DevOps
This glossary contains definitions related to the DevOps movement. Some definitions explain the meaning of words used to describe how a DevOps culture breaks down silos between software development and operations teams. Other definitions are related to the software tools that DevOps engineers use to lower costs, achieve higher productivity and automate tasks.A/B - IT
- A/B testing (split testing) - A/B testing, sometimes called split testing, is an assessment tool for identifying which version of something helps an individual or organization meet a business goal more effectively.
- acceptance testing - An acceptance test confirms that an story is complete by matching a user action scenario with a desired outcome.
- ad hoc testing - Ad hoc testing is a non-methodical approach to assessing the viability of a product.
- Agile Project Management - Agile Project Management (APM) is an iterative approach to planning and guiding project processes.
- Agile Software Development - Agile software development -- also referred to simply as Agile -- is a type of development methodology that anticipates the need for flexibility and applies a level of pragmatism to the delivery of the finished product.
- agile test automation pyramid - The agile test automation pyramid is a graphical strategy guide for implementing automated software testing.
- Agile velocity - Agile velocity is a metric that predicts how much work a software development team can successfully complete within a two-week sprint (or similar time-boxed period).
- AIOps (artificial intelligence for IT operations) - AIOps is an umbrella term for the use of big data analytics, machine learning and other AI technologies to automate the identification and resolution of common IT issues.
- Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store) - Amazon Elastic Block Store is a cloud-based block storage system provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that is best used for storing persistent data.
- Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) - Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) is a cloud computing service in Amazon Web Services (AWS) that manages containers and allows developers to run applications in the cloud without having to configure an environment for the code to run in.
- Amazon Simple Database Service (SimpleDB) - Amazon Simple Database Service (SimpleDB), also known as a key value data store, is a highly available and flexible non-relational database that allows developers to request and store data, with minimal database management and administrative responsibility.
- Amazon SWF (Simple WorkFlow Service) - Amazon SWF (Simple Workflow Service) is an Amazon Web Services tool that helps developers coordinate, track and audit multi-step, multi-machine application jobs.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) - AWS (Amazon Web Services) is a comprehensive, evolving cloud computing platform provided by Amazon that includes a mixture of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and packaged software as a service (SaaS) offerings.
- Ansible - Ansible is an open source IT configuration management (CM) and automation platform, provided by Red Hat.
- Ansible playbook - An Ansible playbook is an organized unit of scripts that defines work for a server configuration managed by the automation tool Ansible.
- Apache HBase - Apache HBase is a column-oriented key/value data store built to run on top of the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS).
- Apache ZooKeeper - Apache ZooKeeper is an open source file application program interface (API) that allows distributed processes in large systems to synchronize with each other so that all clients making requests receive consistent data.
- AppBuilder - AppBuilder is an application development tool that takes advantage of reusable HTML5/Java Script to let developers create cross-platform applications that work seamlessly on iOS, Android or Windows Phones.
- application containerization (app containerization) - Application containerization is an OS-level virtualization method used to deploy and run distributed applications without launching an entire virtual machine (VM) for each app.
- application monitoring and management (AMM) - Application monitoring and management is the administrative area and associated tools involved with overseeing the operation of business software and ensuring that it functions and performs as expected.
- artifact (software development) - An artifact, in software development, is work that has been documented and stored in a repository so it can be retrieved upon demand.
- automated testing - Automated testing is a process that validates if software is functioning appropriately and meeting requirements before it is released into production.
- AutoRABIT - AutoRABIT is an end-to-end release management suite specifically aimed at streamlining the development and release of Salesforce.
- AWS CodeBuild - AWS CodeBuild is a managed cloud service that enables an IT developer to automate and manage server builds for applications that reside in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud.
- AWS CodeDeploy (Amazon Web Services CodeDeploy) - AWS CodeDeploy is a service that automates code deployments to Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and on-premises servers.
- AWS CodePipeline (Amazon Web Services CodePipeline) - AWS CodePipeline is an Amazon Web Services product that automates the software deployment process, allowing a developer to quickly model, visualize and deliver code for new features and updates.
- AWS Command Line Interface - The AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) is an Amazon Web Services tool that enables developers to control Amazon public cloud services by typing commands on a specified line.
- AWS OpsWorks (Amazon Web Services OpsWorks) - AWS OpsWorks is a cloud computing service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that manages infrastructure deployment for cloud administrators.
- Azure DevOps (formerly Visual Studio Team Services) - Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) -- rebranded as Azure DevOps in 2018 -- is an Azure cloud-hosted extension of Microsoft's Team Foundation Server (TFS) -- now called Azure DvOps -- that assist development teams with special tools and services for software programmers, analysts and testers as well as IT project or team managers.
