What are the most popular DevOps tools in the industry

Technology being all about changes these days, DevOps becomes a significant way to develop and release the software and connect teams of development and operations. DevOps is made of a variety of tools that help to improve, simplify, and automate the process of software development. 

This article will reflect on some of the most popular top DevOps tools in the market and provide their main functionality, advantages, and disadvantages.

With an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the tools, businesses can use the ones that are most suitable for their plans and purposes.

Jenkins 

With its open source nature, Jenkins is consequently one of the popular selections for CI/CD (continuous integration and delivery) pipelines. It has a big toolbox of features that make it very suitable for a variety of different platforms.

Pros:

• Jenkins is open source, therefore anyone can use it for free and there are a lot of people creating plugins and giving out help.
• Plugins allow Jenkins to be customized to accommodate various needs and can work with a range of tools and technologies.
• Jenkins provides distributed builds that allow scaling horizontally of their CI/CD infrastructure.

Cons:

• First of all, configuring Jenkins and setting up pipelines can be challenging, especially when it comes to those who just started this job.
• Updating Jenkins servers and plugins needs continuous attention and knowledge too.
• The Jenkins UI works, but it can be hard to use and not as easy as some new option.

Also Read: Building Secure and Compliant DevOps Workflows with Azure

GitLab 

GitLab is an entire DevOps kit with an ability to handle code management, CI/CD, issue tracking and much more. To fulfill the requirements of a vast spectrum of firms, it offers both self-hosted and cloud-based alternatives.

Pros:

• GitLab has an entire set of tools for any DevOps process, which facilitate managing and orchestration of toolchains.
• GitLab’s CI/CD works out of the version control system which allows you to automate processes easily on the very same platform.
• GitLab has developed powerful collaboration features, including code review, issue tracking, and merge requests that help teams come together and make the code better.
• GitLab offers a container directory that makes it easy for the teams to store, manage, and share Docker files.

Cons:

• Managing GitLab on-premises can be resource-intensive because it requires a lot of tools and technical expertise.
• If you want to use GitLab, you need to invest a lot of your time and efforts to master its universe of features and functions.
• The scalability of GitLab may be a problem for large companies with complex needs as they are unable to use it.

Docker 

By creating containerization technology, Docker changed the way that apps are packed and delivered. It lets developers put apps and the libraries they need inside small packages that don’t take up much space. This keeps things consistent across all settings.

Pros:

• Docker containers are small, light, and quick, which makes them perfect for putting apps in a variety of settings, from testing to production.
• Docker provides a standard style for packaging apps, which gets rid of problems with support and makes release processes easier.
• When you use containers, you can separate processes so that different programs can run on the same computer without affecting each other.

Cons:

• Docker provides separation, but they share the same system, which can cause security issues if they are not set up and handled correctly.
• Running containerized apps on multiple systems can be hard to manage without extra tools like Kubernetes or Docker Swarm.
• Developers and operations teams may need to spend time learning new skills and best practices in order to adopt Docker and understand how containerization works.

Also Read: Exploring Version Control in DevOps for Modern Software Development

Kubernetes

Kubernetes (or sometimes referred to as K8s), is an open-source container management tool created by Google. You can effortlessly deploy, manage and control container-based apps using it as a starting point for cloud-native operations.

Pros:

• Kubernetes is built to be very scalable, thus organizations can easily build and manage micro-service apps across sets of computers.
• Kubernetes monitors the health containers by restarting or replacing them automatically if they are down. This makes sure that they are always there and dependable.
• Kubernetes uses declarative configuration files that define the states that an application should have. This also improves the machine handling and the ability to perform complicated operations.

Cons:

• Kubernetes itself is difficult to learn since you must have a good understanding of its design, approaches, and resource models.
• Provisioning , monitoring , scaling and fixing are some of the operational overheads that come with managing a Kubernetes group.
• Kubernetes may consume a lot of resources, including the ones in the smaller settings. To prevent waste, resources must be meticulously planned and utilized.
• It can be a challenge to establish and run Kubernetes networking in groups, especially in places that are using more than one cloud or mix clouds.

Ansible

Ansible is a well-known open-source DevOps automation tool that makes managing configurations, deploying apps, and orchestrating easier. The grammar is based on YAML and contact is done over SSH, which makes it simple to learn and use.

Pros:

• Ansible works without an agent by using SSH to run commands on remote systems. This makes setup and control easier.
• Ansible playbooks use a simple YAML format that makes them simple to read, write, and manage, even for people who have never programmed before.
• Ansible guarantees idempotent execution, which means that running a script more than once will produce the same outcome. This makes it safe and reliable.
• Ansible can be made more powerful by adding modules, plugins, and custom scripts. This lets it work with a lot of different systems, services, and APIs.

Cons:

• Ansible may not run as quickly as some other automation tools, especially for large-scale deployments or tasks that involve a lot of remote sites.
• Ansible is great at managing simple setups and repeated tasks, but it might not have all the advanced features needed for complex orchestration processes.
• Ansible can only handle a few errors at a time, and error messages don’t always give enough information to help with debugging.
• Ansible manages configurations using a push-based model, which might not work for all situations, especially in places where a pull-based model works better.

Also Read: Everything You Need to Know about DevOps Automation

Conclusion

DevOps tools are very important for helping businesses simplify and automate the processes they use to make software and send it to users. Every tool has its own pros and cons, but the most important thing is to choose the ones that work best with your company’s goals, needs, and expert skills.

Teams can make smart choices and create strong, effective DevOps processes that spur innovation and speed up business growth by knowing the pros and cons of popular DevOps tools.