January 2021 Summaries

New Relic formalized its institutional knowledge and best practices as "New Relic Engineering Standards" to help teams build more perfect software faster. The standards are focused on using the languages, frameworks, libraries, platforms, tools, and techniques that New Relic has invested in successfully in its production system. By codifying these standards, teams can avoid accidental complexity and focus on delivering customer value. The standards process is open, allowing anyone to contribute and view the standards through a GitHub repository. Ron Crocker, a distinguished engineer at New Relic, emphasizes the importance of writing down reality, being judicious in demands on teams, giving non-architects a voice, communicating widely and often, getting an executive sponsor, and continuously updating and improving the standards to achieve benefits such as improved reliability, scalability, consistency, and quality.

New Relic has formalized its engineering standards to enhance software development efficiency and ensure consistent practices across its expanding global operations. Distinguished Engineer Ron Crocker explains that these standards are designed to codify institutional knowledge, streamline decision-making, and leverage existing investments in technology, thereby accelerating development and improving reliability. The standards are organized into recommendation rings, ranging from mandatory to discouraged practices, and are publicly maintained in a GitHub repository, allowing for transparency and community input. Since being introduced in 2020, the standards have facilitated better communication, decision-making, and resource utilization across teams. New Relic aims to continually update these standards and is developing a scorecard to measure compliance and its impact on operational efficiency and incident reduction, with potential plans to open-source the standards in the future.

The FutureStack conference by New Relic is an upcoming event where developers and engineers can share their knowledge and experiences on building and operating modern software using observability. The call for papers is now open until February 22, 2021, and features four main tracks: Extending New Relic One, Getting Data In, AI/ML-Powered Observability, and 011y 4 Modern Architectures. The conference will take place on May 25-27, 2021, as a worldwide virtual event with hands-on sessions and convenient times for attendees in every time zone.

New Relic's FutureStack conference invites developers, engineers, and data enthusiasts to submit proposals for sessions on various observability topics, with the call for papers open until February 22, 2021. The virtual event, scheduled for May 25-27, 2021, offers a global platform for sharing expertise in building and operating modern software, focusing on four main tracks: extending New Relic One, data ingestion, AI/ML-powered observability, and observability for modern architectures. Selected participants will work with New Relic to develop content and gain promotion on social media. The event promises hands-on sessions accessible across all time zones, encouraging participants to share their strategies for improving technology performance, pinpointing issues, and preventing outages.

This blog post presents an environment-specific solution to a problem, and its views are those of the author rather than New Relic. The solutions offered are not part of New Relic's commercial offerings or support. For questions and support related to this topic, readers should join the Explorers Hub discussion forum. Some links in the blog post may lead to third-party sites with information that is not endorsed or adopted by New Relic.

The author of this blog post is sharing knowledge about cloud frameworks and provides a link to New Relic Infrastructure monitoring as a resource for learning more. The views expressed in the blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of New Relic, and the solutions offered are environment-specific and may not be part of the commercial solutions or support offered by New Relic. The blog post is intended to provide information and resources for cloud app monitoring and Cloud Foundry requirements, and readers are encouraged to join the Explorers Hub for questions and support related to this topic.

The blog post, authored by a New Relic solution consultant with a background in IT service management, discusses cloud frameworks and the requirements for monitoring cloud applications, specifically highlighting New Relic Infrastructure monitoring. It emphasizes that the author's views are personal and not necessarily those of New Relic, and any solutions mentioned are specific to particular environments and not part of New Relic's commercial offerings. Readers are encouraged to visit New Relic's Explorers Hub for questions and support, while also noting that the blog may link to third-party sites without New Relic's endorsement. The post mentions the availability of over 780 integrations for monitoring technology stacks for free.

The blog post highlights the professional background of Takako Takezawa, who works as a Solution Consultant at New Relic, focusing on IT service management and aiding clients in driving initiatives related to work style reform and digital transformation. While her insights do not represent New Relic's official views, the blog encourages readers to engage with the Explorers Hub for further discussion and support. Additionally, it notes that any solutions discussed are specific to certain environments and not part of New Relic’s commercial offerings. The blog post also contains links to third-party sites, which New Relic does not endorse or approve, and promotes the availability of over 780 integrations to monitor IT systems for free.