- Azure Service Fabric - Azure Service Fabric is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering designed to facilitate the development, deployment and management of highly-scalable and customizable applications for the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.
- behavior-driven development (BDD) - Behavior-driven development (BDD) is an Agile software development methodology in which an application is documented and designed around the behavior a user expects to experience when interacting with it.
- beta test - In software development, a beta test is the second phase of software testing in which a sampling of the intended audience tries the product out.
- BizDevOps (Business, Development and Operations) - BizDevOps, also known as DevOps 2.
- black box (black box testing) - Black box testing assesses a system solely from the outside, without the operator or tester knowing what is happening within the system to generate responses to test actions.
- blue/green deployment - A blue/green deployment is a software deployment strategy that relies on two identical production configurations that alternate between active and inactive.
- branching - Branching is the practice of creating copies of programs or objects in development to work in parallel versions, retaining the original and working on the branch or making different changes to each.
- build - In a programming context, a build is a version of a program.
- build tool - A build tool is a programming utility that automates a software build task, such as ensuring that the proper source code files are compiled and that the proper object files are linked, after changes have been made to a program.
- burn down chart - A burn down chart is a visual representation of the amount of work that still needs to be completed before the end of a project.
- canary (canary test, canary deployment) - In software testing, a canary (also called a canary test) is a push of code changes to a small number of users who have not volunteered or opted-in for testing.
- Cassandra (Apache Cassandra) - Apache Cassandra is an open source distributed database system that is designed for storing and managing large amounts of data across commodity servers.
- change control - Change control is a systematic approach to managing all changes made to a product or system.
- ChatOps - ChatOps is the use of chat clients, chatbots and real-time communication tools to facilitate how software development and operation tasks are communicated and executed.
- Chef (software) - Chef is an open source systems management and cloud infrastructure automation platform.
- Cloud Foundry - Cloud Foundry is an open source cloud platform as a service (PaaS) on which developers can build, deploy, run and scale applications on public and private cloud models.
- cloud IDE - A cloud IDE is a web-based integrated development platform (IDE) that is accessed through a browser.
- cloud orchestration (cloud orchestrator) - Cloud orchestration is the use of programming technology to manage the interconnections and interactions among workloads on public and private cloud infrastructure.
- cloud testing - Cloud testing, also called cloud-based testing, is the assessment of a Web application's performance, reliability, scalability and security in a third-party's cloud computing environment.
- CloudStack - Apache CloudStack is an open source infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platform that allows IT service providers to offer public cloud services.
- CMDB (configuration management database) - A configuration management database (CMDB) is a database that contains all relevant information about the hardware and software components used in an organization's IT services and the relationships between those components.
- code review - Code review is a phase in the computer program development process in which the authors of code, peer reviewers, and perhaps quality assurance reviewers get together to review code, line by line.
- codebase (code base) - A codebase (sometimes spelled as two words, code base) is the complete body of source code for a given software program or application.
- command line interface (CLI) - A command line interface (CLI) is a text-based user interface (UI) used to view and manage computer files.
- composable infrastructure - A composable infrastructure is a framework whose physical compute, storage and network fabric resources are treated as services.
- Concurrent Versions System (CVS) - CVS also is an abbreviation for Computer Vision Syndrome.
- configuration drift - Configuration drift occurs naturally in data center environments when changes to software and hardware are not recorded or tracked in a comprehensive and systematic fashion.
- Container Linux by CoreOS - Container Linux by CoreOS, originally named CoreOS Linux, is an open source operating system (OS) that provides the functionality required to deploy and manage applications within containers.
- Containers as a Service (CaaS) - Containers as a service (CaaS) is a cloud service that allows software developers to upload, organize, run, scale, manage and stop containers by using a provider's API calls or a web portal interface.
- continuous deployment - Continuous deployment is a strategy for software releases wherein any code commit that passes the automated testing phase is automatically released into the production environment, making changes that are visible to the software's users.
- continuous integration (CI) - Continuous integration (CI) is a software engineering practice in which frequent, isolated changes are immediately tested and reported on when they are added to a larger code base.
- continuous software development - Continuous software development is a blanket term that covers several aspects of an iterative application development process based on making each change when it is ready, rather than wrapping many changes into large batches.
- CoreOS rkt - CoreOS rkt (pronounced rocket) is a containerization engine to run application workloads in isolation from the underlying infrastructure.
- cowboy coding - Cowboy coding describes an undisciplined approach to software development.
- cross-functional team - A cross-functional team is a workgroup made up of employees from different functional areas within an organization who collaborate to reach a stated objective.
