Every few years a new term is coined within the computer industry—big data, machine learning, agile development, Internet of Things, just to name a few. You'd be forgiven for not knowing them all.

Some of these are new ideas. Some are refinements on existing ideas. Others still are simply notions we've all had for a long time, but now we have a new word to describe said notions.

Which brings me to a topic we cover in depth in this issue of Linux Journal: DevOps.

Not sure what DevOps is? Need it explained to you? It's okay, I was in the same boat. Start off by reading "Experts Attempt to Explain DevOps—and Almost Succeed" to get a high-level explanation of what this whole DevOps brouhaha is all about.

Once you've got the concept of DevOps firmly implanted in your brain, it's time to dive in and look at how specific parts of DevOps can be implemented, starting with "Continuous Integration/Continuous Development with FOSS Tools" by Quentin Hartman, Director of Infrastructure and DevOps at Finalze.

Next, turn to Linux Journal's very own Editor at Large (and senior performance software engineer at Cray), Petros Koutoupis, for a look at how to install and utilize Ansible to deploy and configure large numbers of Linux servers all at once. It's a nifty tool to have in your toolbelt, especially when looking to do things "The DevOps Way".

Okay, you've got the idea of DevOps, and you know some of the tools you can utilize with it as you build out a big, expansive online service. But what does a truly excellent system really look like? What components does it consist of? How does one go about selecting said components?

Luckily, we've got Kyle Rankin's aptly titled "My Favorite Infrastructure" to answer those questions. Linux Journal's illustrious Tech Editor (and Chief Security Officer at Purism) gives a tour of, what he considers to be, the best infrastructure he ever built. Including details on the architecture, configuration management, security and disaster recovery.

Oh, but we're not done! Ever want to build an OpenStack implementation on top of Fedora, openSUSE or Debian? John S. Tonello, the Global Technical Marketing Manager at SUSE, walks through exactly that with the help of free software tools like Kolla, Docker, qemu and pip. It's a veritable smorgasbord of Linux server-y goodness.

Looking for something a little less DevOps-y? Marcel Gagné describes how to build your own search engine (seriously) in "Words, Words, Words—Introducing OpenSearchServer", Andy Carlson writes about "Writing GitHub Web Hooks with Bash", and Adam Verslype shows how to run GNOME (the whole desktop environment) within a container in "Running GNOME in a Container". Oh, and be sure to check out the piece from Eric S. Raymond, titled "Loadshares: Funding the Load-Bearing Internet Person", on the sustainability problem with having a small collection of individuals maintaining projects critical to the global internet infrastructure.

Subscribers, you can download your August issue now.

Not a subscriber? It’s not too late. Subscribe now and receive instant access to this and ALL back issues since 1994.

Want to buy a single issue? Buy the August magazine or other single back issues in the LJ store.