AWS Lambda logging allows developers to capture and store information about the execution of functions in AWS Lambda, providing visibility into behavior, performance, and errors. It integrates with Amazon CloudWatch Logs, a scalable log storage service, and enables features such as logging libraries, logging levels, custom metrics, and retrieval and analysis tools. However, sending logs to CloudWatch can incur fees after exceeding the free tier limits, especially for frequently invoked functions producing moderate quantities of log data. To mitigate this, AWS Lambda Extensions now have direct access to the log stream, independent from CloudWatch, allowing developers to send function logs directly to New Relic's Telemetry Data Platform, gaining unified visibility into their Lambda functions and reducing cloud spend. Effective logging is crucial for monitoring and troubleshooting AWS Lambda functions, and best practices include using logging libraries, including sufficient information, handling errors appropriately, monitoring cold starts, and regularly reviewing and analyzing logs.

AWS Lambda logging is essential for gaining visibility into the behavior, performance, and errors of serverless functions deployed on AWS Lambda. It integrates with Amazon CloudWatch Logs to store and analyze logs, which can be accessed through the CloudWatch console, SDKs, or AWS CLI. Engineers can include logging statements in their code using libraries like console.log in Node.js or print in Python to generate log entries sent to CloudWatch Logs. Logging levels, such as info, warning, and error, help categorize log messages for easier troubleshooting. Additionally, AWS Lambda supports custom metrics for tracking performance indicators beyond standard logging. The AWS Lambda Extensions Logs API allows for direct access to the log stream, enabling tools like New Relic to gain unified visibility into Lambda functions without relying heavily on CloudWatch, thus potentially reducing costs. The blog post discusses configuring Lambda functions to send logs directly to New Relic for better observability and offers best practices for logging, including using logging libraries, providing detailed log information, and employing centralized logging solutions.

In this episode, Zain Asgar and Ishan Mukherjee of Pixie Labs discuss their collaboration with New Relic to accelerate the adoption of Pixie, a tool for observability in Kubernetes clusters. The goal is to provide a unified experience between what you see on the command-line and what you see on a web UI or mobile phone, instantly troubleshoot applications without instrumentation, and run community, team, or custom scripts to debug as code. Pixie uses eBPF (Enhanced Berkeley Packet Filter) for low-overhead observability in Kubernetes clusters. The duo share their vision of making developers self-sufficient with observability and debugging their production systems, aiming to make Pixie a default observability system. They discuss the open core model, community engagement, and future plans, including protocol parsers, dynamic logging, and community meetups. Zain and Ishan emphasize the importance of developer ubiquity and contributing to the collective knowledge through scripts. They invite listeners to join the Pixie community and attend upcoming events. The podcast is available on Spotify and iTunes, and viewers can find more information on pixielabs.ai.

Jonan Scheffler hosts an episode of the Observy McObservface podcast featuring Zain Asgar and Ishan Mukherjee from Pixie Labs, discussing their recent acquisition by New Relic and the benefits of Pixie for Kubernetes observability. Pixie offers a seamless experience by allowing developers to troubleshoot applications without instrumentation and run scripts for debugging, leveraging eBPF technology for secure and efficient data collection. The conversation highlights Pixie's open-source model, aiming for developer ubiquity by making observability accessible and efficient. The guests emphasize the community-centric approach and integration with New Relic to accelerate Pixie's adoption, promising a powerful tool for developers to monitor and optimize Kubernetes environments with minimal overhead. The episode underscores Pixie's goal to deliver rapid and comprehensive data insights, aligning with New Relic's developer-focused mission and enhancing the observability landscape.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we want to celebrate the life stories of some true trailblazers in the world of computer science. These individuals made significant contributions to the development of modern computer technology, with their work having a lasting impact on the world. Katherine Johnson, a NASA physicist, is among those whose story has been widely recognized, while others, such as the "godfather" of Silicon Valley and the founder of Black Girls Code, have played key roles in shaping the industry's diversity and inclusion efforts. The legacy of these individuals continues to inspire new generations of developers and tech professionals, including Mikey Butler, a VP of Engineering at New Relic who was remembered for his trailblazing work in technology and leadership. Through their stories, we can learn about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the tech industry and the impact that one person can have on shaping its future.

In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the article highlights the contributions of several pioneering figures in computer science, emphasizing their significant roles in the advancement of modern technology. Notable individuals include Katherine Johnson, a NASA physicist whose story inspired the film "Hidden Figures," and the founder of Black Girls Code, along with other key innovators in computer hardware and software. The article also pays tribute to Mikey Butler, a former VP of Engineering at New Relic, who was recognized as a trailblazer and an inspiring leader. Written by Tracy Williams, Chief People & Culture Officer at New Relic, the piece encourages readers to explore the legacy of these figures further and acknowledges the author's personal views while providing a disclaimer about New Relic's stance.

