-cloud is a reality for many organizations, as is multi-region. The question becomes, how do you effectively tie together the networking for your cloud presence and your on-prem datacenters...

MemVerge at Cloud Field Day 12 from 2021-11-10T23:49:50

MemVerge presented their AppCapsule technology at #CFD12 and it got my mind buzzing. There are so many potential applications for this technology! I think the team at MemVerge is doing the right...

Yotascale at Cloud Field Day 12 from 2021-11-09T23:56:57

Yotascale was one of the presenters at #CFD12 and I was impressed by the depth of analytics and integrations offered in their multi-cloud cost management solution. It's clear that they are heavi...

Draining My Social Battery from 2021-11-08T21:44:10

Even at the best of times, my endurance for continuous social interaction is not that high. #CFD12 last week showed me just how out of practice I am. Now that I'm back home, I'm ready to hole up...

Passing the AWS Solution Architect Pro Exam from 2021-11-02T23:37:21

Yesterday I successfully recertified for the AWS SA Professional certification. I remember studying for months to pass the first time, and this time I studied for 6-8 hours before sitting the ex...

Yotascale at Cloud Field Day from 2021-11-02T00:59:04

We look at your cloud. We tag your cloud. Yota, yota, yota. You save money. What we can't yota over the money saving part? That's right, you can't. Yotascale is looking to control cloud costs th...

Prosimo at Cloud Field Day from 2021-10-29T19:58:56

Multi-cloud networking is still in its infancy. Lots of vendors are vying to be the right solution. @Prosimo_io is one of those vendors, and I think their solution is intriguing. They are trying...

MemVerge at Cloud Field Day from 2021-10-29T00:54:02

I always felt that PMEM was a solution in search of a problem, but @MemVerge has built a whole platform on the premise that I am wrong. At Cloud Field Day 12 (#CFD12) they will be presenting the...

Ondat at Cloud Field Day 12 from 2021-10-28T01:30:54

Cloud Field Day 12 (#CFD12) is happening in-person next week! I'll be one of the on-premises delegates serving as a proxy for you. One of the presenters is Ondat, formerly StorageOS. I thought I...

Not a Joiner from 2021-10-25T23:20:07

All my life I've been reticent to deeply identify with a pursuit. To go all in on a hobby. To join and participate in a community. I'm not a joiner. Never have been. There's a certain level of f...

VMware Buying HashiCorp? from 2021-10-22T23:46

My buddy Keith Townsend had an interesting post on his substack about whether VMware should buy HashiCorp? I like his reasoning, especially the light criticism of how they have developed their T...

Azure Arc is the Future of Microsoft Hybrid from 2021-10-21T23:35:37

Yesterday Ethan and I recorded a fascinating episode of Day Two Cloud with Ben Weissman. He brought the knowledge about Azure Arc and its Data Services. That led to me thinking deeply about the ...

An API Gateway By Any Other Name from 2021-10-21T00:25:14

Is just a fancy reverse proxy if we're being honest. HashiCorp announced the preview of Consul API Gateway during the day two keynote of HashiConf Global. Initially, I was feeling pretty sceptic...

HashiConf Global Recommendations from 2021-10-19T23:43:58

HashiConf Global is this Tuesday and Wednesday. I thought I would review what I've watched so far and make some recommendations on what to watch once everything is available on demand. If you're...

Editing for a Better Tomorrow from 2021-10-18T23:35:15

For the first time in a while, I've had to edit my own Pluralsight course. It's reminded me how essential the editing process is to improving my presentation and communication skills. Since I no...

Tired of Tech? Music Time! from 2021-10-15T22:54:47

I'm tired of talking about tech and content creation today. Let's talk about awesome music we're listening to! We got good stuff like Spiritbox, Manchester Orchestra, Remi Wolf, and a tiny bit o...

Hybrid is the new Cloud from 2021-10-15T00:55:57

There's this tacit assumption that all things will go the way of the cloud. And it implies that anything on-prem is old, old-dated and should be put on life support until it expires. Times they ...

My OS is Better Than Yours from 2021-10-13T00:39:13

It's exhausting how precious people are about their preferred technology and what lengths they will go to show you how very wrong you are about your preferences. Sometimes its good natured ribbi...

The Load Balancer DNE from 2021-10-12T00:38:35

Abstractions are a tricky things, especially when they are presented in a UI or CLI as a complete whole. Look a little closer and soon you see the seams, duct tape, and twine holding it all toge...

Video Killed the Audio Star? from 2021-10-08T23:06:43

With 20+ Pluralsight courses under my belt, I am looking for ways to shake things up. Should I add live video to my courses to better engage with learners and give them a face to match the voice...

Terraforming My Mental Health from 2021-10-08T00:37:03

Being injured sucks. Maybe this is something lifelong athletes build up a tolerance to, but I came into running later in my life and I never developed that particular trait. Fortunately, the bes...

Facebook Down Schadenfreude from 2021-10-04T21:11:35

The Book of Face is going into its fourth hour of being down. I'm tempted to laugh maniacally and cite karma, but I also have to remember that more than Zuck's bottom line is impacted. Ops folks...

Making a Plan for Learning from 2021-10-01T20:44:58

I'm working on a talk for an event coming up and I thought I would hash it out live for all to hear. That's right! Extemporaneous thoughts from my mouth to your ears. That was weird wasn't it? S...

Part 2 of HashiCorp's State of the Cloud Report from 2021-09-30T20:39:55

I still have thoughts! Let's dig into the methodology of the survey and report, see who the respondents were and how that might color the data. I also have some mixed feelings about the cloud co...

HashiCorp's State of the Cloud Report from 2021-09-29T20:43:09

Skills shortage, security concerns, and multi-cloud everywhere. Those are some of my key takeaways from the report. Join me in this episode where I live read through the report and give me hones...

Community Recognition Programs from 2021-09-27T20:43:45

Many vendors have a community recognition program that rewards folks that make an impact. What do you expect to get out of such a program, when does it make sense to apply, and why might you lea...

Thoughts on Tech Startups from 2021-09-24T20:28:25

If I were evaluating a new tech startup, I would want their offering to embrace three key things. First, their solution needs to be cloud-agnostic. Second, it must take advantage of cloud-native...

Better Learning Through Video from 2021-09-24T00:35:22

Most research points to a multi-medium experience when you are trying to learn a new concept. Audio, reading, video, and tactile experiences all work together to increase retention. After attend...

In-person Isn't Going Anywhere from 2021-09-22T02:48:55

Attending my first in-person event since the start of the pandemic, I am struck by how much better it is than a virtual conference. It isn't just the Zoom burnout that I was already feeling. The...

Brevity and Efficiency from 2021-09-21T03:19:50

Two things that I need to work on are brevity and efficiency. I need to become ruthless in paring back my instruction to the essentials and become more efficient with my word choice. These are s...

An End to Patreonizing from 2021-09-15T19:00:18

I started a Patreon to offset the opportunity cost of my YouTube channel content, but it didn't really work out. So I am retiring the Patreon in favor of pursuing sponsorship opportunities. Chec...

Don't Want To Be A Pedantic Idiot from 2021-09-15T01:06:19

When I see a long screed about how people are using a term or concept incorrectly, I wonder what that post says about the person who wrote it. Chances are it doesn't say anything kind. Pedantry ...

How Much To Charge from 2021-09-13T20:41:28

Books have been written on this topic and I don't think I'll cover all the pertinent pieces here, but I've assembled a few thoughts. For starters, try asking other people in your field what they...

Do It For Free? from 2021-09-10T20:46:51

There are some situations where I would rather do a job for free than do it at a discount. Free can build goodwill and social capital. Doing it at a steep discount fails to build the goodwill an...

Only People Understand People from 2021-09-09T00:49:54

Worried about AI or ML taking your job? Don't. Because organizations are made up of people, and people do incredibly weird things with technology. Things that an AI would struggle to understand....

Constant Craving Structure from 2021-09-08T00:55:42

As much as I enjoy the summer, after a while I crave the structure of the autumn. Children go back to school. Bedtimes get a little earlier. And I can feel myself becoming more productive. This ...

The DevOps Kids Are Alright from 2021-09-03T17:45:36

There was an interesting blog post, more of a rant really, that dug into some problems with the modern DevOps movement. Many of the central points resonated with me, but I also got some "back in...

Salary Transparency Feedback from 2021-09-02T21:19:54

Looks like people have some strong feelings about salary sharing! Well, I kind of knew that. But I have to say, this is the most feedback I've ever received from an episode of the Daily Check-In...

Salary Transparency from 2021-08-31T21:49:18

Should you share your salary with your coworkers? What is the impact on yourself for doing so? Is it all a zero sum game where you have to get yours, or can the pie get bigger for everyone? Ther...

No Country for Best Practices from 2021-08-30T21:09:38

You keep saying best practices. I do not think it means, what you think it means. When it comes to best practices, chances are you're going to get a generalized set of recommendations that may o...

Clearer Explanations from 2021-08-27T20:48:09

Many of you are bloggers or have written tech tutorials. Explaining concepts and ideas is hard! Writing with clarity and economy is something that I have struggled with, and I am constantly tryi...

Kindness and Empathy from 2021-08-26T22:51:18

I have three pillars that I try to practice professionally and personally: embrace discomfort, plan to fail, and be kind. The last one used to be "be nice", but I have recently revised it based ...

State of IT Pro Learning from 2021-08-25T23:41:35

The esteemed Ethan Banks ran a survey about how IT Pros are learning today. The survey is still going, so you can check it out now and leave your response! I thought I would run through the ques...

