Getting Started With Prometheus - Introduction to the Query Language

Are you looking to get away from proprietary instrumentation? 

Are you interested in open source observability but lack the knowledge to just dive right in? 

This workshop is for you, designed to expand your knowledge and understanding of open source observability tooling that is available to you today.

Dive right into a free, online, self paced, hands-on workshop introducing you to Prometheus. Prometheus is an open source systems monitoring and alerting tool kit that enables you to hit the ground running with discovering, collecting, and querying your observability today. Over the course of this workshop you will learn what Prometheus is, what it is not, install it, start collecting metrics, and learn all the things you need to know to become effective at running Prometheus in your observability stack. 

Previously, I shared an introduction to Prometheus and installing Prometheus has free online worksop labs. In this article you'll continue your journey with an introduction to the Prometheus query language, also known as PromQL.

Open Source 101 2023 - Observability For You and Me with OpenTelemetry (slides)

 As mentioned previously, I submitted the Open Source 101 series conference being hosted in Charlotte, NC on 23 March 2023.

Interestingly enough, they picked up a talk on observability and the open source community project known as OpenTelemetry.

I was to give this talk with a co-speaker Paige Cruz, but she's going to be on the West Coast speaking at three other events during this same time period, so I'm flying solo.

As promised in my talk, the slides are provided below along with the session abstract.

Getting Started With Prometheus - Installing Prometheus

Are you looking to get away from proprietary instrumentation? 

Are you interested in open source observability but lack the knowledge to just dive right in? 

This workshop is for you, designed to expand your knowledge and understanding of open source observability tooling that is available to you today.

Dive right into a free, online, self paced, hands-on workshop introducing you to Prometheus. Prometheus is an open source systems monitoring and alerting tool kit that enables you to hit the ground running with discovering, collecting, and querying your observability today. Over the course of this workshop you will learn what Prometheus is, what it is not, install it, start collecting metrics, and learn all the things you need to know to become effective at running Prometheus in your observability stack. 

Previously I shared an introduction to Prometheus in a lab that kicked off this workshop. In this article you'll be installing Prometheus, from either a pre-built binary from the project or using a container image.

Open Source 101 2023 - Observability For You and Me with OpenTelemetry

As mentioned previously, I submitted the Open Source 101 series conference being hosted in Charlotte, NC on 23 March 2023.

Interestingly enough, they picked up a talk on observability and the open source community project known as OpenTelemetry.

I was to give this talk with a co-speaker Paige Cruz, but she's going to be on the West Coast speaking at three other events during this same time period, so I'm flying solo.

Let's see what the story is about, shall we?

The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Rules and Processes

As seen online at KieLive episode #14

There are so many ways and so much content out there to get you started with open source rules and process automation tooling by Red Hat, so where do you start? 

The goal of this guide is to provide you with a learning path through this content as a way to get started from download, to installation, to quick starts, to hands-on workshops, and all the way to using this technology for your cloud-native development projects.

You'll walk away from this guide with a learning path mapped out through content that's enjoyable to work with and can help you get started on your rules and process automation projects today.

Getting Started With Prometheus - Introduction to Prometheus

Are you looking to get away from proprietary instrumentation? 

Are you interested in open source observability but lack the knowledge to just dive right in? 

This workshop is for you, designed to expand your knowledge and understanding of open source observability tooling that is available to you today.

Dive right into a free, online, self paced, hands-on workshop introducing you to Prometheus. Prometheus is an open source systems monitoring and alerting tool kit that enables you to hit the ground running with discovering, collecting, and querying your observability today. Over the course of this workshop you will learn what Prometheus is, what it is not, install it, start collecting metrics, and learn all the things you need to know to become effective at running Prometheus in your observability stack. 

In this article you'll be introduced to some basic concepts, learn what Prometheus is and what it is not before you start getting hands on with it in the rest of the workshop.

O11y Guide - Building Advanced++ Dashboards

The ongoing series covering my journey into the world of cloud native observability continues in this article, where I'm continuing to explore an open source dashboard and visualization project. If you missed any of the previous articles, head on back to the introduction for a quick update.

