Shows
Adventures in DevOpsBrowser Native Auth and FedCM is finally here!Share Episode ⸺ Episode Sponsor: Incident.io - https://dev0ps.fyi/incidentio "My biggest legacy at Google is the amount of systems I broke." — Sam Goto joins the show with a name that strikes fear into engineering systems everywhere. As a Senior Staff Engineer on the Chrome team, Sam shares the hilarious reality of having the last name "Goto," which once took down Google's internal URL shortener for four hours simply because he plugged in a new computer. >Sam gets us up to speed with Federated Credentials Management (FedCM), as we dive deep into why authentication has been built d...
2025-12-1549 minAdventures in DevOpsAre we building the right thing?Share Episode ⸺ Episode Sponsor: Incident.io - https://dev0ps.fyi/incidentio Elise, VP and Head of UX at Unleash, joins us to talk all about UX. Self identifying as probably "The annoying lady in the room" and a career spanning nearly 30 years—starting before "UX" was even a job title — joins us to dismantle the idea that User Experience is just about moving pixels around. Here we debate the friction between engineering, sales, and the customer. We get to the bottom of whether or avoiding end-user interaction, understand, and research is a career-limiting move for staff+ engineers. Or should you...
2025-12-0436 minAdventures in DevOpsWhy Your Code Dies in Six Months: Automated RefactoringShare Episode ⸺ Episode Sponsor: Incident.io - https://dev0ps.fyi/incidentioWarren is joined by Olga Kundzich, Co-founder and CTO of Moderne, to discuss the reality of technical debt in modern software engineering. Olga reveals a shocking statistic: without maintenance, cloud-native applications often cease to function within just six months. And from our experience, that's actually optimistic. The rapid decay isn't always due to bad code choices, but rather the shifting sands of third-party dependencies, which make up 80 to 90% of cloud-native environments.We review the limitations of traditional Abstract Syntax Trees (ASTs) and the in...
2025-11-2032 minAdventures in DevOpsAI, IDEs, Copilot & Critical ThinkingShare EpisodeMicrosoft's John Papa, Partner General Manager of Developer Relations for all things dev and code joins the show to talk developer relations...from his Mac. He reveals his small part in the birth of VS Code (back when its codename was Ticino) after he spent a year trying a new editor every month.The conversation dives deep into "Agentic AI," where John predicts developers will soon become "managers of agents". But is it all hype? John and Warren debate the risks of too much automation (no, AI should not auto-merge your PRs) and...
2025-10-3153 minAdventures in DevOpsSolving incidents with one-time ephemeral runbooksShare Episode ⸺ Episode Sponsor: Attribute - https://dev0ps.fyi/attributeIn the wake of one of the worst AWS incidents in history, we're joined by Lawrence Jones, Founding Engineer at Incident.io. The conversation focuses on the challenges of managing incidents in highly regulated environments like FinTech, where the penalties for downtime are harsh and require a high level of rigor and discipline in the response process. Lawrence details the company's evolution, from running a monolithic Go binary on Heroku to moving to a more secure, robust setup in GCP, prioritizing the use of native security pr...
2025-10-2049 minAdventures in DevOpsThe IT Dictionary: Post-Mortems, Cargo Cults, and Dropped DatabasesShare Episode ⸺ Episode Sponsor: Attribute - https://dev0ps.fyi/attributeWe're joined by 20 year industry veteran and DevOps advocate, Adam Korga, celebrating the release of his book IT Dictionary. In this episode we quickly get down to the inspiration behind postmortems as we review some cornerstone cases both in software and in general technology.Adam shares how he started in the industry, long before DevOps was a coined term, focused on making systems safer and avoiding mistakes like accidentally dropping a production database. we review the infamous incidents of accidental database deletion, by LLMs an...