NGINX Sprint 2.0 Wrap-Up from 2021-08-25T00:52:01

I was a panelist for the Tech Field Day Extra portion of #NGINXSprint 2.0. During the past two days I learned a lot of cool stuff about what NGINX has been doing and where they are going. I thou...

Stumbling Around Tech from 2021-08-23T23:23:29

We get so caught up in the hustle culture, sometimes we forget the reason we're doing this. The hustle is not the end, it's a means to an end. We need to recognize when we get there, and remembe...

Updating Content is Hard from 2021-08-20T19:23:45

When you're developing course content on a constantly evolving technology, it can be a real challenge to keep things up to date. Is there a better way? Do you prefer tightly-couple course module...

Checking in with Ned from 2021-08-20T00:50:50

I thought I would do a check-in with myself and see how this whole Ned in the Cloud LLC endeavor is going. The short answer is that things are going well and I've got a solid plan for the next 6...

Security Tradeoffs in the Cloud from 2021-08-18T22:56:41

When a process moves to a cloud environment, it's probably time to evaluate whether the process still makes sense. This is especially true of security, where you have so many more options when i...

Getting Started Should Be Easy from 2021-08-17T22:51:46

One or my frustrations with open source projects and vendor products is a lack of clear communication and simplicity in getting started. The copy on most websites should be burned and those ashe...

Lessons from Internet Explorer from 2021-08-16T20:52:58

In June of 2009, IE had 65% market share. In July of 2021 it has less than 1%, with Microsoft's replacement Edge only holding 3.5%. What was once the dominant force in the browser wars has decli...

Paying Attention to Everything and Nothing from 2021-08-06T01:02:56

There are so many different communities and platforms out there, it's really hard to focus on a narrow few. But if you don't prioritize, then you can't focus on anything at more than a surface l...

Of Mice and Man from 2021-08-04T21:09:06

Sit right down and I'll tell you a tale of bad assumptions, unintended consequences, and incomplete troubleshooting. It's a story of mice, manuals, and one man lived through it all. That man? It...

Cloud Outpost Part Deux from 2021-08-04T01:54:41

As a follow-up to yesterday's episode, we are going to take a look the financial and operational models enabled by cloud outposts. It's not just AWS and Azure get in on the action either. We've ...

What are Cloud Outposts? from 2021-08-02T23:34:41

There was an interesting article from The Next Platform that looked at data from IDC and other sources on the sales of cloud outpost hardware. What is this cloud outpost thing? In this episode, ...

You Could Die From Exposure from 2021-07-30T19:07

Two big thoughts in today's check-in. First, if someone asks you to create content for your company or organization, then they should be paying you for it. Second, content creators who aren't wo...

Reading's Not Cheating from 2021-07-29T23:47:29

One of the things I've learned in my career is there's too much to hold in your head at one time. You will forget commands, and arguments, and syntax. And that's fine. You can always look it up....

To K8s or not to K8s? from 2021-07-28T21:11:53

That is my question. Do I use Kubernetes extensively in my next HashiCorp Vault course or stick with an IaaS deployment. The answer, of course, is to do both. I think I'll end up leaning more in...

Fairness and Massive Corporate Profits from 2021-07-27T20:59:51

Microsoft, Apple, and Google all reported record earnings. But the pandemic hasn't been so kind to everyone. Are tech companies getting too big? Can small companies still posed a threat? How doe...

Building Platforms in the Cloud from 2021-07-27T00:13

The annual State of DevOps report from Puppet is out and some of the conclusions mirror what I've been hearing in the industry. DevOps teams are out, Team Topologies are in. Using the vanilla cl...

Following Your Passion from 2021-07-23T21:26:28

Mitchell Hashimoto has announced he is stepping away from a leadership position at HashiCorp to focus on an engineering, individual contributor role. That is a massive change, but I also think i...

Known Unknowables from 2021-07-22T20:43:47

When it comes to outages and incident response the most important is people. Having the right people is going to make all the difference when production breaks, and I can guarantee that it will....

Today was a good day from 2021-07-21T20:37:33

Sometimes you have a good day as a content creator. Today was one of those days. So I am going to take a moment and just enjoy it.

--------------------------------------------------------...

GCP vs. Azure from 2021-07-20T00:34:43

Google and Microsoft have very distinct design philosophies and nowhere is that more obvious than on GCP vs. Azure. Microsoft's approach boils down to simplicity and ease of use. But there's a c...

The Developer Decision from 2021-07-16T18:52:16

To learn to program or not? That is the question. Whether it is nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of IaC infrastructure, or takes arms against a sea of troubles and by learning Python end t...

Don't Be a Manager from 2021-07-15T20:51:14

I mean you can, if you really want to. But there are so many possible paths to take in tech and not all of them include managing people. Some folks are great at it, others learn to be great at i...

That's no demo! That's consulting! from 2021-07-15T01:23:37

Sometimes I am asked why the applications and infrastructure I deploy in my demos and videos is so simplistic. And there's a good reason, several in fact.

--------------------------------...

Almost Tech Famous from 2021-07-13T22:44:57

It's easy to get caught up in the numbers game of social media. But even the most famous folks in tech aren't actually that famous. With the exception of an Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, tech famous ...

Doing Stupid at Scale from 2021-07-12T20:53:28

Cloud empowers you to do stupid at scale. That could be a fat-fingered value, a major security hole, or a poorly written application. Cloud isn't going to fix everything for you, it just let's y...

Futureproofing Through Humans from 2021-06-26T01:33:57

Technology moves too fast for us to accurately predict the future. How do you plan for the next two years when you can barely predict the next six months? The answer doesn't lie in technology. I...

Windows 11. It's a thing? from 2021-06-25T01:53:55

Not sure this release deserves an increment in the major version counter, but here we are. Things to get excited about? Snap groups. Things to ignore? Android apps on Windows. Everything else is...

90s Nostalgia from 2021-06-23T20:47:14

It's not necessarily a bad thing, but let's not view the whole decade through rose-tinted glasses. There were some pretty heinous things happening in the 90s, and if we romanticize the past we f...

The Case of the Missing Terraform Tuesday from 2021-06-22T23:35:35

I ran out of time. No really, that's the answer to the big mystery. Too many projects and not enough time to do them all. But I've got plans. Ooooh, I've got PLANS.

----------------------...

Four Days a Week from 2021-06-21T20:42:45

Could you get all your work done in four days instead of five? I bet you could. Sure you'd need to be a bit more focused and a bit more miserly with your time. But I bet you could do it, and the...

Project Maintenance is Tiring from 2021-06-18T21:28:08

You've just finished your shiny new project and made it available to the world. And they love it! That's great. Now you've got to maintain it until people don't love it. How many projects can yo...

Consider the Awful Project from 2021-06-17T23:08:04

Slogging through a difficult project is challenging for anyone. A conversation today made me think about my approach and consider if there was a better one. It also motivated me to fix some issu...

Infrastructure as Software from 2021-06-16T23:50:44

Sure we can create Infrastructure as Code, but does it make more sense to create infrastructure using software? This was an idea put forth by Kris Nova, and I have to admit I find her logic a-pl...

Monetizing Podcasts in 2021 from 2021-06-16T01:31:58

With the explosion of popularity in podcasting, I start to wonder what will happen to us small fries out there. Will we get steamrolled by the Spotify's of the world, or will we sneak by unnotic...

Get Into the Groove from 2021-06-14T21:16:28

This weekend I got to run in my first race since the pandemic. It was a little weird, a little awkward, and I was a little out of practice. And that's a solid analogy for all of us post-pandemic...

Colocation is about Connection from 2021-06-11T21:11:34

Should you be in the data center business? What is the big benefit of moving into a colocation facility? The answer is connectivity. To the cloud, to your users, and to other businesses. Colocat...

Open RAN will change everything from 2021-06-10T19:48:03

If Edge is the future, why is it taking so long? The answer is routing. There's no real advantage to dropping solutions at a tower if you can't get them directly. Public and private 5G networks ...

The 40 Hour Workweek is Dumb from 2021-06-10T02:58:47

I do a lot of project based work, and the goal is to accomplish projects within a set timeframe. As long as I produce high quality content within an agreed upon timeframe, it shouldn't matter ho...

Terraform 1.0 is GA! from 2021-06-08T20:32:22

At HashiConf EU 2021, the Terraform team announced that Terraform version 1.0 is generally available. What does 1.0 mean for Terraform? Are there any big improvements? And what does the future l...

Behavior as Intended from 2021-06-08T01:27:41

Behavior and motivation is a super-complicated topic and parsing out how an organization will react to the way its measured is a enigma many an MBA have failed to crack. Ultimately, you have to ...

Upgrades Shouldn't Be Awful from 2021-06-05T01:10:37

And yet… There's a perception that upgrading systems should be a difficult affair. It's how sysadmins prove their mettle. You know what? I don't have to prove a damn thing. Upgrades should be si...

Writing Better Documentation from 2021-06-03T23:00:45

The first impression many engineers and admins have of your software is the docs. They need to be clear, correct, and easy to find. Great docs aren't easy, but they make customers happy. And you...

Pluralsight Acquires A Cloud Guru from 2021-06-03T00:55:24

Following quickly on the acquisition by Vista Equity Partners, Pluralsight (now flush with investor capital) has made the move to acquire A Cloud Guru for an undisclosed sum. ACG itself had acqu...

Fail Fast on a Bad Fit from 2021-06-01T23:12:47

When we're trying out a new career development program or something for our personal fitness, it can become quickly apparent that it doesn't work for us. It's a bad match. And just like you woul...

The Paradox That Wasn't from 2021-05-28T18:58:11

Does public cloud cost more than on-prem? It depends. Should companies repatriate their workloads? It depends. Could software companies save billions by running their own infrastructure? It depe...

