As we’re deeply involved in the development of a niche troubleshooting product at yCrash, I was naturally curious to uncover the latest trends, news, and announcements in the observability space. This curiosity led us to anticipate Datadog’s DevOps conference eagerly. Finally, last week (Aug’ 02-03), we were fortunate enough to immerse ourselves in this enriching experience in the beautiful city of San Francisco. Our expectations were not only met but exceeded as we delved into workshops, made connections with new acquaintances, and engaged with numerous vendors and solution providers. The vigor of the event was truly invigorating. Join me in this post as I distill the essence of this remarkable conference into a few key highlights.
Moscone West & 3000 DevOps Engineers
Fig 1 : Long queue for registration
The setting for this conference was the iconic Moscone West conference center, a place etched in history as the site where Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone back in June 2007. The conference was scheduled to commence at 8:30 AM, and I arrived at 8:15 AM, only to be pleasantly taken aback by the extensive queue of DevOps engineers eagerly awaiting registration. The sight was a testament to the event’s popularity. Upon checking in with a Datadog representative in the registration area, I was informed that approximately 3000 engineers had gathered to partake in this conference. The sheer magnitude of this number was awe-inspiring. It underscored Datadog’s determined stride in pushing the boundaries of the performance monitoring landscape.
Hands-on workshops
Fig 2: Log management Workshop in the conference
The conference featured a lineup of approximately 9 workshops during the first half of the opening day. I registered for and participated in a comprehensive 3-hour session titled ‘Using Log Management with Metrics and Traces to Improve Developer Productivity.’ This workshop, along with several other courses, is accessible through their learning portal, Datadog Learning.
The workshop delved into the art of configuring and harnessing the potential of log management. It proved to be an immensely enlightening experience. One striking feature of the learning portal was its capability to launch a Docker container integrated with the requisite applications for generating logs. Instructors in the workshop were highly resourceful and responsive. They were clarifying all our doubts patiently.
Toyota Connected & Chick-fillA sessions
Among the array of breakout sessions, a couple stood out for their intriguing insights. One session, led by Ashley Parks from Toyota Connected, spotlighted how DataDog’s tools have been harnessed to streamline operations for the support of over 6 million vehicles. The emphasis was on leveraging these tools to curtail the necessity of frequent on-call support, contributing to enhanced efficiency.
Another captivating presentation was delivered by the ingenious minds behind the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain. Brian Chambers and Alex Crane, both architects at Chick-fil-A, delved into the innovative application of edge computing across their vast network of 2800 restaurants. The discussion revolved around their astute strategies in addressing challenges within this highly constrained and distributed environment. Their accounts provided valuable insights into handling such a sizable and complex infrastructure while meeting the demands of a bustling business.
Expo – Vendor Booths
Fig 3: Vendor booths in the conference
The expo was abuzz with excitement as a myriad of vendors showcased their innovative products and solutions. Among the prominent industry players like Google Cloud, Amazon AWS, and Redhat, there were also captivating startups that drew my attention:
Steadybit, a dynamic German startup, showcased their chaos engineering product that skillfully simulates various performance issues.
Vantage.sh offered an automated solution to slash cloud hosting costs.
Gremlin, a popular name in the chaos engineering realm, had a noteworthy presence, accentuating the significance of controlled disruptions.
Shoreline, a Redwood City, CA based startup, enticed SRE engineers with automation solutions for tasks like remediation and restart scripts.
InsightFinder, an intriguing AI startup, claimed the ability to predict anomalies in the production environment before they even surface.
RapDev, was providing integration and consulting services around Datadog and ServiceNow platforms Crest Data Systems, was providing integration and consulting services around APM tools such as Datadog, Splunk, Elastic Search…
Conclusion
As the curtains drew on the exhilarating DASH conference, two days proved transformative. Amidst the buzz of the iconic Moscone West, we delved into workshops, connected with peers, witnessed the cool startups. It gave us a good idea on where we as an industry heading towards in the observability space.
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