- cycle time - Cycle time is the time, usually measured in nanosecond s, between the start of one random access memory (RAM) access to the time when the next access can be started.
- debugging - Debugging, in computer programming and engineering, is a multistep process that involves identifying a problem, isolating the source of the problem, and then either correcting the problem or determining a way to work around it.
- definition of done - A definition of done is a checklist of criteria that a product, product increment or project must satisfy to be considered completed.
- dependency hell - Dependency hell is a negative situation that occurs when a software application is not able to access the additional programming it requires in order to work.
- DevOps as a Service - DevOps as a Service (DaaS) is a delivery model for a set of tools that facilitates collaboration between an organization's software development team and the operations team.
- DevOps certification - DevOps certification is a formalized testing program intended to ensure that applicants have achieved an appropriate level of skills and knowledge for working in the converged areas of software development and IT operations.
- DevOps Dojo - DevOps Dojos provide software developers and operations engineers with an immersive learning environment where team members can gain practical work experience without having to worry about introducing errors into the production environment.
- DevOps engineer - A DevOps engineer is an IT professional who works with software developers, system operators and other production IT staff to create and oversee code releases and deployments.
- distributed tracing - Distributed tracing, also called distributed request tracing, is a method for IT and DevOps teams to monitor applications, especially those composed of microservices.
- Docker - Docker is an open source software platform to create, deploy and manage virtualized application containers on a common operating system (OS), with an ecosystem of allied tools.
- Docker Engine - Docker Engine is the underlying client-server technology that builds and runs containers using Docker's components and services.
- Docker Hub - Docker Hub is a cloud-based repository in which Docker users and partners create, test, store and distribute container images.
- Docker Swarm - Docker Swarm is a clustering and scheduling tool for Docker containers.
- Eclipse (Eclipse Foundation) - Eclipse is an open-source Java Integrated Development Environment (IDE) known for its plug-ins that allow developers to develop and test code written in other programming languages.
- ElasticSearch - ElasticSearch is an open source, RESTful search engine built on top of Apache Lucene and released under an Apache license.
- Eucalyptus - Eucalyptus is an open source software platform for implementing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) in a private or hybrid cloud computing environment.
- event-driven architecture (EDA) - An event-driven architecture (EDA) is a framework that orchestrates behavior around the production, detection and consumption of events as well as the responses they evoke.
- fail fast - Fail fast is a philosophy that values the development or implementation of many small experimental products, changes or approaches before committing large amounts of time or resources.
- forking (software fork) - Forking is to take the source code from an open source software program and develop an entirely new program.
- fuzz testing (fuzzing) - Fuzz testing (fuzzing) is a technique used by ethical hackers to discover security loopholes in software, operating systems or networks by massive inputting of random data to the system in an attempt to make it crash.
- Git - Git is a free and open source distributed code management and version control system that is distributed under the GNU General Public License version 2.
- GitHub - GitHub is a web-based revision control hosting service for software development and code sharing.
- Google Bigtable - Google Bigtable is a distributed, column-oriented data store created by Google Inc.
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP) - Google Cloud Platform is a suite of public cloud computing services offered by Google.
- Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) - Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is a management and orchestration system for Docker containers and container clusters that run within Google's public cloud services.
- gray box testing (gray box) - Gray box testing, also called gray box analysis, is a strategy for software debugging based on limited knowledge of the internal details of the program.
- Heroku - Heroku is a cloud-based development platform as a service (PaaS) provider.
- high availability (HA) - High availability (HA) is the ability of a system or system component to be continuously operational for a desirably long length of time.
- HipChat - Atlassian HipChat allows employees to collaborate, work as teams and manage goals, all in real time, whether they work in the same office building or are located around the world.
- HP Helion (Hewlett-Packard Helion) - HP Helion (Hewlett-Packard Helion) is the brand name for HP’s custom distribution of OpenStack.
- human factors (ergonomics) - In industry, human factors (also known as ergonomics) is the study of how humans behave physically and psychologically in relation to particular environments, products, or services.
- incremental shift left testing - Incremental shift left testing is a widely adopted method that starts testing earlier in the development cycle – shifting it to the left on the timeline -- and breaks complex development down into smaller pieces that build upon each other.
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a form of cloud computing that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet.
- infrastructure as code - Infrastructure as code (IaC) is an approach to software development that treats physical compute, storage and network fabric resources as web services and allows apps to run where they are best suited, based on cost and performance data.
- Internet Information Services (IIS) - Internet Information Services (IIS) is a flexible, general-purpose web server from Microsoft that runs on Windows systems to serve requested HTML pages or files.
- IT automation - IT automation is the use of instructions to create a repeated process that replaces an IT professional's manual work in data centers and cloud deployments.