Concepts Over Implementation from 2021-05-27T23:51:48

Learning the concepts behind a technology will serve you better than memorizing implementation. Concepts are transferrable and reusable. You can apply a concept to different situations that go b...

Planning for 2H2021 from 2021-05-27T02:05:36

Pluralsight courses, domestic travel, and a new Day Two Cloud episodes are among some of what I have planned for the second half of 2021. It's going to be an exciting time and I'm looking forwar...

Frustration Leads to Learning from 2021-05-25T20:49:13

Whenever I try to learn a difficult new concept or product, I will eventually hit a wall of frustration. And if I'm not sufficiently motivated, that's where I might give up and walk away. It's i...

Certifiable Consulting Conundrum from 2021-05-25T01:04:23

There's a lot of pressure in consulting to stay billable, learn new things, and get certifications. Whether or not we want to admit it, brain dumps helped a lot with that last one. But now, cert...

All Are Punish-ed from 2021-05-21T18:08:06

I suffered through it, so you have to. It's an approach I've seen far to often. We should be willing to assess the suffering we had to endure and really question whether it had a positive impact...

Crafting a Compelling Ask from 2021-05-20T20:21:56

I get many unsolicited requests for my time, both paid and unpaid. Often these request are terribly written and serve no purpose beyond annoying me. Here are some tips for increasing your chance...

Intel will lose to AMD from 2021-05-20T00:56:52

At least in the cloud datacenters and megascalers. And not just AMD, but also ARM processors. The megascalers have the deep pockets to experiment with new tech. At the SMB datacenter though, I t...

Be Prepared for Ransomware! from 2021-05-18T20:57:18

It could happened to you! No, no, seriously. It can and probably will happen to you. As long as paying the ransom is cheaper than implementing and maintaining an anti-ransomware solution, we are...

Twitter Spaces is Weird from 2021-05-14T20:20:40

I participated in my first Twitter Space today and I'm not sure about the medium. As much as I love consuming audio, I also love time-shifting it to when is convenient for me. It also left me wo...

Microsoft Mayhem from 2021-05-13T22:57:23

Lots of Microsoft info in my reading feed this week. I though I would highlight a few things. The Listen

Identity Management in a Multicloud World from 2021-05-12T22:54:13

Spoiler alert! It's super-complicated. Identity started out relatively simple. You had your on-premises Active Directory or LDAP organization and you were good to go. The cloud era has brought n...

Windows is Going to Disappear from 2021-05-12T01:20:13

And just like that, poof, it's dust in the wind. Well, maybe not right away. But I'm thinking Windows as a server and desktop operating system has about ten years left in it. What will replace i...

Plan to Fail from 2021-05-11T01:14:44

Your career is going to be a long series of failures, punctuated by occasional success. Learn from those failures and bask in the success!

------------------------------------------------...

Two Years at Ned in the Cloud LLC from 2021-05-07T23:05:56

The beginning of May marks the two year anniversary of my self-employed life. I thought I might reflect on what I've learned over the last 24 months, and what the future holds.

May 6th is...

Happy World Password Day! from 2021-05-06T23:18:15

May 6th is World Password Day and that means two things to me. First, start using a password manager. Second, enable 2FA on any sites you use frequently. Together we can make passwords better, o...

The Magic of Cloud from 2021-05-05T20:35:28

The magic of cloud isn't the elasticity or the cost model, it's the API candy store! If on-prem wants a fighting chance to host new applications, it needs to adopt the magic of cloud and offer s...

Impostor Syndrome is a Blessing from 2021-05-04T20:36:43

Keeping yourself a little removed from a technology or a fandom helps tremendously with perspective. Whether its Star Wars, Kubernetes, or BTS, having perspective allows you to place things in t...

Meta-Cognition from 2021-05-03T23:13:28

Have you ever found that you do better on a task the first time you try it than the subsequent attempts? Does it take you five or six tries to get back to the same level as that first attempt? T...

Identity and Branding from 2021-04-30T21:15:26

It might be tempting to hitch your wagon to the latest trend, but don't let it consume you. Externalizing your identity means you loses control over that identity. That can be damaging for your ...

Broken and Invisible from 2021-04-29T20:51:03

As much as I like the shiny and the new, sometimes I have to admit that we may have overcomplicated things. I spent a whole day frustrated with a piece of software that has failed at every turn ...

Basecamp Bafflement from 2021-04-29T01:19:58

I am flummoxed. Seriously, I just don’t understand the decision or the way it was approached. Your employees are the reason you have a business. You might want to consider that before you do som...

DevOps'ing the Enterprise Sale from 2021-04-27T20:13:06

I participated in the Tech Field Day Extra event with Scality and HPE today. Scality announced their new product called Artesca, which is a cloud-native, light-weight object store. The sales mot...

Buy or Rent? from 2021-04-26T20:54:11

Do you build a platform or rent one? Do you host your own content or put it on a platform? What if the platform goes away? There's a lot of risks and rewards to consider when building a brand an...

Shots! Shots! Shots! from 2021-04-24T02:21:34

Got my second shot and super excited! Also, I'll be participating in a Tech Field Day Extra for Scality and Turbonomic's Apps On Cloud Summit. Definitely check both out!

Apps On Cloud Sum...

Planning is Pointless from 2021-04-22T23:03:53

Well, not exactly pointless, but making long-term detailed plans is a lesson in futility. That's doubly true in the world of technology, where things change at such a rapid pace. It's really not...

Multi-cloud is the Reality from 2021-04-21T20:52:05

Coming for you with the multi-cloud reality! Sorry, got a little excited. Here's a topic people feel passionately about, and their passion doesn't matter one iota. Multi-cloud is here and it's h...

Complexity and Microsoft Word from 2021-04-20T23:26:16

Complexity and feature bloat are a natural by product of listening to the customer. I don't envy the product manager who has to decide between opinionated software and customer requests.

...

Abstracting Away Consumer Complexity from 2021-04-20T00:52:37

Taking the long view on technology, we tend to commoditize, standardize, and abstract away complexity. I don't need to know how a car works to drive, how electricity works to turn on a light, or...

Personal Triage and Priorities from 2021-04-16T20:02:10

What is your overarching goal? What drives you? Is your current list of projects supporting that goal? If not, it's time to do a little triage and drop the things that aren't fulfilling. Sometim...

HashiCorp Ambassadors Unite! from 2021-04-16T01:41:46

Good news everyone! I've been awarded HashiCorp Ambassador status again for 2021, which made me reflect on the program and people I've met. It also got me thinking about the Microsoft MVP progra...

Post Pandemic Positivity from 2021-04-15T00:53:19

There are many things I'm looking forward to as we get closer to herd immunity through vaccination. Chief among them are tech conferences/gatherings and concerts. What are you most excited to do...

Simplifying Servers from 2021-04-13T20:48:26

The future of computing is going to vastly change what we think of as a server. The promise of composable architecture will be ushered in by silicon photonics and specialized processing units. A...

Intrinsic Motivation as a Guide from 2021-04-12T23:04:22

I find I am most successful when I am intrinsically motivated to complete a task or project. While external motivations certainly play a part, internal factors will always win out. Recently, I'v...

Modernize is the Through Line from 2021-04-09T21:05:52

We recorded three episodes of Day Two Cloud this week and the common theme was Modern Applications. What does that mean and how does it impact operations and infrastructure? Tune in to find out....

Serverless Low-Code Nirvana from 2021-04-08T20:58:52

Low-code and no-code solutions seem particularly poised to take advantage of serverless. Their structure matches what serverless excels at, especially functions as a service. The more business l...

Failure to Focus from 2021-04-08T00:43:02

I really struggle with focusing on a single area of technology or specialization. I want to do ALL THE THINGS. But that's not a recipe for success, is it? I've been making some hard calls on wha...

A Fond Farewell from 2021-04-07T13:09:26

Today was my last episode of Buffer Overflow, and it was an emotional adieu. I'll miss the BO crew and all the ridiculousness we got up to. But it was time to move on. I wish the crew all the be...

Google and Oracle end a Debacle from 2021-04-06T01:14:56

And it wasn't a pleasant ending, but it was probably the best outcome for software development houses out there. Oracle got a black eye. Google got their way. And now you can make "fair-use" of ...

Content Creation is a Gateway from 2021-04-02T20:50:20

Creating your own content serves as a resume to prospective employers and clients. Nothing demonstrates your personality and abilities as well as content that you create and make available to ot...

Productivity in Structure and Chaos from 2021-04-01T20:22:33

What's the right balance of structure and chaos for you? What makes you most productive? Are you driven by spite? Oh, I guess that's just me.

---------------------------------------------...

Cloud Security is Fundamentally Harder from 2021-03-31T21:18:13

The adoption of cloud computing brings with it some serious security challenges. Let's ponder on the difference between on-prem and cloud security.

---------------------------------------...

Opportunity Cost is Knocking from 2021-03-31T01:47:39

When someone is creating a toxic environment, it has a much larger impact than you might think. The opportunity cost is high! Are they valuable enough to make it worthwhile? I doubt it.

-...

It's Not the Heat, It's the Immaturity from 2021-03-29T20:56:17

On Cloud2030 there was a debate about Jevon's Paradox as applied to complexity. To me that sounds like the wrong concern. It's not the complexity of the platform, it's the maturity.

Refer...

Cloud is an Enabler from 2021-03-27T00:41:39

When you bring your applications to the cloud, it's important to realize that cloud is not a solution. It is an enabler; a toolkit; a service allowing you to build something for your company. It...