After laying out the groundwork for this series in the initial article, I spent some time in the second article sharing who the observability players are. I also discussed the teams that these players are on in this world of cloud native o11y. For the third article I looked at the ongoing discussion around monitoring pillars versus phases. In the fourth article I talked about keeping your options open with open source standards. My last installment, the fifth article in this series, I talked about bringing monolithic applications into the cloud native o11y world. In my sixth article, I provided you with an introduction to a new open source dashboard and visualization project and shared how to install the project on your local developer machine. The seventh article I explored the API and tooling provided by the Perses project. Then I spent time in an article  covering the open dashboard specification that you need to follow and then you started creating your first dashboard. Finally, in the previous article, you expanded your dashboard with a few charts, gauges, and rows.

In this article you'll complete the workshop and add a few advanced components to your dashboard.

Uptime Community - When does Kubernetes make sense?

On Tuesday, February 28th at 19:00 hours CET, 13:00 East Coast, and 10:00 West Coast I'm going to be at the Uptime community event titled, When does K8s make sense? 

As the event page states, it's going to be a lot of fun with four experts debating on the topic of 'When Does Kubernetes Make Sense?'. 

The panel will work its way through three main questions:

1. When does Kubernetes make sense? Which situations have they personally seen?
2. How is this changing? What has to change in tools, management or core K8s?
3. How does it impact engineers? What skills are most helpful - and most overlooked?

Questions from the audience will be embedded into the discussion by the moderator.

O11y Guide - Building Advanced Dashboard

The ongoing series covering my journey into the world of cloud native observability continues in this article, where I'm continuing to explore an open source dashboard and visualization project. If you missed any of the previous articles, head on back to the introduction for a quick update.

After laying out the groundwork for this series in the initial article, I spent some time in the second article sharing who the observability players are. I also discussed the teams that these players are on in this world of cloud native o11y. For the third article I looked at the ongoing discussion around monitoring pillars versus phases. In the fourth article I talked about keeping your options open with open source standards. My last installment, the fifth article in this series, I talked about bringing monolithic applications into the cloud native o11y world. In my sixth article, I provided you with an introduction to a new open source dashboard and visualization project and shared how to install the project on your local developer machine. The seventh article I explored the API and tooling provided by the Perses project. Then I spent time in an article  covering the open dashboard specification that you need to follow to start creating your first dashboard. Finally, in the previous article, you built your very first dashboard.

In this article you'll flush out that first dashboard completing two rows of charts, gauges, and other components visualizing the performance of the target instance.

Cloud Native + k8S Edinburgh Meetup - 3 Pitfalls Everyone Should Avoid with Cloud Data (slides)

 Tonight I was in Edinburgh for the Cloud Native + Kubernetes Edinburgh meetup. With over 650 members, this group was a perfect venue for my talk about cloud native and the struggles we are having with all of the data it generates.

These insights on pitfalls everyone should avoid with cloud data are a constant work in progress as the entire cloud native world is moving so fast. It needs constant tending to further refine some of the improvements that have been worked into the story lately.

We met in the offices of Codebase (just down the hill from Edinburgh Castle) and the Cloud Native + Kubernetes Edinburgh and I wanted to share my slides as I promised.

O11y Guide - Building Your First Dashboard

In this installment of the series covering my journey into the world of cloud native observability, I'm continuing to explore an open source dashboard and visualization project. If you missed any of the previous articles, head on back to the introduction for a quick update.

After laying out the groundwork for this series in the initial article, I spent some time in the second article sharing who the observability players are. I also discussed the teams that these players are on in this world of cloud native o11y. For the third article I looked at the ongoing discussion around monitoring pillars versus phases. In the fourth article I talked about keeping your options open with open source standards. My last installment, the fifth article in this series, I talked about bringing monolithic applications into the cloud native o11y world. In my sixth article, I provided you with an introduction to a new open source dashboard and visualization project and shared how to install the project on your local developer machine. The seventh article I explored the API and tooling provided by the Perses project. Finally, in my previous article I covered the open dashboard specification that you need to follow to start creating your first dashboard.