2025-10-0229 minAdventures in DevOpsVector Databases Explained: From E-commerce Search to Molecule ResearchShare Episode ⸺ Episode Sponsor: Attribute - https://dev0ps.fyi/attributeJenna Pederson, Staff Developer Relations at Pinecone, joins us to close the loop on Vector Databases. Demystifies how they power semantic search, their role in RAG, and also unexpected applications.Jenna takes us beyond the buzzword bingo, explaining how vector databases are the secret sauce behind semantic search. Sharing just how "red shirt" gets converted into a query that returns things semantically similar. It's all about turning your data into high-dimensional numerical meaning, which, as Jenna clarifies, is powered by some seriously clever math to...
2025-09-2455 minAdventures in DevOpsThe Unspoken Challenges of Deploying to Customer CloudsShare EpisodeThis episode we are joined by Andrew Moreland, co-founder of Chalk. Andrew explains how their company's core business model is to deploy their software directly into their customers' cloud environments. This decision was driven by the need to handle highly sensitive data, like PII and financial records, that customers don't want to hand over to a third-party startup. The conversation delves into the surprising and complex challenges of this approach, which include managing granular IAM permissions and dealing with hidden global policies that can block their application. Andrew and Warren also discuss the...
2025-09-1752 minAdventures in DevOpsHow to build in Observability at Petabyte ScaleShare EpisodeWe welcome guest Ang Li and dive into the immense challenge of observability at scale, where some customers are generating petabytes of data per day. Ang explains that instead of building a database from scratch—a decision he says went "against all the instincts" of a founding engineer—Observe chose to build its platform on top of Snowflake, leveraging its separation of compute and storage on EC2 and S3.The discussion delves into the technical stack and architectural decisions, including the use of Kafka to absorb large bursts of incoming customer data and smoo...
2025-09-0745 minAdventures in DevOpsThe Open-Source Product Leader Challenge: Navigating Community, Code, and Collaboration ChaosIn a special solo flight, Warren welcomes Meagan Cojocar, General Manager at Pulumi and a self-proclaimed graduate of “PM school” at AWS. They dive into what it’s like to own an entire product line and why giving up that startup hustle for the big leagues sometimes means you miss the direct signal from your users. The conversation goes deep on the paradox of open-source where direct feedback is gold, but dealing with license-shifting competitors can make you wary. From the notorious HashiCorp kerfuffle to the rise of OpenTofu, they explore how Pulumi maintains its commitment to the community amidst a wave...
2025-08-2459 minAdventures in DevOpsThe Open-Source Product Leader Challenge: Navigating Community, Code, and Collaboration ChaosShare Episode In a special solo flight, Warren welcomes Meagan Cojocar, General Manager at Pulumi and a self-proclaimed graduate of “PM school” at AWS. They dive into what it's like to own an entire product line and why giving up that startup hustle for the big leagues sometimes means you miss the direct signal from your users. The conversation goes deep on the paradox of open-source where direct feedback is gold, but dealing with license-shifting competitors can make you wary. From the notorious HashiCorp kerfuffle to the rise of OpenTofu, they explore how Pulumi maintains its commitment to the community amids...
2025-08-2459 minAdventures in DevOpsFinOps: Holding engineering teams accountable for spendIn this episode of Adventures in DevOps, we dive into the world of FinOps, a concept that aims to apply the DevOps mindset to financial accountability. Yasmin Rajabi, Chief Strategy Officer at CloudBolt, joins us to demystify, as we acknowledge the critical challenge of bringing together financial accountability and engineering teams who often are not paying attention to the business.The discussion further explores the practicalities of FinOps in the context of cloud spending and Kubernetes. Yasmin highlights that a significant amount of waste in organizations comes from simply not turning off unused systems and not right-sizing resources...
2025-07-3155 minAdventures in DevOpsThe Auth Showdown: Single tenant versus Multitenant ArchitecturesGet ready for a lively debate on this episode of Adventures in DevOps. We're joined by Brian Pontarelli, founder of FusionAuth and CleanSpeak. Warren and Brian face off by diving into the controversial topic of multitenant versus single-tenant architecture. Expert co-host Aimee Knight joins to moderate the discussion. Ever wondered how someone becomes an "auth expert"? Warren spills the beans on his journey, explaining it's less about a direct path and more about figuring out what it means for yourself. Brian chimes in with his own "random chance" story, revealing how they fell into it after their forum-based product didn't...
