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DevOps terminology glossary

Definitions of common DevOps terms and buzzwords

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auditd

Definition: What Is auditd? auditd or Linux Audit Daemon is a user-space component of the Linux Auditing System, responsible for collecting and writing audit log file records to the disk.

AppDynamics

Definition: What is AppDynamics? AppDynamics is a full-stack observability and monitoring platform that focuses on performance management and IT Operations analytics. It offers a wide range of helpful tools, but

API Versioning

Definition: What Is API Versioning? API versioning is a crucial practice in software development that involves managing changes and updates to an application programming interface (API) over time while ensuring

API Response Time

Definition: What Is API Response Time? API response time is the total amount of time it takes for an API to receive a request, process it and send a response

Anomaly Detection

What Are Anomalies? Anomalies mean outliers or inconsistent data points, which are values that stand out significantly in our dataset. This means that anomalies expect a baseline to be predefined,

AIOps

Definition: What Is AIOps? Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps) is a model that automates and enhances IT operations through artificial intelligence (AI), analytics, and machine learning. This is done

B

Buffer vs. Cache

What Is Buffer? A buffer is a temporary area where data is stored in the main memory (RAM) or disk while moving from an input system to an output system.

C

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

What Is Cumulative Layout Shift? Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is a Core Web Vitals metric and it calculates the shifting of elements while the page is being downloaded and rendered.

CPU Limit

Definition: What Is CPU Limit? CPU limit refers to a configuration parameter in containerization platforms like Kubernetes that restricts the maximum amount of CPU resources a container can utilize. By

Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD)

Definition: What Is CI/CD? CI/CD, which stands for Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (or Continuous Delivery), is a software development approach that emphasizes automating and streamlining the process of building,

Container Orchestration

Definition: What Is Container Orchestration? Container orchestration is the automation of different operational tasks required to run and manage containers in an environment, including container provisioning, deployment, scaling, management, load

Container

Definition: What Are Containers? Containers are a standard way to package and ship everything—code, configurations, libraries, and dependencies—needed to run your application in any runtime environment. You can see it

Compliance Level

Definition: What Is Compliance Level? Compliance level refers to the degree of conformity in meeting pre-defined performance and reliability targets. It measures the extent to which the system or service

Certificate Authority (CA)

Definition: What Is a Certificate Authority? A Certificate Authority (CA) is a trusted organization that issues and revokes digital certificates and certifies websites and other web entities. They do this

Cache

Definition: What Is a Cache? In computer science, a cache is a storage location used to temporarily store data used by servers, apps, and browsers to speed load times. Depending

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Dynatrace

Definition: What is Dynatrace? Dynatrace is a software intelligence platform designed to help organizations monitor, optimize, and manage the performance of their applications, infrastructure, and digital experiences. It provides real-time

Docker Logs Guide

When building containerized applications, logging is definitely one of the most important things to get right from a DevOps standpoint. Log management helps DevOps teams debug and troubleshoot issues faster,

Docker

Definition: What Is Docker? Docker is an open source virtualization technology that makes it easy to build, test, and deploy applications. With Docker, you can ship your applications in a

DNS Lookup time

What Is a DNS Lookup Time? Before defining a DNS lookup, you first need to understand how DNS works. DNS stands for Domain Name System, a server or set of

DevSecOps

Definition: What Is DevSecOps and How Does It Work? DevSecOps stands for development, security, and operations. It's a software development practice that involves integrating security throughout the entire software development

DevOps Pipeline

Definition: What Is a DevOps Pipeline? A DevOps pipeline is a collection of automated procedures and tools that enables developers (Dev) and operations specialists (Ops) to collaborate on developing and

DevOps

Definition: What Is DevOps? DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and information-technology operations (Ops) to shorten the time between committing a code change and deploying

Datadog

Definition: What Is Datadog? Datadog is a cloud-based monitoring and analytics platform known for its extensive capabilities in providing insights into application, infrastructure, and system performance. This tool enables organizations

E

Event Log

Definition: What Is an Event Log? An event log is a chronologically ordered record of events occurring within a system or process, often used for troubleshooting and analysis purposes. It

Error Log

Definition: What Is an Error Log? An error log is a file that keeps track of any or all errors that occur while running an application, operating system, or server.