AIOps (Application of Intelligent Operations) is an evolving solution that aims to revolutionize how IT ecosystems are managed by leveraging data science and machine learning capabilities. The technology is gaining traction, with organizations adopting it to improve uptime, reduce manual tasks, and manage the increasing volume and velocity of digital data generated by their networks. Gartner predicts a significant increase in large enterprise adoption of AIOps tools, from 5% in 2018 to 30% in 2023. The driving forces behind AIOps include the exponential growth of data, the need for human intervention in IT management, and the requirement for swift problem resolution. To get started with AIOps, it's essential to begin small, showcase proficiency, experiment with features, and prioritize learning and adaptation. By embracing AIOps, businesses can secure their competitive edge and innovate in a rapidly changing technology landscape.

AIOps, a term coined by Gartner, refers to the application of data science and machine learning to IT operations, aiming to enhance functions like performance monitoring and IT service management by utilizing big data and AI technologies. The increasing complexity and volume of digital data, driven by more IoT devices and digital users, have made traditional human-managed IT operations insufficient, necessitating AIOps for efficiency and speed in addressing IT issues. Despite its growing adoption, AIOps requires human oversight with new skills to manage these systems effectively. The technology promises to prevent and rapidly resolve IT issues, as illustrated by past incidents with major Australian supermarket chains, and organizations are encouraged to view AIOps as an opportunity for innovation and competitive advantage.

The conversation between Katy Farmer and Jonan Scheffler revolves around creating welcoming spaces for developers, community management, and the importance of empathy in tech. They discuss their personal experiences in customer service and IT repairs, which helped them develop skills to communicate with people effectively. Katy shares her approach to handling difficult situations, emphasizing the use of questions to understand the issue and provide solutions. Jonan highlights the value of learning from others, even those who may seem more experienced or knowledgeable, as everyone starts from a place of not knowing. They also touch on their personal interests outside of tech, including digital art and music. Katy emphasizes the importance of being kind to each other in online communities, while Jonan encourages listeners to be open-minded and willing to learn from others. The conversation is light-hearted and engaging, with both hosts sharing their perspectives on topics relevant to developer relations and community management.

In an episode of the Observy McObservface podcast, Katy Farmer, Technical Community Manager at CircleCI, discusses her commitment to creating inclusive and respectful spaces within the tech community while emphasizing the importance of adhering to a code of conduct. She reflects on her experiences in customer service and IT, highlighting how they equipped her with valuable problem-solving skills. The conversation with host Jonan Scheffler touches on the challenges and rewards of developer relations, the significance of empathy in tech, and the impact of community-driven conferences. They also explore the parallels between community management and observability, underscoring the importance of understanding and collaboration in both areas. Throughout the discussion, Farmer emphasizes the necessity of kindness over niceness and the role of privilege in fostering safe environments, while also sharing personal anecdotes about her journey in the tech world and the joys of learning and teaching.

Snowflake is a versatile data platform company that provides scalable infrastructure in the cloud, allowing it to meet diverse needs and offering benefits like low maintenance and massive scale. To ensure Snowflake's security, performance, and timely data delivery, New Relic is introducing its Snowflake integration, which offers a broad view of how Snowflake works across areas such as costs, performance, security, and availability. The integration can help detect and resolve warehouse performance issues by monitoring metrics like disk spillage and query queuing, optimize costs using linear prediction functions and NRQL alerts, detect potential security issues through login tracking and failed logins, and monitor custom Snowflake data with the ability to ingest any data stored in Snowflake. By leveraging this integration, companies can ensure a smooth adoption of Snowflake within their organization.

Snowflake is a cloud-based data platform that offers a scalable infrastructure for various needs, including data lakes, warehousing, reporting, and analytics. Its cloud-based nature provides advantages like low maintenance and scalability, making it increasingly popular among companies. However, to ensure its optimal performance and security, tools like New Relic's Snowflake integration offer valuable insights into costs, performance, security, and availability. This integration helps users detect and resolve performance issues, optimize costs by monitoring expensive queries or misconfigurations, and maintain security by tracking login activities. Additionally, it allows for real-time monitoring of custom data, enhancing observability across different aspects of Snowflake's operations, ensuring its smooth adoption within organizations.