2025-07-1753 minAdventures in DevOpsShould We Be Using Kubernetes: Did the Best Product Win?Episode Sponsor: PagerDuty - Checkout the features in their official feature release: https://fnf.dev/4dYQ7gLThis episode dives into a fundamental question facing the DevOps world: Did Kubernetes truly win the infrastructure race because it was the best technology, or were there other, perhaps less obvious, factors at play? Omer Hamerman joins Will and Warren to take a hard look at it. Despite the rise of serverless solutions promising to abstract away infrastructure management, Omer shares that Kubernetes has seen a surge in adoption, with potentially 70-75% of corporations now using or migrating to it. We exp...
2025-06-251h 06Adventures in DevOpsMastering SRE: Insights in Scale and at Capacity with Aimee KnightIn this episode, Aimee Knight, an expert in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) whose experience hails from Paramount and NPM, joins the podcast to discuss her journey into SRE, the challenges she faced, and the strategies she employed to succeed. Aimee shares her transition from a non-traditional background in JavaScript development to SRE, highlighting the importance of understanding both the programming and infrastructure sides of engineering. She also delves into the complexities of SRE at different scales, the role of playbooks in incident management, and the balance between speed and quality in software development.Aimee discusses the impact of...
2025-06-211h 17Adventures in DevOpsExploring MCP Servers and Agent Interactions with Gil FeigIn this episode, we delve into the concept of MCP (Machine Control Protocol) servers and their role in enabling agent interactions. Gil Feig, the co-founder and CTO of Merge, shares insights on how MCP servers facilitate efficient and secure integration between various services and APIs.The discussion covers the benefits and challenges of using MCP servers, including their stateful nature, security considerations, and the importance of understanding real-world use cases. Gil emphasizes the need for thorough testing and evaluation to ensure that MCP servers effectively meet user needs.Additionally, we explore the implications of MCP servers o...
2025-06-141h 04Adventures in DevOpsNo Lag: Building the Future of High-Performance Cloud with Nathan GouldingWarren talks with Nathan Goulding, SVP of Engineering at Vultr, about what it actually takes to run a high-performance cloud platform. They cover everything from global game server latency and hybrid models to bare metal provisioning and the power/cooling constraints that come with modern GPU clusters.The discussion gets into real-world deployment challenges like scaling across 32 data centers, edge use cases that actually matter, and how to design systems for location-sensitive customers—whether that's due to regulation or performance. Additionally, there's talk about where the hyperscalers have overcomplicated pricing and where simplicity in a flatter pricing model and...
2025-06-091h 00Adventures in DevOpsGround Truth & Guided Journeys: Rethinking Data for AI with Inna Tokarev SelaInna Tokarev Sela, CEO and founder of Illumex, joins the crew to break down what it really means to make your data “AI-ready.” This isn't just about clean tables—it's about semantic fabric, business ontologies, and grounding agents in your company's context to prevent the dreaded LLM hallucination. We dive into how modern enterprises just cannot build a single source of truth, not matter how hard they try. All the while knowing that it's required to build effected agents utilizing the available knowledge graphs and.The conversation unpacks democratizing data access and avoiding analytics anarchy. Inna explains how automa...
2025-06-0452 minAdventures in DevOpsIncident Vibing: The Self-Healing System - DevOps 242Sylvain Kalache, Head of Developer Relations at Rootly joins us to explore the new frontier of incident response powered by large language models. We dive into the evolution of DevRel and how we meet the new challenges impacting our systems.We explore Sylvain's origin story in self-healing systems, dating back to his SlideShare and LinkedIn days. From ingesting logs via Fluentd to building early ML-driven RCA tools, he shares a vision of self-healing infrastructure that targets root causes rather than just restarting boxes. Plus, we trace the historical arc of deterministic and non-deterministic tools.The conversation sh...
