Asgard is a term that has gained significant traction in the realm of DevOps, standing as a testament to the continuous evolution and innovation in this field. This glossary entry aims to provide an in-depth understanding of Asgard, its role in DevOps, its historical context, use cases, and specific examples.
DevOps, a combination of 'Development' and 'Operations', is a set of practices that combines software development and IT operations. It aims to shorten the system development life cycle and provide continuous delivery with high software quality. Asgard, in this context, is a web interface for application deployments and cloud management in Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Definition of Asgard
Asgard is an open-source software tool developed by Netflix. It is a web-based cloud management and deployment tool, primarily used for deploying and managing applications on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud. Asgard handles tasks such as starting and stopping instances, creating security groups, and managing load balancers.
It is important to note that Asgard is not a standalone tool but is part of the Netflix OSS (Open Source Software) suite, which includes other tools like Eureka, Hystrix, and Zuul. These tools together provide a comprehensive solution for managing microservices and applications on the AWS cloud.
Role in DevOps
In the DevOps context, Asgard plays a crucial role in facilitating continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD). It provides an interface for managing AWS resources, which is particularly useful in a DevOps environment where the rapid and reliable deployment of software is essential.
Asgard's capabilities extend beyond just deployment. It also offers features for managing cloud resources, making it an invaluable tool for operations teams. It provides a unified platform for managing different AWS services, reducing the complexity and increasing the efficiency of operations.
History of Asgard
Asgard was developed by Netflix as part of their efforts to migrate their infrastructure to the cloud. Netflix, a major user of AWS services, needed a tool that could manage the complexity of deploying and managing applications on the cloud. Asgard was developed to meet this need and was later open-sourced as part of the Netflix OSS suite.
Despite its success, Asgard was deprecated by Netflix in favor of a new tool called Spinnaker. Spinnaker is a multi-cloud continuous delivery platform that was developed to replace Asgard. However, Asgard continues to be used by many organizations due to its robustness and simplicity.
Development and Open-Sourcing
Netflix began developing Asgard in 2010 as they transitioned their infrastructure to the cloud. The tool was designed to handle the complexities of managing AWS resources, and it played a crucial role in Netflix's successful migration to the cloud.
In 2012, Netflix decided to open-source Asgard, making it available to the wider community. This decision was part of Netflix's broader strategy to open-source many of their in-house tools. By open-sourcing Asgard, Netflix hoped to benefit from the collective wisdom of the community and also contribute back to it.
Use Cases of Asgard
Asgard is primarily used for managing AWS resources and deploying applications to the AWS cloud. It provides a web interface that simplifies the management of AWS services, making it easier for developers and operations teams to work together.
One of the key use cases of Asgard is in continuous deployment pipelines. Asgard can be used to automate the deployment of applications, making it an essential tool in a DevOps environment. It supports the creation of deployment pipelines, allowing for the automated testing and deployment of software.
Managing AWS Resources
Asgard provides a unified interface for managing various AWS resources. This includes tasks such as starting and stopping EC2 instances, creating and managing security groups, and managing Elastic Load Balancers (ELBs). By providing a single interface for these tasks, Asgard simplifies the management of AWS resources.
Furthermore, Asgard supports the management of Auto Scaling Groups (ASGs), which are a key component of scalable cloud applications. ASGs allow for the automatic scaling of resources based on demand, and Asgard provides an interface for managing these groups.
Deploying Applications
Asgard is also used for deploying applications to the AWS cloud. It supports the creation of deployment pipelines, which automate the process of deploying software. This includes tasks such as building the software, running tests, and deploying the software to production.
By automating these tasks, Asgard helps to reduce the risk of human error and increase the speed and reliability of deployments. This makes it an invaluable tool in a DevOps environment, where rapid and reliable deployment is essential.
Examples of Asgard Use
Many organizations use Asgard as part of their DevOps practices. For example, IBM has used Asgard in their Bluemix platform to manage AWS resources. They found that Asgard's ability to handle complex deployments and manage AWS resources made it an ideal tool for their needs.
Another example is the use of Asgard by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the USA. NIST used Asgard to manage their AWS resources and found that it simplified the process of managing their cloud infrastructure.
IBM Bluemix
IBM used Asgard as part of their Bluemix platform, which is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering. Bluemix provides developers with a platform for developing, deploying, and managing applications in the cloud. As part of this platform, IBM used Asgard to manage the AWS resources used by the applications.
Asgard was chosen for its ability to handle complex deployments and manage AWS resources. It provided a unified interface for managing these resources, simplifying the process for developers and operations teams.
NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the USA also used Asgard to manage their AWS resources. NIST is a federal agency that develops and promotes measurement standards.
As part of their work, NIST uses a significant amount of cloud resources. They found that Asgard simplified the process of managing these resources, making it easier for their teams to manage their cloud infrastructure.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Asgard is a powerful tool for managing AWS resources and deploying applications to the AWS cloud. Despite being deprecated by Netflix, it continues to be used by many organizations due to its robustness and simplicity. It plays a crucial role in DevOps practices, enabling continuous integration and continuous deployment.
Whether you are a developer, an operations engineer, or a manager, understanding Asgard and its capabilities can be invaluable. It provides a practical example of how DevOps practices can be implemented and how tools can be used to simplify and automate complex tasks.