Error Budget

Definition: What Is an Error Budget? An error budget is a predefined allowance or limit for acceptable errors or failures within a system or process. It represents the tolerance for

F

Full Stack Observability

What Is Full Stack Observability? Full stack observability is the concept of observing the real-time status of each technology stack component distributed in an IT environment. Simply put, it means

First Input Delay (FID)

What Is First Input Delay? First Input Delay (FID) is the metric that calculates the time it takes for the browser to respond to the first client request. It’s measured

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I

IOPS (Input/Output Operations per Second)

Definition: What Is IOPS? IOPS (Input/output operations per second) is a performance indicator that measures the speed and efficiency of a storage device based on the number of read/write operations

J

JVM Threads

What Is a Thread in Java? A Java thread is the execution path in a program. Everything that runs in Java is run in threads. Every application in the JVM

JVM Heap

What Is Java Heap Memory? Java heap memory is a vital component of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) responsible for dynamically allocating and managing objects during program execution. It acts

Jamstack

Definition: What Is JAMstack? JAMstack architecture represents a groundbreaking paradigm shift in web development. The acronym "JAMstack" stands for JavaScript, APIs, and Markup. Unlike traditional monolithic architectures that tightly couple

K

Kubernetes Replica

What Is a Kubernetes Replica? Kubernetes replicas are clones that facilitate self-healing for pods. As with most processes and services, pods are liable to failure, errors, evictions, and deletion. For

Kubernetes QoS

Definition: What Is Quality of Service (QoS) in Kubernetes? Quality of Service (QoS) is a classification criterion in Kubernetes that determines how to schedule and manage Pods in the ecosystem.

Kubernetes Pod

Definition: What Is a Kubernetes Pod? A Pod is the smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes. A Kubernetes pod is a group of one or more containers running instances of an

Kubernetes Operator

Definition: What Is a Kubernetes Operator? A Kubernetes operator is an application-specific program that automates tasks to manage an application in the Kubernetes ecosystem. Operators are basically automated system administrators.

Kubernetes

Definition: What Is Kubernetes? Kubernetes, initially developed by Google engineers, is an open-source platform that makes it easy to deploy, maintain, scale and run containers automatically. Kubernetes is known for

Kubectl Logs

Kubectl Logs Kubectl Logs is a command-line tool for retrieving and displaying container logs from pods. It's an essential feature for developers and system administrators working with Kubernetes clusters, allowing

L

Log Rotation

Definition: What Is Log Rotation? Log rotation is an automated process of managing log file size, preventing the logs from filling the storage space and slowing down the system. It

Log File

Definition: What Is a Log File? In computer science a log file is a textual data file that stores events, processes, messages, and other data from applications, operating systems, or

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

What Is Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)? Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) is a Core Web Vitals metric that measures how long it takes a website to render the largest part of

M

Microservices

Definition: What Are Microservices? Microservices are a software architecture that allows developers to independently build and deploy individual components of a more extensive application. It means each component can be

Micro Frontend

Definition: What Is a Micro Frontend Architecture? Micro frontend architecture is an approach to web application development that involves breaking down the user interface into small, self-contained modules or micro

Mezmo

Definition: What is Mezmo? Previously known as LogDNA, Mezmo is a technology firm that offers a data pipeline designed to efficiently intake telemetry data from diverse sources, perform transformations and

Memory Bottleneck

Definition: What Is a Memory Bottleneck? The term "bottleneck" refers to any restrictive element that limits the system's performance. Memory bottleneck describes a computing state where a system's processing capability

N

New Relic

Definition: What Is New Relic? New Relic is a cloud-based observability platform designed to provide real-time insights into the performance and behavior of digital systems. It offers perspective on applications

O

OpenTelemetry

Definition: What Is OpenTelemetry? OpenTelemetry is an open-source project that provides a robust and standardized set of APIs, libraries, agents, and instrumentation tools designed to facilitate the seamless collection of

Observability vs. Monitoring

What Is Meant by Monitoring? Monitoring refers to gathering and analyzing data from applications and infrastructure to track performance to identify, mitigate, and resolve issues. This is established by tracking

Observability

Definition: What Is Observability? In IT, software, and cloud computing, observability is the ability to get visibility into the internal state of your systems by collecting and visualizing the system's

P

Pingdom

Definition: What Is Pingdom? Owned by SolarWinds, Pingdom is a website monitoring and performance optimization tool. It allows users to monitor the uptime, availability, and performance of websites, servers, and

Persistent Volume Claim (PVC)

Definition: What Is a Persistent Volume Claim? A Persistent Volume Claim (PVC) in Kubernetes is a resource that allows pods to request and access storage resources from a cluster's storage

Papertrail

Definition: What Is Papertrail? Papertrail is a cloud-based log management system that provides easy aggregation, search, and analysis of log data from various sources. It enables efficient troubleshooting, issue identification,

Page Load Time

Definition: What Is Page Load Time? Page load time is the amount of time it takes for a web page to fully load. Measured in seconds, it's one of the

