We talked about how Kong can help you get set up with API abstraction here, and we also talked about Composable Infrastructures here. Today we will discuss how you can combine both these ideas to enable the delivery of Automation-as-a-Service by setting up Composable Automation with Kong.
Most organizations that are developing a lot of IT automation usually do so using multiple best-of-breed automation tools. We will consider Red Hat Ansible and Chef for the example today. Now, both these tools require a very different set of skills to administer and operate. Ansible is YAML and Python-based, while Chef requires skills with Ruby scripting. But given that an organization has already invested a lot of time and effort in developing automation for these different products, how do we maximize the value out of those existing modules? Would we need another overarching tool that can orchestrate them? Or do we simply replace one with the other? But given they both require different skills, how do we retrain the various teams that use the tool being replaced? All these questions are valid, and require a deeper assessment of the targeted end goal.
One of the options to resolve this quandary is to create Composable Automation using the tools you already have, and add a layer of Kong API abstraction to it. In other words, Red Hat Ansible and the Chef teams would create a deployable package that has all the platform prerequisites for a team to start creating playbooks, and make it available via a code repository. This way, the end users using these automation platforms can keep working with the tool of their choice, and developing automation leveraging their existing skillsets – without having to worry about administering those platforms or learning a new programming language. Adding a layer of Kong abstraction can help genericize the automation being called. For example, let’s say that there is automation built into both products for provisioning a VM, and given that both automation products have specific REST API calls to trigger this specific function, the API abstraction layer can redirect the “provision a VM” call to the appropriate automation tool on the backend depending upon the requested parameters. This also helps from the business value perspective – as you can now replace or retire the automation platform you don’t need gradually and without affecting the calling service.
Keyva can help you assess your application readiness and adopt Agile methodologies. Through leveraging Infrastructure-As-Code deployments and implementing Composable Infrastructures you can rapidly modernize your applications. If you’d like to have us review your environment and provide suggestions on what might work for you, please contact us at [email protected]
Anuj joined Keyva from Tech Data where he was the Director of Automation Solutions. In this role, he specializes in developing and delivering vendor-agnostic solutions that avoid the “rip-and-replace” of existing IT investments. Tuli has worked on Cloud Automation, DevOps, Cloud Readiness Assessments and Migrations projects for healthcare, banking, ISP, telecommunications, government and other sectors.
During his previous years at Avnet, Seamless Technologies, and other organizations, he held multiple roles in the Cloud and Automation areas. Most recently, he led the development and management of Cloud Automation IP (intellectual property) and related professional services. He holds certifications for AWS, VMware, HPE, BMC and ITIL, and offers a hands-on perspective on these technologies.
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