Full-stack observability is a practice of monitoring and understanding all layers of a software application, from front-end user interface to back-end infrastructure. It involves collecting and analyzing data from various sources to gain insights into an application's performance, availability, and user experience. This approach transcends traditional monitoring by providing end-to-end visibility across the entire IT stack. Most companies are confusing full-stack observability with individual monitoring tools, causing them to miss out on full IT stack visibility. Successful full-stack observability leads to streamlined troubleshooting, improved performance, and better customer experiences.

Full-stack observability is a comprehensive approach to monitoring and understanding all layers of a software application, from the user interface to the infrastructure, distinguishing itself from traditional monitoring by providing end-to-end visibility across the entire IT stack. Unlike siloed monitoring tools, full-stack observability offers a unified experience that allows engineers to troubleshoot, debug, and optimize performance efficiently by integrating data from logs, infrastructure, applications, and user experiences into a single source of truth. This approach enables faster problem detection and resolution, proactive system improvements, and enhances decision-making by providing a holistic view of system performance. Companies often confuse monitoring with true observability, leading to fragmented insights and inefficiencies, as demonstrated by the example of an engineer struggling to diagnose issues due to scattered tools and data. Full-stack observability, as advocated by platforms like New Relic, aggregates all telemetry data into one cohesive system, offering real-time insights and intuitive visualizations that promote seamless troubleshooting and innovation.

In this episode of Observy McObservface, Quintessence Anx, Developer Advocate at PagerDuty, discusses her experiences with alert fatigue, mean time to recovery, and post-mortems. She emphasizes that MTTR is not the only metric to track, as it can lead to negative behaviors if not used in context. Quintessence also highlights the importance of having a well-defined incident command structure, including roles such as commander, deputy, scribe, and communications liaison. The conversation touches on ChatOps, which will be part of the puzzle but not a replacement for human involvement in incident management. Quintessence shares her perspective on why ChatOps won't fully replace traditional communication mechanisms like Slack. She also talks about the importance of mentorship, especially for junior engineers, and how it can help them develop proactive problem-solving skills. The episode concludes with a discussion of the future of incident management, including the role of AI in simplifying processes and detecting anomalies.

In a podcast episode of "Observy McObservface," hosted by Jonan Scheffler from New Relic, guest Quintessence Anx, a Developer Advocate at PagerDuty, discusses her role in combating alert fatigue and improving incident management through effective notification strategies. The conversation touches on the importance of having a structured incident command system, similar to that used by Southern California firefighters, to manage major incidents with roles like commander, scribe, and communications liaison. Quintessence emphasizes the need for context in metrics like Mean Time to Resolve (MTTR) and the benefits of automated remediation to reduce human intervention in alerts. The episode also explores the evolving role of ChatOps in incident management and the significance of mentoring newcomers by integrating them into professional networks. Additionally, Quintessence shares insights from her experience with chaos engineering and offers advice for navigating the early stages of a tech career, including the value of finding a good mentor and focusing on learning adaptability over specific tools.

New Relic One is a programmable platform that allows developers to visualize customer experience and satisfaction scores, with an open-source browser analyzer application that can be built using the New Relic One SDK. The SDK provides necessary components for building applications, including React UI components, chart components, query and storage components, and platform APIs. Additionally, the New Relic One CLI is used to build, publish, and manage apps on the platform, with features such as generating Nerdpack/Nerdlet templates, locally serving Nerdpacks, publishing and deploying, subscribing to Nerdpacks, adding screenshots and metadata to the catalog. The platform also includes a secure storage solution called NerdStorageVault for storing sensitive data secrets. New Relic Developers offers guides and tutorials to help developers build applications in New Relic One, including a "Hello, World" app guide that allows users to create a local version of the platform and publish it to New Relic One. The platform also provides a demo-deployer tool for practicing diagnosing common issues using New Relic.

New Relic's programmable platform enables users to create and deploy applications that integrate observability data from various sources, offering tools such as the open-source browser analyzer application for visualizing customer experience scores. The New Relic One SDK provides essential components like React UI, chart, query, and storage components, along with platform APIs, to build applications and visualizations on the New Relic One platform. Complementing the SDK, the New Relic One CLI assists in building, publishing, and managing applications, including generating templates, serving, and deploying apps. The platform also features NerdStorageVault for securely storing sensitive data using AES-256 encryption. New Relic Developers offers numerous guides and tutorials, such as creating a "Hello, World" app and diagnosing issues with a simulated telecom company, to inspire and assist developers in leveraging these tools. The site is open source, encouraging community contributions, while the blog emphasizes that the views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily reflective of New Relic's perspectives.