In this article you'll start developing your very first dashboard!

WTF is SRE 2023 - Telling Effective Tales About Production (accepted)

Good news this week. I'll be speaking at this new (for me) event called WTF is SRE 2023, to be hosted in London from 3-5 May 2023.

This is the fourth edition and they are putting on four tracks; Observability, Reliability, DevEx and DevSecOps. 

You must be asking the same thing I was when I got this invite to submit, what is WTF is SRE? Well they say, "It is a highly-rated, very-tweeted-about, ridiculously-fun, wildly-insightful two-day conference designed to improve the world of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)."

As you can tell from the tone and style, these have got to be some really fun people to hang out with for a few days, so I'm all in with the following submissions.

O11y Guide - Exploring Perses Dashboards

Getting started with Perses

In this eighth installment of the series covering my journey into the world of cloud native observability, I'm continuing to explore an open source project called Perses. If you missed any of the previous articles, head on back to the introduction for a quick update.

After laying out the groundwork for this series in the initial article, I spent some time in the second article sharing who the observability players are. I also discussed the teams that these players are on in this world of cloud native o11y. For the third article I looked at the ongoing discussion around monitoring pillars versus phases. In the fourth article I talked about keeping your options open with open source standards. My last installment, the fifth article in this series, I talked about bringing monolithic applications into the cloud native o11y world. In my sixth article, I provided you with an introduction to a new open source dashboard and visualization project and shared how to install the project on your local developer machine. The previous and seventh article I explored the API and tooling provided by the Perses project. 

In this eighth article I'm diving in to understanding what makes up a Perses dashboard. This is a preview of the fourth lab developed for my hands-on workshop dedicated to exploring dashboards and visualization.

Cloud Native + Kubernetes Edinburgh Meetup - 3 Pitfalls Everyone Should Avoid with Cloud Data

As fate would have it, not only am I going to be in Edinburgh for the first 2023 event for the Edinburgh Tech Meetup, but also in the second week for the Cloud Native + Kubernetes Edinburgh meetup.

With over 650 members, this group is spot on for the topic I'm presenting. These insights on pitfalls everyone should avoid with cloud data are a constant work in progress as the entire cloud native world is moving so fast. It needs constant tending to further refine some of the improvements that have been worked into the story lately.

On 15 February 2023 I'll be at the offices of Codebase (just down the hill from Edinburgh Castle) and the Cloud Native + Kubernetes Edinburgh meetup placed the following event announcement online.

WTF is SRE 2023 - Perses workshop and telling SRE tales

I'm getting ready for a raw and real experience at this new (for me) event called WTF is SRE 2023, to be hosted in London from 3-5 May 2023.

This is the fourth edition and they are putting on four tracks; Observability, Reliability, DevEx and DevSecOps. 

You must be asking the same thing I was when I got this invite to submit, what is WTF is SRE? Well they say, "It is a highly-rated, very-tweeted-about, ridiculously-fun, wildly-insightful two-day conference designed to improve the world of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)."

As you can tell from the tone and style, these have got to be some really fun people to hang out with for a few days, so I'm all in with the following submissions.

Edinburgh Tech Meetup - Getting Started with Perses Workshop

On 7 February 2023 I've been invited to speak at this years inaugural Edinburgh Tech Meetup. 

This is a monthly TechMeetup that they say is an "...excuse for developers and the tech community around Scotland to meet up and learn new stuff from each other. No name badges, no sales pitches, just informative presentations from your peers and a chance to meet some of the tech community around you. We're not centered around specific languages, technologies or disciplines; we believe there's stuff to learn from mixing everyone together."

With that in mind, I was looking to share a brand new workshop I've been rolling out, so this is my opportunity to get some first and feedback from a group of technical enthusiasts. 

