Tech Support
Documentation
Login
Contact Us
Implement DevOps Best Practices for Web Apps on Linux
Emily Cooper
September 23, 2024 - Guest Writer
If you need clarification about why or how you should use Linux in your DevOps project for web app development, then this article is for you.
In an era when DevOps is trending, underestimating the potential of Linux can prove to be a very fatal mistake. Linux’s flexibility and reliability allow organizations to leverage their capabilities to fulfill their web app requirements.
On top of that, Linux provides some advanced automation tools for every aspect of the DevOps process, making it efficient and ensuring that it delivers the expected results.
This article explores why developers prefer to use Linux for DevOps projects and then goes on to discuss the DevOps best practices for developing web apps on Linux operating systems.
Setting Up Linux for DevOps
A typical environment for DevOps is set up by implementing the steps given below:
- Choose a Linux distribution: Debian, CentOS, and Ubuntu are some of the robust Linux distributions with a slight difference in features and level of community support.
- Install virtualization software: Opt for VMware, VirtualBox, or other tools to avoid a dual boot scenario when running Linux on your local system as a virtual machine.
- Install DevOps tools: You have to pick the right tool for each step of the DevOps process. DevOps tools like Kubernetes, Jenkins, Ansible, Git, and more can help you with different tasks included in your project.
DevOps Best Practices for Web Apps on Linux
The benefits we just looked at earlier in this blog won’t be reaped automatically. You have to make an active effort for it by implementing the DevOps best practices for the Linux operating system. Although the practices stay the same across all DevOps projects, the real difference lies in the relevant tools and technologies you employ in your system.
Among all best practices for the web applications, here are a few specifically tailored for DevOps and Linux environments
Emphasis on Communication and Collaboration
DevOps is a collaboration between development and operation teams for software projects. You bring specialists from different fields together and provide them with a collaborative environment to work towards common goals. Communication is the key to DevOps success, from understanding end users’ requirements to getting their feedback and making appropriate product updates.
This also demands crystal-clear communication between development and operations teams. Agile techniques like sprint planning, stand-up meetings, and more ensure effective communication. Channels like email, Skype, and group chats are used for real-time engagement and communication.
Such collaboration in DevOps is to encourage shared ownership of the software delivery process which helps guarantee efficiency and accountability in software development, deployment, maintenance, and scalability. Cooperative work culture helps solve most of the issues arising during the project.
Implement CI/CD
The implementation of continuous integration and continuous development is critical for DevOps. The process consists of four stages:
- Coding: Writing and committing a code to your version control system.
- Building: Compiling and packaging your code into a deployable product.
- Testing: Performing unit tests, performance tests, integration tests, and more to find if your product is fit for deployment.
- Deployment: Launching your code in the production environment.
For quick and efficient delivery, the implementation of a CI/CD pipeline is mostly automated using tools such as Jenkins, TravisCI, and CircleCI. With the CI/CD pipeline, you can effectively manage the updates and code deployments. If any change or update results in failure, you can roll it back, thanks to CI/CD. This helps reduce downtime and keep your systems predictable and consistent.
Version Control and Configuration Management
In DevOps, team members have to collaborate to manage code and maintain the history of their project. To do that, you need a version control system. While many options are available in the market, most developers prefer to use the Git version control system.
You can easily install Git on your computer. If it’s already installed, just update it to its latest version. Git is installed by downloading its source code and then compiling it all yourself or directly installing it as a package using an installer.
In the case of Linux, use the package manager provided by your distribution to install basic Git tools. Use dnf if you are on Fedora or any related RPM distribution.
$ sudo dnf install git-all
Use apt, if you are on any Debian-based distribution.
$ sudo apt install git-all
DevOps also requires configuration management to define the desired state of the system and ensure that it stays the same over time despite making any changes or upgrades to the system. Tools such as SaltStack, Ansible, and Puppet are used for managing configurations as well as automating the entire process.
Let’s take a scenario where you have to configure a group of servers in a specific manner. Using the Puppet, you can define the manifest, describing your system’s state. The manifest would look as shown below:
node 'server1.example.com' { package { 'nginx': ensure => installed, } service { 'nginx': ensure => running, enable => true, } }
The above code shows the Puppet manifest specifying the installation of the nginx package and services as well as enabling them to run on the server server1.example.com. Puppet will ensure that these conditions are fulfilled even in the event of changes.
SaltStack and Ansible work similarly just with a different approach to configuration. SaltStack uses a flexible Python-based syntax for defining the desired states whereas Ansible uses declarative, YAML-based syntax.
No matter which configuration management tool you pick for your project, they all help keep your system consistent, especially under dynamic and complex environments.
Security
Product managers and owners must ensure that their app is secure and that it doesn’t pose any threat to the users, or owners. And it shouldn’t be vulnerable to any kind of attack that may lead to data leaks or financial loss. Some of the security measures you can implement in Linux for DevOps are:
- Policy and governance: Ensure that all the product is developed and delivered according to the security policies of the company and its code adheres to the industry-specific rules.
- Comprehensive discovery: Your DevOps approach must provide visibility into all tools, devices, instances, and more to make sure that everything adheres to your organizational policies.
- Vulnerability management: It is extremely important to uncover any vulnerability or error in the code before launching the application. You can use open-source testing tools like Taurus and Selenium provided by Linux to automate your tests and make them more efficient.
- Privileged access management (PAM): The principle of least privilege must be implemented. According to it, the employees would be given access only for the time being until they complete their jobs or tasks assigned to them. This mitigates the risks of misusing the credentials to access code from outside or inside the organization.
- Segment networks: Another common, yet classic, security measure you can implement is to segment your server and network into different groups. In the event of a successful cyberattack, this prevents the attackers from damaging your whole network.
Monitoring and Feedback
Continuous monitoring is required for performance optimization. After all, it’s crucial for user engagement and user satisfaction. You have to use various types of monitoring tools for performance monitoring, resource monitoring, database monitoring, and more to gain insights into the health and performance of your software applications.
For that, you will need a monitoring system or package that takes care of all your monitoring-related needs. Linux provides a wide range of tools and commands like top, atop, vmstat, netstat and more to help monitor the performance of the entire Linux system including network, memory, CPU, and all processes.
These tools and commands come with an interactive interface and provide detailed reports upon their implementation with graphs and charts for better understanding. Some tools like htop also come with color-coded reports to show areas with severely low performance and what needs to be prioritized.
Conclusion
There is no doubt Linux might just be the right platform to lead your DevOps project to success. This open-source operating system offers an extensive ecosystem for software development and deployment and provides added security and scalability benefits. Embracing the DevOps approach can be easy if you do it right using Linux, as it helps drive innovation and allows efficient development and delivery of the application.
FAQs
Why is Linux popular in DevOps?
The open-source nature, scalability, and high compatibility make Linux a popular choice for DevOps.
How does Linux contribute to DevOps practices?
Linux offers a consistent environment, a scalable platform, and a large array of DevOps tools including Docker for containerization, Puppet for configuration management, and Jenkins for CI/CD implementation.
What are some common challenges faced when adopting Linux for DevOps?
A learning curve, limited availability of proprietary software, and potential hardware compatibility issues are some of the common challenges you might face when adopting Linux for DevOps practices.