Content Consumption Constriction from 2021-03-25T20:53:10

Lately I feel a constant craving to consume more content. And I don't think it's healthy. Time to put myself on a content restricted diet!

------------------------------------------------...

Cloud Adoption Won't Save You Money from 2021-03-24T20:43:53

The major public cloud vendors will try to convince you that migrating to the cloud will save you money. That is almost never true. But why is that? The answer is Jevon's Paradox.

-------...

Make Yourself Uncomfortable from 2021-03-22T23:34:30

When you try something new, you're probably going to be a little uncomfortable. The secret is to embrace your discomfort and let it propel you to greater success!

------------------------...

StorageOS is vSAN for Kubernetes from 2021-03-19T23:03

StorageOS presented at Cloud Field Day 10, and I was one of the delegates. I found their product intriguing. Here's a quick summary of my thoughts.

StorageOS free trial: Listen

Website Plagiarism, Don't Do It! from 2021-03-18T21:21:57

Yesterday I came across a site that was scraping other blogs and publications and republishing as their own. This is the story of my fun adventure as I dug deeper into what was going on.

...

Meetings Are a Waste of Our Time from 2021-03-18T00:37:57

You know it. I know it. Even tacos know it. Meetings are the great timesuck, and you should Just Say No.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Building Your Professional Network from 2021-03-16T20:59:47

Building a network is not a script you can follow, or a program you can run. It's about building personal relationships that will support your career for years to come.

------------------...

The Complexity is Always There from 2021-03-15T20:56:03

Even if the software you use has a slick GUI and great wizard, if you are responsible for support it, make sure you know the CLI and configuration files. Know where the bodies are buried before ...

Cloud Field Day 10 Wrap Up from 2021-03-12T23:19:03

Last day of Cloud Field Day 10! We have Veeam, Dell Tech, and Oracle Cloud. And I never thought I would say this, but Oracle Cloud got me interested in learning more. Wowza!

-------------...

Crafting a Presentation and Accepting Feedback from 2021-03-12T03:33:03

Second day of Cloud Field Day 10! Lots of good content today, and a few misses. How do you craft a great presentation? And what if you don't?

---------------------------------------------...

Cloud Field Day 10 - Day 1 from 2021-03-10T23:05:37

It was a packed day with Cloud Field Day 10! Presentations from NetApp, Scality, and Intel. My brain is cooked! See you tomorrow.

---------------------------------------------------------...

Setting Expectations and Being Kind to Yourself from 2021-03-09T21:55:34

In this episode you'll be privy to me walking through how to approach my Terraform Tuesday videos. I think it turned out to be an interesting process of deciding what I want to do.

------...

Drive Innovation and Lower Costs from 2021-03-08T22:04:13

I know this seems obvious, but the deeper question is how you actually go about those two things. And how can you use public cloud to do it?

----------------------------------------------...

Not All Companies Are Technology Companies from 2021-03-05T20:07:25

You've probably heard it before. In the era of digital transformation, all companies are technology companies. Here's why that is wrong.

--------------------------------------------------...

Thoughts on Content Creation from 2021-03-04T22:00:38

How long does it take me to create a training course? How do I decide what goes into a solid demo? Here are my brief thoughts on the topic.

-----------------------------------------------...

Creating Passive Revenue Sources from 2021-03-03T21:42:35

Passive income is amazing and potentially life changing. I'm going to share my experience creating courses for Pluralsight, but I think this applies more broadly.

The Tweet: Listen

Microsoft Ignite Special Edition from 2021-03-03T11:32:40

What's going on at Microsoft Ignite 2021 Spring Fling? There's a few things that I thought were worth sharing.

Azure Mover is pretty cool, move resource to different regions: Listen

Limits of Niche Content from 2021-03-01T23:37:40

Why are there so many Getting Started courses and so little 301 content? Why does so much research deal with the fundamentals and never go in-depth? The problem is simple, niche content is not p...

Every Career Path is Different from 2021-02-26T21:41:10

My career path is not going to be yours. And there is no "right" path when it comes to the tech world. You don't even have to stay in the tech world! You can branch out to other disciplines. Rem...

When Will Satya Leave? from 2021-02-25T22:04:31

The changing of the guard at AWS makes me curious about the future of Microsoft. Here's what I think might happen in the next two years.

Day Two Cloud episode 86: Listen

Determining Your Market Value from 2021-02-24T21:49:44

A thread on Twitter from Corey Quinn and a conversation with a friend got me thinking about assessing my market value and whether I would ever consider going to work for a vendor. Short answer? ...

Building Educational Materials from 2021-02-24T02:48:44

Developing content for education takes thought, planning, and focus. You can't just put the pen to paper, you need a plan to guide you through the process.

-------------------------------...

Start me up? from 2021-02-22T21:22:54

Developing a product takes a lot of thought, consideration, and LISTENING. Talk to potential customers, investors, and other folks in your field. Find a problem and develop a solution that match...

PowerPoint is so 2020 from 2021-02-19T21:42:28

After using PowerPoint so much in the last week, I'm starting to wonder if it is the best way to communicate complex ideas. Or ideas at all! Maybe it's time to explore some alternatives.

...

Maybe remote isn't all that great… from 2021-02-19T02:16:01

I was so pumped when I started working from home 100%. Much less so when my kids started school from home 100%. But it was the pandemic. As we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I'...

Are You Pragmatic? from 2021-02-17T21:56:51

When I find myself hesitant to adopt a new technology, I have to ask. Am I resistant because I'm being pragmatic, or do I just not want to learn a new thing?

-----------------------------...

Getting Disorganized from 2021-02-16T21:16:26

For as productive as I am, I am also amazingly disorganized. For the most part I've learned to accept it, but I'm curious if there's something out there which works for you?

-------------...

Naming is Hard from 2021-02-15T23:27:38

Naming products is hard, but don't just jump on the latest product marketing bandwagon by adding Ops or spelling your product with a K. You can do better! I know you can.

----------------...

Keep It Simple from 2021-02-12T22:07:52

There's a reason I originally started with such a simple setup for The Daily Check-In, and then I absolutely let myself run away with it. That was a bad idea and here's why.

-------------...

Knowing When to Say When from 2021-02-12T01:20:37

This day has been a total drag. And sometimes it's important to know when to say enough and walk away instead of beating your head against a wall. You win today wall, but I'm coming back tomorro...

Leading with Empathy from 2021-02-10T21:07:23

Are you working in a consulting role or thinking about becoming a consultant? I have one word of advice, and that is to lead with empathy. It will make you a better consultant and probably a bet...

When I'm 64? from 2021-02-10T00:21:45

The way that we think about retirement is weird, and is probably in for a big kick in the grandpa pants.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Tape is Dead! (Long live tape) from 2021-02-08T21:41:30

And here I thought magnetic tape would be consigned to the dustbin of history. Boy was I wrong!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Welcome to Consulting from 2021-02-05T21:20:14

Going into consulting was one of the most challenging and rewarding things I did in my career. In this episode I will talk a bit about my experience, and some of the pitfalls of being a consulta...

Go Outside! from 2021-02-05T00:21:27

One of the best things you can do for yourself is go outside and breath some fresh air. Get up close to some nice trees and maybe even give them a hug. No I am not kidding. In this episode I tal...

Compute as a Fundamental Right from 2021-02-03T20:40:27

Could access to the internet and cloud computing be a fundamental human right? Here are my thoughts on the topic.

Also, check out this episode of Day Two Cloud to hear more: Listen

Opportunity Cost from 2021-02-03T01:48:04

Each thing you choose to do also means you are choosing not to do something else. Here are my thoughts about how that applies to work and personal life.

----------------------------------...

Immutable Infrastructure and Snow from 2021-02-01T21:33:30

I was meditating on the way that snow starts out pristine and unblemished, but is soon ruined by people. And that got me thinking about immutable infrastructure and where the promise falls short...

Welcome Back! from 2021-01-29T20:18:07

Hey y'all! I'm bringing The Daily Check-In back, but only in audio format. This is a stripped down version that I can easily do over a cup of coffee in the afternoon. The videos were getting far...

The Last Daily Check-In from 2020-12-22T10:00

I've been giving this a lot of thought, and I have decided to stop doing the daily check-in videos. Let me clarify:

• I am STILL going to do      YouTube vid...
  Listen

Manage RBAC - CKA from 2020-12-19T10:00

The first objective of the "Cluster architecture, installation, and configuration" domain is to Manage RBAC. In this video, I am going to review what I've learned so far regarding RBAC in Kubern...

Setting up my lab for CKA from 2020-12-18T19:08:45

As part of my preparation for taking the CKA exam, I am going to be creating a lab environment for installing Kubernetes. Let me take you through what I have set up so far, and a few speed bumps...

Quantum ActiveSync is S3 On-Prem from 2020-12-17T10:00

I was a delegate for Tech Field Day 22 going December 9th through the 11th of 2020. Quantum presented on the first day, December 9th, about their ActiveScale product that provides object-based s...

Terragrunt? Probably not. from 2020-12-16T21:54:31

I've had a couple viewers ask me about doing a video about using Terragrunt. After going through the getting started, and playing with it a bit, I'm left scratching my head. Don't get me wrong, ...

Red Hat at the Edge from 2020-12-15T10:00

I was a delegate for Tech Field Day 22 going December 9th through the 11th of 2020. Red Hat was one of the presenters on December 10th, and they came to talk about two things: OpenShift for Deve...

VMware Cloud DR is Good Enough? from 2020-12-12T09:00

I was a delegate for Tech Field Day 22 going December 9th through the 11th of 2020. VMware present on the final day, December 11th, about their Cloud DR product, based on the acquisition of Datr...

