As we pass the midpoint of 2013, we’re revisiting the most popular content on the Skytap blog.
Across the cloud computing industry as a whole, people wrote about things like why application development is better in the cloud, the different value propositions of public, private, and hybrid cloud solutions, and the variety of concerns relating to cloud security.
Our numbers show that for enterprises already embracing the cloud, there is value in the practical details of everyday use. Our top blog content from January to June 2013 included tutorials, guides, and a series that drilled down into the specifics of hybrid cloud. Here are the highlights:
Using Jenkins and Gitlab in Skytap Cloud
Developer Matt Sousley created this piece as a follow-up to his blog on putting together a new configuration with a simple development machine and GitLab template for doing source control. In this second blog, he expanded that template to include doing automatic builds via Jenkins whenever someone pushes code to GitLab—think of it as continuous integration in the cloud.
Your Guide to Replacing VMware Lab Manager
In May, VMware discontinued support for vCenter Lab Manager. We created this guide to examine the benefits and considerations of various replacement strategies. The guide mentions the risks involved with continuing to use unsupported software, and details how VMware’s recommended replacement, vCloud Director, lacks much of the power and utility of Lab Manager. The guide also explores other options to consider, including vCloud service providers. Skytap Cloud is called out for its low cost, ease-of-use, and AutoNetworks feature for creating a hybrid cloud.
Create a Cloudera Hadoop Cluster in Skytap Cloud
The goal of this tutorial is to spin up a 10-node cluster in Skytap Cloud. The first template is the “CDH4 cluster”: a 2-node cluster template that supports Hadoop. It includes 2 nodes and a management node/server. The second is called the Cloudera CDH4 Hadoop host template. This second template is not intended to run by itself in a configuration—rather, it contains a host VM that is ready to become another Hadoop node in the CDH4 cluster template-based configuration.
Using Cloud Foundry with Gitlab and Jenkins
This blog by developer Matt Sousley illustrated how to do something cool with a Skytap Cloud configuration using Cloud Foundry to create a continuous integration workflow. He showed how to develop the application; check it (push) into source control; and have the application automatically built and deployed for testing into Cloud Foundry. It shows how if anything goes wrong along the way, Jenkins will fail the build and let you know.
Companies Enjoying Big Success With Hybrid Cloud
In this popular 4-part series, vExpert David Davis wrote about how hybrid cloud solutions are allowing IT to get ahead of the technology curve. He shows how to build a hybrid cloud; what a hybrid cloud looks like; and ended with a summary on enterprise companies—from higher education and banking to gaming and enterprise content management—that are currently finding success using hybrid clouds.
Are you a Skytap customer? If there is an aspect of our product you’d like to know more about, please let us know. We’ll be happy to develop content that suits your interests.