Devoxx UK 2023 - Tracing Adventures, Observability Architecture, and Tales

Anyone that follows my events and speaking articles knows that I have always been a big fan of the Devoxx series. Across Europe I've spoken as several of these events over the years and one of my absolute favorites is the Devoxx UK hosted in London.

Last year I was in London in May for the 2022 edition talking about architecture and tooling. This year they are hosting it from 10-11 May 2023 and I am more than excited to bring some of the new topics I'm exploring within the cloud native observability world to share with her attendees.

In the spirit of continued support for Devoxx UK, I'm not only sending in papers for my own talks, but I've enticed a few new and old colleagues to submit papers with me.

The following are my thoughts and ideas that I'm hoping to share with you in London in the Spring.

Cloud Native London Meetup - 3 Pitfalls Everyone Should Avoid with Cloud Data (slides)

As mentioned previously, today I was able to join the Cloud Native London meetup and share my thoughts on cloud data. 

They hosted their January 2023 event and we were with a pretty good group for a Wednesday evening in London.

Below you can find the agenda for the evening, the slides I presented, and the original abstract for my talk. There are also links to the meetup homepage and other follow-on information like an eventual link to the recorded session.

Cloud Native London Meetup - 3 Pitfalls Everyone Should Avoid with Cloud Data

This week I got a late invite to speak at the Cloud Native London meetup and of course jumped at the chance. They are hosting their January 2023 event and lost one of their speakers, so I am more than happy to pop in for a chat.

They have +7,000 members and it is, "...the official Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) Meetup group dedicated to building a strong, open, diverse developer community around the Cloud Native platform and technologies in London. "

You can also find them on their own slack channel, so feel free to drop in for a quick chat if you like.

Now, on to the event and the talk I'm going to share on Wednesday, 11 Jan 2022 in London.

Open Source 101 2023 - Visualization Workshop and Observability Treats

The team from All Things Open conference, a really fun event hosted every year in Raleigh, NC, has launched a new event venue early in 2023 that I'm going to give my best effort to attend. 

They call it the Open Source 101 series and are planning to host it in Charlotte, NC on 23 March 2023, so of course I have to jump in with both feet. The call-for-papers (CFP) for Open Source 101 closed this week and the 2023 event is looking for world-class speakers to deliver a variety of topics to attendees, so I put my best foot forward to submit. 

Here are my submissions and hope to see you there in Charlotte in March.

O11y Guide - Exploring Perses API and Tooling

Getting started with Perses

In this seventh installment of the series covering my journey into the world of cloud native observability, I'm continuing to explore an open source project called Perses. If you missed any of the previous articles, head on back to the introduction for a quick update.

After laying out the groundwork for this series in the initial article, I spent some time in the second article sharing who the observability players are. I also discussed the teams that these players are on in this world of cloud native o11y. For the third article I looked at the ongoing discussion around monitoring pillars versus phases. In the fourth article I talked about keeping your options open with open source standards. My last installment, the fifth article in this series, I talked about bringing monolithic applications into the cloud native o11y world. In my sixth and last article, I provided you with an introduction to a new open source dashboard and visualization project and shared how to install the project on your local developer machine. 

Being a developer from my early days in IT, it's been very interesting to explore the complexities of cloud native o11y. Monitoring applications goes way beyond just writing and deploying code, especially in the cloud native world. One thing remains the same, maintaining your organization's architecture always requires both a vigilant outlook and an understanding of available open standards.

In this seventh article we'll be exploring Perses application programming interface (API) and tooling. This is a preview of the third lab developed for my hands-on workshop dedicated to exploring dashboards and visualization.

Installing or Upgrading to Fedora 37 on Macbook Pro 13 inch (late 2011)

This weekend I decided to update my old Macbook Pro 13 inch from late 2011, with 125GB SSD and 8GB RAM. 

It's a machine I've taken on trips around the world and back in the day ran many a session, workshop, or demo on sharing all that developer goodness.

Last time we checked, this was installed using Fedora 36, so how about an update to Fedora 37?