April 2019 Summaries

The tutorial provides a comprehensive guide to instrumenting Java applications using Java Management Extensions (JMX) to monitor application metrics such as memory and CPU usage, thread counts, and API usage. It explains the implementation of JMX metrics through Managed Beans (MBeans) and their role in exporting data to a monitoring system, making large-scale Java applications easier to troubleshoot and integrate with external tools. The document outlines the various types of MBeans and their specific use cases, illustrating with code examples how to create and register MBeans within the Java platform. It also discusses the benefits of using Sysdig Monitor for collecting JMX metrics, particularly in containerized environments, highlighting its ability to automatically discover microservice components and display metrics without extensive code modifications. Additionally, the text touches on the integration of JMX metrics with other monitoring systems like Prometheus, enabling a unified view of application performance and health.

NIST Special Publication 800-190 provides a comprehensive guide to securing application containers, detailing security concerns and recommendations across various components such as images, registries, orchestrators, containers, and host operating systems. Sysdig Secure enhances container security by enabling compliance with these guidelines, particularly in Kubernetes and OpenShift environments, through features like container image scanning policies, integration with CI/CD pipeline tools, and customizable compliance reports. It facilitates continuous compliance automation, ensuring that security is integrated into DevOps practices while offering real-time alerts for policy violations. Sysdig Secure enables organizations to maintain a strong security posture by preventing vulnerable images from entering production and providing historical compliance assurance through detailed reports.

Sysdig announced the release of its Cloud-Native Visibility + Security Platform 2.0, which aims to provide enterprises with a more powerful and simplified way to monitor and secure their cloud-native environments. This new platform offers a unified view of health, risk, and performance, addressing a wide range of use cases such as image scanning, compliance, performance monitoring, runtime security, and more. Sysdig emphasizes that traditional security and monitoring tools are inadequate for cloud-native infrastructures due to increased data complexity and the ephemeral nature of containers. The platform's enhanced capabilities, including ContainerVision and ServiceVision, offer comprehensive visibility and context across multi-cloud environments, allowing enterprises to operate securely and efficiently. Sysdig also introduces flexible deployment models, enabling data to be collected and stored according to the customer’s preferences, whether in Sysdig's SaaS or their own infrastructure. The release aims to help enterprises transition to cloud-native architectures more effectively by providing a rich, data-centric platform that enhances operational visibility and security.

Sysdig has announced its support for Google Cloud's Anthos, enabling a unified view of risk, health, and performance for hybrid, cloud-native applications running on Anthos across various cloud environments, including AWS and Azure. The Sysdig Secure DevOps Platform, along with Sysdig Monitor, Sysdig Secure, and the open-source project Falco, is now available on the Google Cloud Platform Marketplace, facilitating easier integration for enterprises using Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and Anthos. Sysdig's solutions provide robust features for Anthos users, including vulnerability management, application health and performance monitoring, Kubernetes monitoring, audit and compliance, container runtime security, and container troubleshooting and forensics. These capabilities are designed to help development and operations teams proactively manage security and performance challenges in containerized and microservices environments, offering full-stack telemetry and real-time data analysis to ensure the reliability and security of applications.

Released on April 4, 2019, a new kubectl capture plugin allows Kubernetes users to capture system calls using Sysdig without needing Sysdig preinstalled in their cluster, enhancing troubleshooting capabilities with a simple command. The plugin helps diagnose issues such as Kubernetes CrashLoopBackOff and 502 HTTP errors by generating capture files that can be analyzed using Sysdig Inspect for debugging or performance analysis. Users are encouraged to ensure they have a modern kubectl version (1.12.0 or later) before installation, which can be done by retrieving the plugin from GitHub and placing it in the system PATH. The plugin offers flexibility by supporting both kernel module and eBPF-based tracing, and it allows users to capture detailed data by utilizing flags like --snaplen for deeper insights. Once installed, the plugin facilitates real-time capture of all activity related to specific pods, storing the data locally for further analysis to identify root causes of errors, such as incorrect header formatting by load balancers leading to 502 errors. This open-source tool, along with Sysdig Inspect, aids in a comprehensive understanding of microservices interactions, promoting efficient troubleshooting and resolution of deployment issues.

Sysdig is set to announce a new product at Cloud Field Day 5 in San Francisco on April 10, 2019, as part of the Tech Field Day series organized by Gestalt IT. The event will feature a live stream presentation, including the first-ever demo of the new product, which aims to address challenges in cloud-native visibility and security. The Sysdig team, including CEO Suresh Vasudevan, CTO and Founder Loris Degioanni, and VP of Product Management Payal Chakravarty, will discuss the pain points experienced in cloud environments and how their combined platform offers solutions. The interactive format of Tech Field Day allows for real-time questions from over 12 delegates, and the conversation can also be followed on Twitter using the hashtag #CFD5. Viewers can watch the event live on Facebook and the Tech Field Day website.