Veeam Loves Mobility from 2020-12-11T11:00

I was a delegate for Tech Field Day 22 going December 9th through the 11th of 2020. Veeam presented on December10th, and there was a focus on disaster recover and mobility. I found the mobility ...

Commvault and Kubernetes - Tech Field Day 22 from 2020-12-10T11:00

I was a delegate for Tech Field Day 22 going December 9th through the 11th of 2020. Commvault was the first presenter of the event, and they came out swinging for the fences. We looked at the up...

What's New in Terraform 0.14? from 2020-12-09T10:00

Terraform 0.14 is now GA and it brings with it a whole host of new features that I am excited about. Let's talk about a few of them including:

• Marking variables as   &nbs...
  Listen

Pick Your Poison (Choose Wisely) from 2020-12-08T10:00

When you start to create technical content, it's usually spurred on by an issue you encountered or a discovery you want to share. You're feeling passionate about the tech, for better or worse. T...

Certified Kubernetes Administrator - Study Guide from 2020-12-05T10:00

To help me focus and study for the CKA exam, I have started a public GitHub repository to function as a CKA study guide. Each week I will focus on working through the domains and objectives in t...

Raspberry Pi PXE Boot FAIL from 2020-12-04T10:00

My goal was to get my Raspberry Pi 4 to PXE boot, and I failed. A lot. Like multiple times over the course of four hours. And that's normal. That's just how technology works. We tend to talk a l...

AWS Embraces Hybrid at re:Invent from 2020-12-03T10:00

There were a lot of announcements made at the day one re:Invent 2020 keynote, and they all followed the reinvent idea very closely. They also embraced the fact that not everything is going to mo...

Creating Modules in Terraform from 2020-12-02T14:04:11

Here's a basic overview of what modules are and how to create one in Terraform. We'll also get into some best practices for creating modules, where you can publish them, and how to use existing ...

Best Career Advice Ever with Larry Smith Jr. from 2020-12-01T08:00

Today I am joined by Larry Smith Jr., CTO of Aspec Core Services. Larry has been in the IT industry a long-time and recently started his own consulting company. We talk about the events that led...

Vault Certification: Transit Engine from 2020-11-28T10:00

The final objective in the Vault Certification is all about using the Transit Engine. In this video we'll go over how to enable the Transit engine, create and rotate keys, and encrypt/decrypt da...

Moving Resources in Remote State from 2020-11-25T08:00

This is based off a viewer question I received via Twitter. They wanted to know about moving resources from one configuration to another when using remote state. How can they do this without rec...

Certified Kubernetes Administrator Planning from 2020-11-24T10:00

The best way to motivate myself is to set a goal or a date and plan towards it. It worked for my first marathon, my first half iron man, and most of the certifications I've achieved. Now I've si...

Vault Certification: Vault Architecture - Part 5 from 2020-11-21T10:00

Rounding out the Vault Architecture objective, we are going to get into response wrapping and short-live, dynamically generated secrets.

Vault certification guide: Listen

What is PXE Boot? from 2020-11-20T11:00

Let's talk about PXE booting! Before we set anything up, it's important to get a grasp on the fundamentals. In this video I am going to cover DHCP, the DORA process, and how PXE and TFTP fit int...

You Don't Need a Service Mesh from 2020-11-19T11:00

On the first day of KubeCon the thing I heard most clearly was that you don't need a Service Mesh. There were two panels, both of which had Matt Klein in them, that were talking about Service Me...

Playing with Terraform Functions from 2020-11-18T11:00

Terraform comes with a ton of functions, and often you might be unsure of how they work. Luckily, you can use a combination of terraform console and local values to test out every function they ...

Best Career Advice Ever with Betty Junod from 2020-11-17T22:13:19

Today I am joined by Betty Junod, VP of Marketing at Solo.io. She shares her career history becoming an accidental marketing person, crafting words into stories and messages. The best piece of c...

Vault Certification: Vault Architecture - Part 4 from 2020-11-14T10:00

HashiCorp Vault doesn't require an agent, but there are some benefits to using their agent and secrets caching. We're going to get into those two objectives in this week's Vault Certification vi...

Home Lab Network Upgrade from 2020-11-13T10:00

After setting up my new lab gear, I discovered that my wireless router wasn't able to handle VLANs and NAT-P for the lab networks. Total bummer! That meant it was time to upgrade to a new router...

Dark Times for Intel from 2020-11-12T10:00

Intel has fallen on hard times. Their stock price is down, they can't seem to get chips out on time, and AMD is eating their lunch. What caused this precipitous fall? What is driving the market ...

Moving Resources in Terraform State from 2020-11-11T10:00

Terraform keeps it's view of the world in a state data, but what if you need to make changes to your configuration without impacting the real-world resources? Enter the mighty 'terraform state m...

Checking in on the Daily Check-In from 2020-11-10T21:49:55

This is the 150th video I've done for The Daily Check-In and I thought  it was time to do a little introspection. Not that I'm trying to pat  myself on the back for getting to 150 vide...

Running HashiCorp Vault on Azure Container Instances from 2020-11-07T10:00

One of the many ways to run HashiCorp Vault is within containers. Typically you would do this with Kubernetes or ECS, but what if you were looking for a way to run Vault with a public endpoint f...

Running Ubuntu ARM on Raspberry Pi ESXi from 2020-11-06T10:00

It wouldn't matter much that you can run ESXi on a Raspberry Pi if you couldn't also fire up some virtual machines on it as well. Let's take a look at firing up Ubuntu 20.04 LTS ARM edition on a...

Multicloud and Disaggregation from 2020-11-05T10:00

What is my prediction for 2021? I think we will see the continued rise and expansion of disaggregated computing driven largely by Edge and alternative cloud providers. In this video, I'll get in...

Terraform and Boundary - Part 2 from 2020-11-04T16:56:45

Boundary is a new product from HashiCorp and in this video, we'll take a  look at how you can deploy Boundary on Microsoft Azure with a reference  architecture.   In the next...

Best Career Advice Ever with Bobby Allen from 2020-11-02T16:44:29

Bobby Allen got on the cloud computing train back in 2012 and hasn't stopped moving! He's got some great advice for you about how to move your career forward, get great advice, and take proper c...

Best Career Advice Ever with Angela Andrews from 2020-10-28T13:27:31

Angela Andrews is a Solutions Architect at Red Hat, a recovering  sysadmin, and organizer of #PythonForAll. In this episode she shares  some of the best advice she ever received, and t...

Vault Certification: Vault Architecture - Part 3 from 2020-10-24T09:00

Time to get into the internal guts of HashiCorp Vault by discussing its  architecture. This is the third video for that objective. We're going to  talk about Vault clustering, high ava...

Adding Raspberry Pi ESXi to vCenter from 2020-10-23T09:00

We are going to take a set of Raspberry Pi's running the new EXSi ARM  Fling and get them joined to a vCenter server. Along the way I learned a  few things about NTP and certificate is...

Introducing Waypoint from HashiCorp from 2020-10-22T13:16:20

HashiCorp introduced Waypoint at HashiConf last week, and I wasn't going  to do a video about it, but more than one person asked me to. It's a  developer-centric tool and I'm not a dev...

When Terraform met Boundary - Part 1 from 2020-10-21T13:12:03

Over the next two videos, I am going to dive into Boundary's Terraform  provider. In this video, we'll talk a little about what Boundary is, how  Terraform can assist with it, and go t...

Best Career Advice Ever with Holly Lehman from 2020-10-20T13:18:49

Holly Lehman, Program Manager at Microsoft and all around incredible  human being joined me to share her thoughts on build a tech career from  the outside.  

Her tips are: ...

Vault Certification: Vault Architecture - Part 2 from 2020-10-17T09:00

Time to get into the internal guts of HashiCorp Vault by discussing its  architecture. This is the second video for that objective. We're going  to talk about the storage backend of Va...

ESXi on a Raspberry Pi from 2020-10-16T09:00

VMware recently released their Fling for running ESXi on ARM-based CPUs and that includes Raspberry Pis. Let's walk through the process of getting ESXi installed on a Raspberry Pi in my home lab...

Announcing HashiCorp Boundary from 2020-10-15T09:00

At HashiConf Digital today, HashiCorp revealed one of two new products.  Called Boundary, it is a secure access management solution aimed at  providing on-demand access to dynamic infr...

Terraform Kubernetes Operator from 2020-10-14T09:00

You can use the Terraform Kubernetes Operator to deploy Terraform configurations using Kubernetes constructs like ConfigMaps, Secrets, and the custom resource Workspaces. In this video, I'll wal...

Best Career Advice Ever with Tanya Janca from 2020-10-13T09:00

The amazing Tanya Janca joined me to talk about some of the best career advice she ever received, including such highlights as: 

  - Do more of what you want and less of wh...

Vault Certification: Vault Architecture - Part 1 from 2020-10-10T09:00

Time to get into the internal guts of HashiCorp Vault by discussing its  architecture. This is going to be the first of several videos on the  objective. We're going to start with how ...

Home Lab Networking Adventures from 2020-10-09T09:00

I bought a Cisco 3560-X switch for my home lab. Here's how I set up my  networking, and also how I ran into a bit of an issue. Hint: home WiFi  routers are not very smart.   ...

Pure Storage at #TFDx #VMworld from 2020-10-08T09:00

On October 6th, Pure Storage presented at Tech Field Day Extra for  VMworld. There were two big takeaways for me: FlashStack shows HCI isn't  all that and Port Worx was a really good i...

Terraform 0.14 and Future Demos from 2020-10-07T17:08:44

Terraform 0.14 is in alpha, but I've been tracking some features, you  can see them here:  https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/tree/v0.14.0-alpha20200923   

There a...

