July 2018 Summaries

In a webinar hosted by Microsoft MVP Jeffrey Palermo and Octopus Deploy Founder and CEO Paul Stovell, various technical aspects of DevOps, particularly related to Octopus Deploy, were discussed in detail. The session addressed a range of questions from configuring deployment rollbacks to optimizing project reusability, and explored the technical advantages of Octopus Deploy while acknowledging scenarios where it might not be the best option. The discussion also covered common mistakes developers make with Octopus Deploy, strategies to manage extensive variables, and the process of storing Octopus configurations in Git to ensure compatibility with past deployment branches. Additionally, the webinar delved into the vision behind the concept of tenants and considerations for choosing between VSTS Release Manager and Octopus Deploy, as well as reasons that might prompt a switch to Octopus Deploy Cloud.

In a webinar hosted by Steve Jones, a Microsoft MVP, and featuring Bob Walker, a Solution Architect at Octopus Deploy, the discussion focuses on how adopting a DevOps approach can help businesses maintain a competitive edge. The session delves into the definition of DevOps, the consequences of goal misalignment between teams on the Software Development Life Cycle, and common challenges faced in implementing DevOps practices. It also highlights the benefits of DevOps in fostering competitive advantage and suggests steps to rebuild trust between teams, along with examples of shared goals that can unify team efforts. This webinar offers practical insights to aid organizations in their DevOps journey.

Octopus Deploy is working to enhance its user-friendly platform by integrating Kubernetes and Helm support, following community feedback. The company aims to simplify Kubernetes deployments with a new "Deploy Containers to Kubernetes" step, featuring a user-friendly interface for creating deployments, managing services, and configuring ingress rules. Additionally, Octopus plans to incorporate Helm integration through a Helm Chart Repository feed type and a Helm Deploy Release step, catering to a significant portion of its users. Recognizing the need for broader container support beyond Kubernetes, Octopus is also improving its Run a Script steps to better handle container images and integrating an AWS Elastic Container Registry feed type to address credential timeout issues. The initial features are expected to launch in August as part of an alpha release, with further enhancements and community-driven developments planned for the future.

The July 2018 release of Octopus Deploy introduced Octopus Workers and Worker Pools, allowing deployment tasks to be shifted from the Octopus Server to separate machines, enhancing security and performance. This feature enables the creation of dedicated machine pools for specific tasks like cloud and database deployments. The release also included performance improvements for Octopus Server, particularly for larger installations, and reinstated first-class support for Azure Web Site Deployment Slots. Licensing restrictions were clarified, with different limits on workers based on the type of license, ranging from one for free or starter licenses to unlimited for certain paid licenses. The update also brought some breaking changes in the API endpoints related to Azure Web Sites and addressed a known issue with deployments using Dynamic Infrastructure PowerShell cmdlets, suggesting a workaround until resolved.

Octopus Deploy is introducing a new feature called Workers in its 2018.7.0 release, aimed at enhancing the setup of deployment infrastructures by offloading certain tasks from the Octopus Server. Workers, which have been part of Octopus since version 3.0 under the name Built-in Worker, allow for execution of deployment steps such as script, Azure, AWS, and Terraform steps on separate machines rather than the server itself. This setup facilitates moving workloads for improved security and performance, and can be scaled using Worker Pools, where Workers are grouped based on deployment needs or tools required. Workers can be Listening Tentacles, Polling Tentacles, or SSH machines, and they serve to execute steps as instructed by the server, without changing the overall orchestration of the deployment process. While Workers provide flexibility, existing users who do not wish to utilize them can continue with their current setup without any disruption, as the default Built-in Worker will still handle tasks unless specified otherwise. The introduction of Workers is designed to offer more control over where and how deployment steps are executed, and future posts will explore their use in scaling and cloud deployments.

Octopus Cloud is a new hosted and managed version of the Octopus Deploy software, launched after extensive development to ensure it offers the same features as the self-hosted version. It provides a hassle-free experience by managing infrastructure, backups, performance monitoring, and upgrades, allowing users to focus on software delivery without managing virtual machines. The pricing model is designed to be accessible, with a Starter Edition for small teams at $10/month and a Standard Edition at $20/user per month, with Enterprise options coming later in 2018. Octopus Cloud offers secure data handling with backups and encryption, along with robust support included in the price. Users can start using Octopus Cloud immediately with a trial, ensuring they can experience cloud deployments without delay.