Shippable Uses Containers to Marry DevOps, Private Clouds

One of the downstream benefits of embracing Docker containers is that it makes it much easier to implement a private cloud as an extension of a public cloud. Containerized applications that might be built on a public cloud can be moved easily to a private cloud or vice versa. In fact, that capability is starting to spur adoption of private clouds at a much faster rate.

As IT organizations gain confidence in their ability to manage a private cloud, many of them are also discovering the need to embrace DevOps to be truly effective when it comes to building and deploying modern cloud-native applications. To facilitate that transition, Shippable is now making available an on-premises version of Shippable Server that runs on top of Docker containers.

Shippable CEI Avi Cavale says the applications managed with Shippable Server do not have to be based on containers. But because the Shippable platform is based on Docker containers, it’s easier to deploy them on both private and public clouds.

The platform also provides support for Docker tooling and natively integrates with all Docker registries such as Docker Hub, Amazon ECR, GCR and private registries, as well as container orchestration platforms including Amazon ECS, Kubernetes, GKE and Microsoft Azure.

Cavale notes that because of compliance requirements and security concerns, many organizations have no choice other than to build a private cloud. Shippable Server is designed to enable those organizations to ship application code faster by unifying DevOps tools and activities into software assembly lines that are embedded with rich telemetry data, he says. DevOps teams can implement end-to-end workflows spanning continuous integration, testing, infrastructure, configuration and application releases using a simple YML-based declarative language.

Core Shippable Server capabilities also include the ability to limit who can perform specific tasks. Teams have complete control over their infrastructure and machine configurations. Everything runs behind their firewall, so they can be sure all their security and compliance requirements are met as they automate the provisioning, building, testing and managing of application releases. Cavale says the rise of microservices has made that level of automation critical, as most IT organizations are now managing multiple pipelines across multiple applications that have any number of interdependencies.

Shippbale Server also provides visualization and continuous monitoring tools to detect abnormalities, stop or roll back and fix problems in real time. It also includes more than 80 native connectors to various third-party tools, technologies and languages including GitHub, GitHub Enterprise, Bitbucket, Bitbucket Server and Gitlab Enterprise.

These days, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to managing DevOps pipelines. But as more organizations employ microservices, many of them are finding they need a more granular approach to DevOps. Many of those platforms not only are capable of managing more pipelines at scale, they also incorporate many technologies that many DevOps pioneers have had to acquire and incorporate separately. In fact, many organizations that never embraced DevOps may find themselves enjoying a second mover advantage after deploying latter generations of DevOps technologies and platforms.

Mike Vizard

Mike Vizard is a seasoned IT journalist with over 25 years of experience. He also contributed to IT Business Edge, Channel Insider, Baseline and a variety of other IT titles. Previously, Vizard was the editorial director for Ziff-Davis Enterprise as well as Editor-in-Chief for CRN and InfoWorld.

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