Vault Certification: Vault API from 2020-10-03T09:00

Time to tackle some basics with the Vault API using our good friend  curl. We are going to review how to authenticate, access a vault secret,  and navigate the API in general.  &n...

Setting up my new Supermicro Server from 2020-10-02T09:00

I recently purchased some new Supermicro servers for my homelab. This  video will show how to install components into a Supermicro SYS-E200-8D  server, including RAM, SSD, and NVMe sto...

Project Monterey at VMworld 2020 from 2020-10-01T09:00

VMware announced Project Monterey yesterday during the keynote at  VMworld 2020. Let's talk about what the project is, how different  networking vendors are involved, and how ARM facto...

Google Cloud with Terraform from 2020-09-30T09:00

I'm working on a project to use Terraform with Google Cloud. It's  complicated! Things I learned: 

1. Google does not have a native MongoDB service
2. Everything lives in a...

Best Career Advice Ever with Jeremy Morgan from 2020-09-29T09:00

Jeremy Morgan joins me today to share his three H's of career advancement: stay hungry, stay honest, and stay humble.

Vault Certification: Vault UI from 2020-09-26T09:00

We are going to cover how to use the Vault UI to do some common tasks.  

Check out my new Vault Certification guide: https://leanpub.com/vault-certified

Planning My Home Lab from 2020-09-25T09:00

After doing a bunch of Raspberry Pi things, I've been consider what I  want to do with my home lab and what I want to get out of it. Here's  what I've come up with.  

Let m...

Microsoft Ignite 2020 Highlights from 2020-09-24T09:00

The highlights for me are around Azure Arc, Azure Stack, and Azure  VMware Service. In this video I'll explore each on in turn and explain  why each one matters for Microsoft and the l...

Terraform Cloud: Using the CLI from 2020-09-23T09:00

You don't have to use a version control system to get in on Terraform  Cloud! In this video, I'll show you how to get start with Terraform  Cloud from the CLI.

Best Career Advice Ever with Keith Townsend from 2020-09-22T09:00

Keith Townsend joins me today to share what the best career advice he ever got was and how it changed his life.

Keith's BCAE moments?  

1. It takes 10 years to get 10 years of...

Vault Certification: Vault CLI - Part 3 from 2020-09-19T09:00

We're going to wrap up the topic by looking at enabling and configuring  secrets engines, and checking out Vault environment variables.

USB Boot on Raspberry Pi 4 from 2020-09-18T09:00

SD cards have a pretty high failure rate on Raspberry Pi's. The  Raspberry Pi 4 recently started supporting boot from a USB mass media  device. Here's a little tutorial on how to get s...

Kubernetes is the New Storage Battleground from 2020-09-17T09:00

With the acquisition of Portworx by Pure, it got me thinking about the  evolution of storage for Kubernetes and what the landscape looks like.

Getting Started with Terraform Cloud from 2020-09-16T09:00

Terraform Cloud is free for up to five users and it has some pretty cool  features. In this video, we'll see how it can be integrated with GitHub  to create your infrastructure automag...

Best Career Advice Ever with David Davis from 2020-09-15T17:58:48

David Davis joins me today to share what the best career advice he ever got was and how it changed his life. 

1. Stay hungry 

2. Don't be complacent 

3. CANEI...

Vault Certification: Vault CLI - Part 2 from 2020-09-12T09:00

We are going to continue our little journey into the Vault CLI by focusing on configuring authentication methods and policies.  

GitHub Repo: https://github.com/ned1313/vault-fridays...

K3s on RPi: Part 2 - Making the Cluster from 2020-09-11T09:00

This time we're going to try and set up a full cluster and see what  happens. I'm using v1.19.1 of K3s which is experimental, and that equals  fun.  SPOILER - using experimental f...

WASM and the DevOps Divide from 2020-09-10T09:00

As I'm learning more about Web Assembly and its potential, I'm also realizing how blended Dev and Ops are becoming. This is going to continue, so if you're a pure Ops person, now is the time to ...

Azure Quickstarts with Terraform - Daily Check-In for September 08, 2020 from 2020-09-09T19:04:39

Looking around this week, I found a cool repository of Terraform  configurations that translate existing Azure Quickstarts to use  Terraform. Let's see how far I can get!   <...

Best Career Advice Ever. - Daily Check-In for September 7, 2020 from 2020-09-08T09:00

What is the best career advice you ever got and how did it change your  life? I can point to two separate occasions where someone said something  to me that shifted my perspective fore...

Vault Certification: Vault CLI - Part 1 from 2020-09-05T09:00

We are going to get into the Vault CLI in this episode. Specifically,  we'll talk about using the Vault CLI at a high level and some of the  various authentication methods to log into ...

K3s on RPi: Part 1 - Daily Check-In for September 3, 2020 from 2020-09-04T09:00

I tried to set up a K3s cluster using three Raspberry Pis. It did not go  smoothly. In this first part of the series I will cover the initial  setup, difficulties I encountered, and wh...

Service Mesh Hub-bub - Daily Check-In for September 2, 2020 from 2020-09-03T09:00

There has been an explosion of Service Meshes out there. What does the  current landscape look like, and are there some common patterns or  things to remember?

Terraform + Vault - Daily Check-In for September 1, 2020 from 2020-09-02T09:00

How can Terraform and Vault work together? 

 - Terraform can configure Vault 

 - Terraform can get secrets from Vault 

 - Terraform can get dyn...

Avoiding Burnout - Daily Check-In for August 31, 2020 from 2020-09-01T09:00

As the pandemic drags on many of us are hitting a breaking point. We all  collectively hoped that Autumn would bring some semblance of normality.  That's not going to be the case. What...

Vault Cert: Secrets Engines - Daily Check-In for August 28, 2020 from 2020-08-29T09:00

This is part 2 for Object 5 in the Vault certification. We'll be talking  more about Vault Secrets Engines, including the Transit Engine and  selecting an engine based on used cases. &...

One Hundred Episodes - Daily Check-In for August 27, 2020 from 2020-08-28T09:00

I'm now over 100 episodes of the daily check-in. How are things going?  How have things changed? And what's the plan for the future?

Cloud 2030 - Daily Check-In for August 26, 2020 from 2020-08-27T09:00

What do you think cloud computing will look like in the year 2030? Rob  Hierschfeld and friends have started a group to discuss this very topic.  Why not join into the conversation? &n...

GitHub Actions with Terraform - Daily Check-In for August 25, 2020 from 2020-08-26T09:00

How do you use GitHub actions to automate the validation and deployment  of Terraform code to your environment? That's the topic for this week.  You can hear more about GitHub actions ...

IT is a Service - Daily Check-In for August 24, 2020 from 2020-08-25T09:00

Interesting Twitter post last week asking about what service job you had  as a youth and what lessons you learned. Here's what I learned from  working food service and retail.

Vault Cert: Secrets Engines - Daily Check-In for August 21, 2020 from 2020-08-22T09:00

We're going to get started on Objective 5 by talking about Vault secrets  engines. I think the objectives are in a weird order, so let's do them  in reverse. First up, we'll define a s...

Data Governance at the Edge - Daily Check-In for August 20, 2020 from 2020-08-21T09:00

Data being generated at the Edge is going to increase exponentially. How  do we apply proper data governance to an immense volume of data? Do  existing approached work? How does AI fac...

Why Multicloud Makes Sense - Daily Check-In for August 19, 2020 from 2020-08-20T09:00

Unpopular opinion I guess. Multicloud makes sense and you're probably already doing it.

Terraform Active Directory Provider - Daily Check-In for August 18, 2020 from 2020-08-19T09:00

The Terraform Active Directory provider is now available. I took it for a spin and found some interesting challenges. 

Here's the GitHub repo for Terraform Tuesdays: https://github.c...

Don't Be an A**hole - Daily Check-In for August 17, 2020 from 2020-08-18T09:00

A post I read over the weekend really got under my craw. And it made me  think about the differences between an assertive person and an asshole.

Vault Cert Leases - Daily Check-In for August 14, 2020 from 2020-08-15T09:00

Let's talk about Objective 4 for Vault - Leases!

4 Manage Vault leases

4a Explain the   purpose of a lease ID

4b Renew leases

4c Revoke lea...

Edgevana Official Launch - Daily Check-In for August 13, 2020 from 2020-08-14T09:00

Mark Thiele and Subhan Jahromi have founded Edgevana and officially  launched the site. Service coming soon. What is this thing and why  should you care? https://www.edgevana.com

Nutanix on AWS - Daily Check-In for August 12, 2020 from 2020-08-13T09:00

Does Nutanix on AWS make sense? I'm not convinced. 

CTO Advisor series on VMC: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCTOAdvisor/videos

Terraform 0.13 is GA - Daily Check-In for August 11, 2020 from 2020-08-12T09:00

What are the new features to watch out for?   

Module improvements : Count, depends_on, and for_each 

Providers: Third-party auto install, required providers block&n...

Gatekeeping is Bullsh*t - Daily Check-In for August 10, 2020 from 2020-08-11T09:00

Google announced a 6 month cert and people lost their minds. https://grow.google/certificates/

Vault Cert Tokens Cont - Daily Check-In for July 31, 2020 from 2020-08-01T09:00

Finishing objective three for the Vault Certification. We're going to  look at orphaned tokens and combine what we've learned so far.   

My Terraform cert guide: https://le...

Edge Data Flows - Daily Check-In for July 30, 2020 from 2020-07-31T09:00

Is Edge a natural progression of compute? How do bottlenecks play into  Edge? Why is a tree like a traffic system is like our circulatory  system?

