Thursday, November 30, 2017

IBM Cloud: Some fun with Python and Cloud Foundry Logging


IBM Cloud: Turn Log Data into Donut
Last month, after receiving user questions, I blogged about how to decipher Cloud Foundry log entries. Today, I want to point you to a small Cloud Foundry Python app I wrote. It helps to better understand Python and Cloud Foundry logging. You can also use it to test the IBM Cloud Log Analysis service which provides an easy-to-use interface to logs generated by applications running in the IBM Cloud. In the premium plans, external log events can also be fed into the service for consolidated storage and analysis.

As usual, the code for my app is available on Github: https://github.com/data-henrik/application-log-analysis/. Once deployed to IBM Cloud, the app can be used to send messages on a chosen log level back to the server. The server-side log level, i.e., the threshold for processed log messages can also be set. The app produces diagnostic output on "stdout" and "stderr". The two are treated differently by Cloud Foundry. Here is a screenshot of the logging app:
Test app for Cloud Foundry logging
The produced log entries can also be used to try out the IBM Cloud Log Analysis service. Diagnostic logs are automatically forwarded to the Log Search of that service. The messages are fed into Elasticsearch and can be analyzed using Kibana. I wrote some search queries (one shown below) and then built visualizations like the shown "Donut" based on those queries. I will write more about that in a future blog post.
Search Query for Elasticsearch / IBM Cloud Log Analysis

An official tutorial using that app and Log Analysis is available in the IBM Cloud docs.

If you have feedback, suggestions, or questions about this post, please reach out to me on Twitter (@data_henrik) or LinkedIn.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Latest News on Bluemix and IBM Cloud

IBM Cloud News
Sometimes it's quite hard to keep an overview of what is going on with the IBM Cloud. I had been out on vacation and needed to catch up. Want to learn with me? Here is some of the latest news for Bluemix and IBM Cloud for some weekend reading:
If you have feedback, suggestions, or questions about this post, please reach out to me on Twitter (@data_henrik) or LinkedIn.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

EU Cloud: IBM gives client full control over their data

IBM Cloud: Have full control over your data
Today, IBM announced for December the roll-out of a new support model and capabilities for IBM Cloud. Based on the announcement IBM is in the process of adding more EU-based staff to provide 24x7 support from within the EU. It is also providing enhanced encryption capabilities. All is done to give clients full control over their data and to be better positioned to meet the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The IBM Cloud in Frankfurt, Germany, is the first to feature the enhancements. Quite exciting news as German, as European, as cloud user.

In my spare time, I am teaching "Introduction to Data Management" at a cooperative state university. I tell the students that, today, data is the / a core asset of any business. It is a critical resource that needs to be protected and managed with care. Hence, putting data security at the core of platform design is important. The blog "Why a data-first approach is critical to designing and building secure cloud services" gives a great introduction into what needs to be considered for building a secure cloud platform. It touches everything from the isolation and encryption of resources and access control to monitoring, audit and governance. I covered some of the same aspects in my blog "Securing Workloads on IBM Cloud".


That's all for now. I can't wait to give a test drive once it is available. If you have feedback, suggestions, or questions about this post, please reach out to me on Twitter (@data_henrik) or LinkedIn.