2025-05-291h 10Adventures in DevOpsDecentralized Chaos: Web3 Infra, NodeOps, and the Art of Blockchain Load Balancing - DevOps 241This week, Paul Marston from Ankr joins the crew to unpack the madness that is modern blockchain infrastructure. From his wild career transition out of financial services into 24/7 node ops for Web3, Paul shares the brutal truth about uptime expectations, decentralization challenges, and why hard forks are more like enterprise schema upgrades with a community twist. If you've ever wondered why managing a blockchain node is like owning a temperamental pet server, this one's for you.The team goes deep on the nitty-gritty of load balancing across dozens of chains, explaining why routing traffic to the “wrong” archive node c...
2025-05-221h 16Adventures in DevOpsObservability in the CI/CD Pipeline with Adriana Villela - DevOps 240In this episode, Will and Warren welcome Adriana Villela — CNCF ambassador, Dynatrace advocate, and host of the Geeking Out podcast — for a wide-ranging conversation on observability in CI/CD pipelines. Adriana shares her journey from “On Call Me Maybe” to her own podcast, her work with OpenTelemetry, and why observability isn't just for SREs anymore.The crew digs into how telemetry should be integrated across the software development lifecycle — from development to QA to production — and what that really looks like in modern teams. Adriana drops knowledge on CI/CD failures, distributed traces, and even how to bring observability t...
2025-05-151h 21Adventures in DevOpsModern DevOps Challenges: Automation, AI, and Scaling in 2025 - DevOps 238Is AI making us more productive? And where's the value? That's the big debate in this episode as we sit down with Zach Lloyd, founder and CEO of Warp. Warp isn't just another terminal—it's an AI-powered reimagination of the command line. From replacing traditional terminal commands with English instructions to integrating AI-driven automation, Warp is pushing the boundaries of how we work. And finally we find out what Warren is using as a keyboard.In this episode, we discuss the evolution of AI in DevOps, whether LLMs are truly intelligent or just glorified word predictors, and the exis...
2025-05-021h 18Adventures in DevOpsMatt Lea Discusses Cloud War Games and Elevating Everyday DevOpsWe dive into the world of cloud architecture and engineering with a fascinating discussion led by our hosts Warren Parad and Will Button, and joined by our special guest, Matt Lea. Matt, hailing from Wisconsin, is the driving force behind innovative projects like CloudWarGames.com, a platform designed to enhance DevOps training and hiring through engaging problem-solving scenarios. As we explore his journey, from coaching gymnastics to developing digital training ecosystems, you'll discover how Matt's experiences shape his unique perspectives on technical challenges, team dynamics, and the ever-evolving landscape of cloud solutions. Whether you're curious about the technical intricacies of...
2025-04-021h 14
Adventures in DevOpsBarzan Mozaffari on Cloud Data Warehousing and Machine Learning Advances - DevOps_236Welcome to another episode of "Top End Devs," where we're diving deep into the exciting world of data-intensive systems with our special guest, Barzan Mozaffari. Hosted by Warren Parad and co-hosted by Jillian, this episode explores the intersections of academia and industry, touching on how innovative breakthroughs in data systems are reshaping the digital landscape. Our conversation with Barzan, an MIT alum and a University of Michigan associate professor, uncovers the challenges and triumphs of bridging the gap between theoretical research and practical application. We'll discuss the transformative power of AI in optimizing cloud infrastructure, especially for platforms like Snowflake...
2025-03-261h 10Adventures in DevOpsMastering Infrastructure as Code: Lessons from Matt Gowie's Consultancy Experience - DevOps 235In this episode, our hosts Will Button, Warren Parad, and Jillian are joined by guest Matt Gowie from Masterpoint. Together, they delve into the complex world of infrastructure as code, discussing best practices, challenges, and the human side of consulting in the DevOps space. Matt shares his journey from software development to running his own consulting agency focused on Terraform and OpenTofu. The conversation covers everything from the nuances of using Terraform workspaces, the implications of large-scale infrastructure management, to the critical soft skills needed for a successful consulting career. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just venturing into DevOps...
