Steve’s Bio:

• 
  
• By your own admission on your website http://stevenmurawski.com, you are a sysadmin , devops, a Powershell MVP and other stuff.
  
• sysadmin by trade/Powershell by choice
  
• You are a Sysadmin on the Site Reliability Engineering team for Stack Exchange which operates a whole bunch of Q and A websites like Server Fault and Stack Overflow.
  
• You have deep experience with the Windows Server platform, specifically the most current releases, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, and Server 2012 R2.
  
• Says you…. You are an experienced PowerShell scripter (actually a Microsoft MVP – Powershell) and have some experience with development in C# and Python.
  
• Your website says your interests include declarative configuration management, improving IT workflow, monitoring, and aligning IT projects with business needs.  (we are going to come back to that a little later).
  
• Owner of PS Solutions which provides IT Service Operations Automation with Microsoft Technologies, including custom application development. Providing IT Service Operations via PowerShell training.
  
• You write a blog for PowerShell.org
  
• ……and you are a co-host of the Ops All The Things podcast which is at https://www.opsallthethings.com.
  
• And then you live in Oconomowoc, WI……..I bring that up because I fished in Pewaukee Lake a couple of times J  that’s close to Oconomowoc.  I used to live in Wauwatosa.
  

Definitions:

DevOps:  (this is from Steve’s blog “DevOps is Going to Make My Head Explode”, April 22, 2013)

The term “DevOps” has been floating around for a few years now.  It’s gone from relative obscurity to being “that thing” that organizations need to survive and thrive.  

At it’s heart, DevOps is about culture and process.  The DevOps mindset draws from manufacturing thinkers like Demming and Goldratt, as well as modern day thought leaders like Allspaw and Humble.  The focus of DevOps culturally is to bring IT in line with the business objectives.  This is accomplished by defining and controlling the flow of work, shortening feedback loops (getting new software into production sooner), and continually experimenting and improving.

Devops:  (a second definition):  DevOps (a portmanteau of development and operations) is a software development method that stresses communication, collaboration and integration between software developers and information technology (IT) operations professionals.  DevOps is a response to the interdependence of software development and IT operations. It aims to help an organization rapidly produce software products and services.

DevOps aids in software application release management for a company by standardizing development environments. Events can be more easily tracked as well as resolving documented process control and granular reporting issues. Companies with release/deployment automation problems usually have existing automation but want to more flexibly manage and drive this automation — without needing to enter everything manually at the command-line.

Sysadmin:  A system administrator, or sysadmin, is a person who is responsible for the upkeep, configuration, and reliable operation of computer systems; especially multi-user computers, such as servers.

The system administrator seeks to ensure that the uptime, performance, resources, and security of the computers he or she manages meet the needs of the users, without exceeding the budget.

To meet these needs, a system administrator may acquire, install, or upgrade computer components and software; automate routine tasks; write computer programs; troubleshoot; train and/or supervise staff; and provide technical support.

Steve’s Links:

Steve’s website

Steve co-hosts this podcast with Christopher Webber:  “Ops All the Things”

“Ignite – Getting Dirty with Desired State Configuration”, on Vimeo

Steven Murawski on GitHub

Episode 242 – PowerScripting Podcast – Steven Murawski and Geoff Dalgas on DSC and Stack Overflow, by Jonathan Walz

Stack Overflow                      Stack Exchange               PowerShell.org

Reference Links:

Penguicon  2014 Michigan’s largest open-source community run volunteer convention located in Southfield.

Listen and watch Tony, Mat and Mary at “Sunday Morning Linux Reviewâ€.

“Defense, energy, banks hit by Internet Explorer Bugâ€, by Jose Pagliery,  May 2, 2014   http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/02/technology/security/internet-explorer-hack/

Rajarshi Chakraborty (in LinkedIn)  is looking for comments about a grad-level class called IT Management at the University of Buffalo.  Good discussion of DevOps.