L8ist Sh9ny podcast episode: &...

Diamanti at CFD8 - Daily Check-In for July 29, 2020 from 2020-07-30T09:00

Diamanti presented at Cloud Field Day 8 (#CFD8). Here are my thoughts on their products.   

The Cloud Field Day presentation: https://diamanti.com/cloud-field-day/   <...

HTTP and External Providers - Daily Check-In for July 28, 2020 from 2020-07-29T09:00

They're kinda weird. A bit wacky. And 100% useful!   

Terraform Tuesdays GitHub: https://github.com/ned1313/terraform-tuesdays  

Terraform Certification Guide: https...

NO! - Daily Check-In for July 27, 2020 from 2020-07-28T09:00

You have to learn to say no. And by you, I mean me.

Vault Certification: Tokens Cont. - Daily Check-In for July 24, 2020 from 2020-07-25T09:00

Continuing our exploration of Vault tokens. We're going to cover token  accessors and TTLs. You'd think TLLs were simple, but they get  complicated quickly.

Edge to Cloud Panel Thoughts - Daily Check-In for July 23, 2020 from 2020-07-24T09:00

My thoughts on a recent panel from The CTO Advisor.   

The CTO Advisor discussion panel: https://youtu.be/WRxnEeTrJUI   

The Day Two Cloud episode with Sam Ersk...

Zerto at Cloud Field Day 8 - Daily Check-In for July 22, 2020 from 2020-07-23T09:00

Zerto presented at Cloud Field Day 8 (#CFD8) last week. Here are my thoughts are  what they presented and where I think they can go from here.

Terraform Variable Validation - Daily Check-in for July 21, 2020 from 2020-07-22T09:00

You can validate your variable input using Terraform 0.13 beta in both  the root module and child modules. I'll show you how in this demo.   

Terraform Certification Guide:...

Don't Limit Yourself - Daily Check-in for July 20, 2020 from 2020-07-21T09:00

You are more than your title. Think beyond what you do today, and think about what you could do tomorrow.

Vault Certification: Tokens - Daily Check-in for July 17, 2020 from 2020-07-18T09:00

Moving on to objective three: Assess Vault Tokens:   

3 Assess Vault tokens
 3a Describe Vault token
 3b Differentiate between service and batch tokens. Ch...

SemTech Enabling Edge Speed - Daily Check-in for July 16, 2020 from 2020-07-17T09:00

I had a briefing with #SemTech and they reminded me that it isn't all just Kubernetes at the edge.   

SemTech website: https://www.semtech.com/ 

Cloud Field Day 8: h...

Veeam at Cloud Field Day 8 - Daily Check-in for July 15, 2020 from 2020-07-16T09:00

#Veeam presented at #CFD8. Here are my thoughts.   

You can watch the whole thing at https://techfieldday.com/event/cfd8/   

Three things I focused on:
1. ...

Figuring out a Terraform Resource - Daily Check-in for July 14, 2020 from 2020-07-15T09:00

Some resources are super complicated. How do you figured out how to use  them? You can read the docs, but what really helps is the cloud CLI.   #TerraformTuesday

Context and Capital - Daily Check-in for July 13, 2020 from 2020-07-14T09:00

Building your career is all about context and capital.    

1. Career capital   
 a. This is stuff you know and no one can take away from you   ...

Vault Certification: Vault Policies Cont. - Daily Check-in for July 10, 2020 from 2020-07-11T09:00

Continuing the objective of Creating Vault Policies  

Covering Objective 2 of the Vault Certification Exam:  

2. Create Vault Policies
2a. Illustrate the value of Va...

Kubernetes on the Edge - Daily Check-in for July 9, 2020 from 2020-07-10T09:00

Yesterday I talked about K3s a little bit. Let's take a look at what is out there for K8s on the edge.   

Why use K8s at the edge? 

  - Consistent platform...

SUSE acquiring Rancher - Daily Check-in for July 8, 2020 from 2020-07-09T09:00

SUSE is going to acquire Rancher. What's that all about?   

Day Two Cloud episode with Tanya Janca:  https://daytwocloud.io/podcast/day-two-cloud-055-securing-cloud-infrast...

Terraform Module Variables - Daily Check-in for July 7, 2020 from 2020-07-08T09:00

We are going to look at how root modules interact with child modules and how variables and outputs are used to pass information between the two.   

Terraform Certification Guide...

Python App Planning - Daily Check-in for July 6, 2020 from 2020-07-07T09:00

Here's what I'm thinking for my little Python programming project.

Vault Certification: Creating Policies - Daily Check-in for July 3, 2020 from 2020-07-04T09:00

Covering Objective 2 of the Vault Certification Exam:

2. Create Vault Policies
2a. Illustrate the value of Vault policy
2b. Describe Vault policy syntax: path
2c. Describe Vau...

Hivecell at the Edge - Daily Check-in for July 2, 2020 from 2020-07-03T09:00

#Hivecell has an interesting solution for edge deployments. Let's explore  it a bit. Check out their website here: https://hivecell.com/

HPE Greenlake and Ezmeral - Daily Check-in for July 1, 2020 from 2020-07-02T09:00

Can HPE compete with what AWS, GCP, and Azure have to offer? 

HPE Greenlake 

 • Hardware as a service
• Dell is doing similar things with their  
• E...

Terraform 0.13 Beta - Daily Check-in for June 30, 2020 from 2020-07-01T09:00

Terraform 0.13 features:

 • For_each and count for modules  
• Depends_on for modules
• Automatic install of 3rd party providers
• Custom validation rules for m...

My Python Project - Daily Check-in for June 29, 2020 from 2020-06-30T09:00

I'm going to learn #Python by creating an application in Azure Functions  and use Azure Tables. It's going to replace the way that I use Zapier  today. Should be interesting!

Vault Certification: Auth Methods - Daily Check-in for June 26, 2020 from 2020-06-27T09:00

This time we're covering objective: 1. Compare authentication methods  

Check out my Vault course on Pluralsight: https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/getting-started-hashicorp-vault

There is no Edge - Daily Check-in for June 25, 2020 from 2020-06-26T09:00

What if I told you there is no edge?

Centralized vs. Distributed - Daily Check-in for June 24, 2020 from 2020-06-25T09:00

The pendulum swings from one extreme to the other, or does it?

HashiConf & Terraform 1.0 - Daily Check-in for June 23, 2020 from 2020-06-24T09:00

Highlights of the conference so far and the road to Terraform 1.0. 

https://hashiconf.com/

I'm Not a Developer? - Daily Check-in for June 22, 2020 from 2020-06-23T09:00

My key takeaways -  

Learn scripting: PowerShell or Python 

Learn a cloud, doesn't matter which one 

Learn basic software development lifecycle and concepts

HashiCorp Vault Basics - Daily Check-in for June 19, 2020 from 2020-06-20T09:00

What is Vault and why would you use it?   #HashiConf next week: https://hashiconf.com/  Vault website: https://www.vaultproject.io/

Networking at the Edge - Daily Check-in for June 18, 2020 from 2020-06-19T09:00

Let's talk about how networking has evolved for the enterprise and what  Edge is going to do to it. Hint: it's going to have a massive impact.

Cloud Field Day 8 Prep - Daily Check-in for June 17, 2020 from 2020-06-18T09:00

#CFD8 

Cloud Field Day 8 website - https://techfieldday.com/event/cfd8/ 

My previous Tech Field Day video - https://youtu.be/6QxrqacCE34

What is Terraform? - Daily Check-in for June 16, 2020 from 2020-06-17T09:00

What is Terraform and why would you use it?   

Check out my new course on Plurasight, Implementing Terraform on AWS  (https://app.pluralsight.com/library/courses/implementi...

My Three Pillars - Daily Check-in for June 15, 2020 from 2020-06-16T09:00

My three pillars 

1. Embrace discomfort
2. Fail often
3. Be nice   

Where you can get more Ned (if that's what you want)
Podcasts   
&n...

IBM Cloud Down - Daily Check-in for June 12, 2020 from 2020-06-13T09:00

The facts, IBM cloud went down for 4 hours. Does that mean we should all go multi-cloud?

Dissecting the Edge - Daily Check-in for June 11, 2020 from 2020-06-12T09:00

Edge terminology is evolving. Let's do a deep dive into the User Edge and Service Provider Edge distinctions. 

LF Edge Primer: https://www.lfedge.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/LF-Ed...

Is Kubernetes too Complex? - Daily Check-in for June 10, 2020 from 2020-06-11T09:00

Short answer is no. The real question is have we built a suitable abstraction layer for mass consumption.   

Day Two Cloud episode with Bobby Allen: https://daytwocloud.io/podca...

Conditional Logic in Terraform - Daily Check-in for June 9, 2020 from 2020-06-10T09:00

Using conditional logic in #Terraform for resources and values is super  fun! Shout out to @epanting1 for the idea. #TerraformTuesday  Terraform cert guide: https://leanpub.com/terrafo...

Inside the Studio - Daily Check-in for June 8, 2020 from 2020-06-09T09:00

What is the process for creating the Daily Check-in? In this episode I talk about what I do and how I do it.

Learn all the things? - Daily Check-in for June 5, 2020 from 2020-06-06T09:00

Viewer question: I made my career as a specialist, but the trend has  been towards generalization. As public cloud usage grows, will the trend  swing back to specialization again?

IT vs. OT - Daily Check-in for June 4, 2020 from 2020-06-05T09:00

The intersection of edge and enterprise. There's a tension here between the priorities of IT and OT.   

Edge infra report: https://gigaom.com/report/gigaom-radar-for-edge-infras...