2025-03-251h 16Adventures in DevOpsOptimizing Cloud Databases with novel algorithmsIn this episode, we sit down with Barzan Mozafari, MIT alum and University of Michigan professor, to explore how AI-driven automation is revolutionizing cloud database optimization. Barzan shares his experiences in bridging academia and industry, and how his work in AI-powered database tuning is reshaping cloud infrastructure efficiency.
We discuss the challenges of AI adoption in cloud computing, addressing concerns like implementation risks, security, and trust in autonomous agents. Barzan explains how machine learning models can optimize performance, reduce cloud costs, and automate database management, freeing engineers from tedious manual tuning.Additionally, we explore the future...
2025-03-2052 minAdventures in DevOpsAI, law, and automation with John Maly - DevOps 234In this episode hosts Warren Parad and Will Button sit down with John W. Maley, an attorney with a master's degree in computer science from Stanford University, to discuss the fascinating intersection of AI and the legal system. John shares insights from his book "Juris ex Machina," a sci-fi exploration of a future where AI replaces humans in the jury system. The conversation dives deep into the current state and future potential of AI, touching on its overhyped status, potential vulnerabilities, and security concerns. As they navigate the topic of AI's integration in society, John, Warren, and Will explore riveting...
2025-02-271h 12Adventures in DevOpsThe Impact of Open Source on Business and Development Practices with Daniel Loreto - DevOps 233Hosts Warren Parad and Will Button dive into a compelling discussion with guest Daniel Loreto, founder and CEO of Jetify. The conversation revolves around innovative solutions in the DevOps world, particularly focusing on the use of Nix and DevBox to streamline developer environments. Daniel shares insights from his vast experience at prominent tech companies like Google, Airbnb, and Twitter, detailing how Jetify is leveraging AI and agents to enhance software development. The trio explores the challenges of reproducible development environments, the complexities of ML development, and the strategic benefits of open sourcing tools. Along the way, they touch on the...
2025-02-251h 07Adventures in DevOpsAI-Powered Ads: How digital marketing is transformingWill is absent this week due to an infrastructure issue, so Warren and Jillian take the reins in a fascinating discussion with Hikari Senju, founder of Omneky. Hikari shares how AI is revolutionizing ad technology by automatically generating creative assets tailored to different audiences and platforms. His insights reveal how businesses can scale their advertising while maintaining brand consistency and reducing content creation costs.The conversation explores the balance between automation and human oversight, the ethical implications of AI-driven marketing, and how the ad personalization technology is evolving. Hikari also dives into the infrastructure behind Omneky, discussing cloud-based...
2025-02-2046 minAdventures in DevOpsExploring the Role of AI in DevOpsJoin host Warren Parad, co-hosts Jillian and Will Button as they delve into a compelling conversation on the pervasive influence of AI across industries. Special guest Alex Kearns from Wiz shares his expertise on the real-world applications of AI, navigating through its rapid evolution and discussing both the opportunities and challenges it presents. From the impact of generative AI on business processes to intriguing ethical considerations, this episode provides valuable insights for professionals in the DevOps field. Tune in as the panel explores the dynamic relationship between technology, responsibility, and innovation, offering listeners a thought-provoking exploration of AI's role in...
2025-02-061h 24Adventures in DevOpsBalancing Technical Skills, Cultural Fit, and Overqualification in DevOps Hiring - DevOps 225Will, Warren, and Jillian dive deep into a riveting discussion that spans a myriad of topics, from hiring practices to the hidden impacts of plastics in our brain matter. They kick off with Jillian's intriguing Amazon affiliate link strategy, sparking a fascinating debate on monetization. As they navigate through Warren's shocking revelation about plastics in our brains, he also shares a crucial health tip: blood donation as a method to combat "forever chemicals." But that's not all—Jillian also offers a thought-provoking book recommendation that promises to be both profound and enlightening.They explore the intricate balance between skills an...