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Runbook

Definition: What Is a Runbook? A runbook is a document or set of documents containing detailed instructions and information on how to perform routine operational tasks within an organization, ensuring

Response Time

What Is Response Time? Response time refers to the amount of time it takes for a server to respond to a client's request. Measured in milliseconds, the timer starts from

Render time

What Is Render Time? Render time is the metric that refers to the time it takes for a website or web app to load enough that the user can actually

S

Syslog

Syslog is a standard on devices for recording events and errors in a consistent format. This allows different programs to understand the messages. System administrators use syslog to track how

Structured Logging

Definition: What Is Structured Logging? Structured logging is the practice of logging application and server errors or access events in a well-structured and consistent format that can be easily read,

Status Page

Definition: What Is a Status Page? The status page is a tool companies use to provide customers with real-time updates and information about the operational status of their services or

SSL/TLS Handshake

What Is a SSL/TLS Handshake? A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) / Transport Layer Security (TLS) handshake is the process of creating a safe and secure encrypted communication channel between the

SSL Certificate Expiry

What Is an SSL Certificate Expiry? The SSL certificate authenticates the identity of a website owner and establishes a secure and encrypted connection to the server for its visitors. It

SSL Certificate Chain

What Is an SSL Certificate Chain? The certificate chain, also known as the certificate chain of trust, is an ordered list of digital certificates, including SSL/TLS certificates and Certificate Authority

SSL Certificate

Definition: What Is an SSL Certificate? An SSL certificate is a digital certificate that provides authentication for a website. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layers, a standard technology protocol that

Site24x7

Definition: What is Site24x7? Site24x7 is a cloud-based platform designed to monitor websites and servers, and it caters to businesses ranging from small startups to large enterprises. It allows users

Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)

Definition: What Is Site Reliability Engineering? Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) is a software engineering approach developed by Google to ensure the reliable and efficient operation of large-scale, complex systems. It

Service Level Objectives (SLOs)

Definition: What Is an SLO? Service Level Objectives (SLOs) are goals and targets established within a Service Level Agreement (SLA). They are typically set to measure the health and performance

Service Level Indicators (SLIs)

Definition: What Is a Service Level Indicator? Service Level Indicators (SLIs) are quantifiable defined metrics that measure the performance and availability of a service or distributed system. A few of

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Definition: What Is an SLA? A service-level agreement (SLA) is a contract agreement that defines the terms of service between a vendor or service provider and its client. It is

U

Uptrends

Definition: What is Uptrends? Uptrends is a platform that provides website and server monitoring services. It offers a suite of tools and solutions designed to help businesses and website owners

Uptime.com

Definition: What is Uptime.com? Uptime.com is a website monitoring solution that is primarily focused on Uptime monitoring. It is designed to help website owners quickly understand whether or not their

Uptime Robot

Definition: What Is Uptime Robot? Uptime Robot is a monitoring service that tracks the uptime and availability of websites, servers, APIs, and other online services. It periodically sends requests to

Uptime

Definition: What Is Uptime? Uptime refers to the duration during which a system, service, or device remains operational and available for use. It measures the period of time when the

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Windows Services

What are Windows Services? Windows Services are specialized programs running in the Windows operating system's background. They operate independently of user sessions and can be configured to start automatically when

Windows Performance Counters

What are Windows Performance Counters? Windows Performance Counters are integral tools for monitoring and diagnosing system performance on Windows operating systems. They provide detailed metrics about various system resources, including

Windows Monitoring Guide

Windows monitoring involves tracking and analyzing various metrics and activities on Windows operating systems and servers. This includes monitoring resource usage, system performance, application behavior, and security events. The goal

Windows Event Log

What is a Windows Event Log? The Windows Event Log is a crucial part of the Windows operating system, providing a centralized way to manage and view logs of various

Windows Event

What is a Windows Event? A Windows Event is a record in the Windows operating system documenting significant occurrences, such as system operations, security events, application activities, or setup processes.

What Is Log Management in DevOps

Definition: What Is Log Management Log management is the process of handling log events generated by all software applications and infrastructure on which they run. It involves log collection, aggregation,

Webhooks

Definition: What Is a Webhook? A webhook is a mechanism that allows one system or application to send real-time data or notifications to another system or application. It is typically

Web Transaction Monitoring

Web transactions are sequences of user interactions with a website or web app, such as logging in, searching, and making purchases, involving multiple steps between the user's browser and the

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Zabbix

Definition: What is Zabbix? Zabbix is an open-source network and infrastructure monitoring and management tool designed to track the performance and availability of network servers, devices, and other IT resources.