On-Prem Cloud - Daily Check-in for June 3, 2020 from 2020-06-04T09:00

What's the deal with on-prem cloud? And where is it headed?

Using Consul for Configuration Data - Daily Check-in for June 2, 2020 from 2020-06-03T09:00

It's #TerraformTuesday and we're talking about storing config data using Consul.  

My new repo for Terraform Tuesdays: https://github.com/ned1313/terraform-tuesdays  

Her...

Politics and Tech - Daily Check-in for June 1, 2020 from 2020-06-02T09:00

It's not great out there. How can we all help make it better? 

Great post from Tatiana Mac which is a guide for white guys to make a difference: https://tatianamac.com/posts/white-gu...

Ask me Anything Friday - Daily Check-in for May 29, 2020 from 2020-05-30T15:08:12

Questions: What are some of your favourite bands? Converge, Coalesce, Coheed & Cambria, Thank You Scientist, and Rivers of Nihil   

How do you make money? What do you do all...

Edge Colocation Thoughts - Daily Check-in for May 28, 2020 from 2020-05-29T09:00

What's at the Infrastructure Edge and who is using it? You can find my Edge based analysis at GigaOm: https://gigaom.com/research/topic/connectivity/

How the Hardcore Scene Helped My Career - Daily Check-in for May 27, 2020 from 2020-05-28T09:00

How being active in the hardcore and metal scene gave me skills that are applicable to my IT career.

Terraform Certification Redux - Daily Check-in for May 26, 2020 from 2020-05-27T09:00

Going deeper into the certification.   

My original video about the cert: https://youtu.be/Z190OtRXAPI  

A video about taking an online proctored exam: https://youtu...

Working From Home Tips - Daily Check-in for May 25, 2020 from 2020-05-26T15:55:17

Here are five tips for how to work from home.

Becoming a Developer - Daily Check-in for May 22, 2020 from 2020-05-23T09:00

How do you make the transition from an infrastructure ops person to  development? I have NO idea! But here are the roadblocks I've  encountered. If you've made the transition, let me k...

Data and the Edge - Daily Check-in for May 21, 2020 from 2020-05-22T09:00

Data and the Edge - How does the generation of data at the edge impact  infrastructure design? It's an inversion of the traditional model, and  requires new approaches.

Who will win the multi-cloud war? - Daily Check-in for May 20, 2020 from 2020-05-21T09:00

The public cloud providers will! Microsoft #Azure is Coke, #AWS is Pepsi, and #GCP is Segrams (I guess).

Getting Loopy with Terraform - Daily Check-in for May 19, 2020 from 2020-05-20T09:00

What different loop constructs are available in #Terraform and how do they work? #TerraformTuesday

Which Cloud Cert Should I Get? - Daily Check-in for May 18, 2020 from 2020-05-19T09:00

ALL OF THEM! JK. Let's take a strategic approach.

Should Microsoft buy Ubuntu? - Daily Check-in for May 15, 2020 from 2020-05-18T10:43:28

The idea was floated that Microsoft should buy Ubuntu. Does that make any sense? TL;DR, not really. The post that sparked it all: https://build5nines.com/microsoft-to-acquire-canonical-ubuntu-sh...

Thursdays on the Edge of Glory? - Daily Check-in for May 14, 2020 from 2020-05-15T09:00

Let's start this series with a primer on edge. #LFEdge @LF_Edge

Overview deck https://www.lfedge.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/LF-Edge-web-may2020.pdf  

Open Glossary for Edg...

The Future of Datacenters - Daily Check-in for May 13, 2020 from 2020-05-14T09:00

Will DCs shrink, grow, or something else? I think the answer might be YES.

Terraform Provisioners - Daily Check-in for May 12, 2020 from 2020-05-13T09:00

#Terraform Provisioners - Don't ever use them! Here's why. #TerraformTuesday

Don't Wait! - Daily Check-in for May 11, 2020 from 2020-05-12T09:00

If you want to do something new, don't wait! Figure out the minimum steps to get started and dive in.

Building a network. No, not that kind. - Daily Check-in for May 8, 2020 from 2020-05-09T09:00

Make friends with awesome people!  Related blog post:  https://nedinthecloud.com/2020/05/07/ned-in-the-cloud-first-year-review/

Do the Thing! - Daily Check-in for May 7, 2020 from 2020-05-08T09:00

The key to success starts with showing up and doing the thing. Shout out to @sfoskett!

Ned in the Cloud LLC turns one! - Daily Check-in for May 6, 2020 from 2020-05-07T09:00

A year ago I started the journey as a self-employed freelancer. How are things going after 365 days? Pretty frackin' awesome.

Terraform Variables and Locals- Daily Check-in for May 5, 2020 from 2020-05-06T09:00

It's #TerraformTuesday and I'm talking about #Terraform Variables and Locals.   Here's my Terraform certification guide: https://leanpub.com/terraform-certified/  and checkout the...

OpenShift Cluster Management - Daily Check-in for May 4, 2020 from 2020-05-05T09:00

What is #OpenShift Cluster Management and why would you care? From Red Hat Tech Field Day #TFDx

Presentations: https://youtu.be/WsvKhagxoPc and https://youtu.be/Xo9FI8RdnBo

KubeVirt and OpenShift virtualization - Daily Check-in for May 1, 2020 from 2020-05-02T09:00

#KubeVirt, not Q-Bert - #OpenShift virtualization is a really cool idea, but does it make sense?   Here's the #TFDx presentation: https://youtu.be/vHAjvX8QfhE

Red Hat TFDx - Daily Check-in for April 30, 2020 from 2020-05-01T09:00

Red Hat Tech Field Day my big takeaways #OpenShift #TFDx   https://techfieldday.com/event/tfdrh1/

Flexera's State of the Cloud Report - Daily Check-in for April 29, 2020 from 2020-04-30T09:00

Flexera's State of the Cloud Report for 2020 is out. Here's my key takeaways.

Red Hat Virtual Summit - Daily Check-in for April 28, 2020 from 2020-04-28T19:00

Red Hat Virtual Summit and Tech Field Day Extra! You can watch live  tomorrow, April 29th at this link:  https://techfieldday.com/event/tfdrh1/ @OpenShift #OpenShift #TFDx

Tech Field Day - Daily Check-in for April 27, 2020 from 2020-04-28T09:00

Tech Field Day! What is Tech Field Day and why would you want to get involved? I've got answers.

Ask me anything! - Daily Check-in for April 24, 2020 from 2020-04-25T09:00

We talked about Terraform certifications, new HashiCorp courses on Pluralsight, what's up with my white sunglasses, and more!

VMware Cloud revisited - Daily Check-in for April 23, 2020 from 2020-04-24T09:00

Is VMC a good idea? I didn't think so 3 years ago, but my opinion has shifted a bit.   Here's the original blog post from 2017: https://nedinthecloud.com/2017/09/27/vmware-on-aws-youre...

Writing documentation well - Daily Check-in for April 22, 2020 from 2020-04-23T09:00

Writing technical documentation is hard. I have a little experience to share.

Well, actually... - Daily Check-in for April 21, 2020 from 2020-04-22T20:18:44

Language is hard, there's no need to be a jerk about it.

Taking an Exam at Home - Daily Check-in for April 20, 2020 from 2020-04-20T18:16:45

Have you been thinking about taking an exam at home during the quarantine? Here's some quick advice and pointers.

What do I learn next? - Daily Check-in for April 17, 2020 from 2020-04-19T11:33:44

With so many things to learn in tech, what should you focus on next? I try to come up with some strategies for making a decision.

Terraform Certified Associate - Daily Check-in for April 16, 2020 from 2020-04-16T17:03:17

HashiCorp is preparing to launch their Terraform Certified Associate program. What do you need to know and how can you prepare?

Writing a Book - Daily Check-in for April 15, 2020 from 2020-04-15T16:46:41

Writing a book is a big commitment. Should you do it? Why, what, and how?

Recording and Editing Pt. 2 - Daily Check-in for April 14, 2020 from 2020-04-14T16:44:46

After tackling audio recording, I'm back to talk about video recording for demos and presentations.

Recording and Editing - Daily Check-in for April 13, 2020 from 2020-04-14T01:12:51

What have I learned about recording podcasts and video courses? A bit. Tune in to find out.

Raise Your Hand! - Daily Check-in for April 10, 2020 from 2020-04-10T22:01:57

How do you move accelerate your career, build your skills, and help others? Raise your hand, silly.

The Future of Microsoft Active Directory - Daily Check-In for April 8, 2020 from 2020-04-10T21:59:24

Active Directory development has been pretty dormant. What's up with that?

Managed Kubernetes Marketplace - Daily Check-In for April 9, 2020 from 2020-04-09T20:48:37

A bunch of on-premises managed Kubernetes offerings have cropped up. What's out there and what should you consider?

Big project? Break it up. - Daily Check-In for April 7, 2020 from 2020-04-08T12:42:17

Taking on a daunting task, like surviving a pandemic? Break it up into manageable chunks.

Emulate Who You Want to Be - Daily Check-In for April 6, 2020 from 2020-04-07T13:34:26

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and probably the best way to advance your career.

Don't Be a Snob - Daily Check-In for April 3, 2020 from 2020-04-07T13:32:22

You know what sucks? Elitist gatekeepers. Don't be one of those.

Get a hobby! - Daily Check-In for April 2, 2020 from 2020-04-07T13:28:05

Look we're all feeling a bit stressed right now. You know what might help? A hobby.

Microsoft Ignite 2020 - Daily Check-In for April 1, 2020 from 2020-04-07T13:05

Microsoft Ignite 2020 is going virtual. I have FEELINGS.