2024-11-2849 minAdventures in DevOpsStreamlining DevOps: Managing with Epics for Clearer Priorities - DevOps 223In this episode, they explore the realms of DevOps management and team dynamics. Will is joined by Warren and Jillian to delve into the challenges and strategies involved in transitioning from a ticket queue system to using epics for task management. They discuss how this shift prioritizes objectives, enhances team focus across global time zones, and improves communication with product teams.The conversation also touches on documenting processes, managing support work, and the importance of adaptability and transparency within organizations. From humorous anecdotes about technical issues to practical advice on handling resistance from higher-ups, the episode is packed with...
2024-11-1452 minAdventures in DevOpsFrom Doha to New Hampshire: Embracing Change and Unpacking the 2024 Dora Report - DevOps 222Jillian returns to the podcast after a significant move from Doha, Qatar to a quaint town in New Hampshire. She shares her experiences of adjusting back to life in the U.S., both personally and professionally. The discussion delves into the logistics and emotional aspects of relocating internationally—what it's like leaving behind furniture deemed disposable overseas, starting fresh with new purchases, and dealing with unexpected challenges along the way.Additionally, they talk about the Dora metrics and the emphasis on why measuring these metrics is crucial for understanding DevOps efficiency within organizations. They also dive into the im...
2024-11-071h 06Adventures in DevOpsNavigating Secrets Management Complexities and Future Authentication Trends - DevOps 221In this episode, Will, Warren and Jillian dive into the complexities of secrets management and developer productivity with our esteemed guest, Brian Vallelunga from Doppler. Join them as Brian shares his journey from facing security challenges at Uber to founding Doppler, an innovative solution aimed at transforming how developers handle secrets.They delve into the critical importance of secrets management, Doppler's unique approach to making security practices not only essential but enjoyable for developers, and the future of authentication with identity-based methods. Brian also offers valuable advice on integrating security from day one and discusses the hurdles and necessities of...
2024-10-311h 13Adventures in DevOpsFrom Core DevOps to Management: Balancing Technical Skills and Soft Skills in High-Stakes Environments - DevOps 218Will and Warren dive deep into the world of career longevity and adaptability in the fast-evolving tech industry. They explore the often-overlooked importance of staying with a project long enough to understand and resolve complex issues, and how job dissatisfaction can be a tool for negotiation rather than a cue to immediately move on.They touch on early career experiences and the shift towards specialization, echoing advice from past guest Kelsey Hightower. Warren also shares his intriguing perspective on the value of early career terminations, the necessity of soft skills, and the challenges of expanding teams. The conversation will u...
2024-10-101h 06Adventures in DevOpsEnd-of-Year Preparation and Considerations for Software Engineering Teams - DevOps 217In today's episode, Warren and Will dive into the difficulties of coordinating between marketing and engineering teams, particularly around handling increased traffic and sales during the holiday season. The discussion covers the importance of auditing code and looking for potential issues or technical debt at the end of the year. The hosts also explore strategies for pitching and justifying technical projects or rewrites to management, emphasizing the need to frame them in terms of business impact. They conclude by reflecting on the value of stepping back from day-to-day tasks at the end of the year to gain a broader organizational...
2024-10-031h 05Adventures in DevOpsHow Mastermind Groups Can Transform Your DevOps Career - DevOps 216Will and Warren dive deep into the world of Mastermind groups and their impact on career success within the DevOps landscape. They explore the origins of mastermind groups from Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" and debate why a staggering 99% of them might be ineffective, according to Will. Warren shares his own experiences and expresses his curiosity about what truly makes such groups effective.They also draw intriguing parallels between accountability in mastermind groups and emergency preparedness in aviation, emphasizing the importance of ingrained habits and continuous skill development. From military training insights to the challenges of creating genuine...
2024-09-261h 08