The modern approach to software delivery is based on cloud-native services and the DevOps culture, entailing software development in containers, and deployment as microservices and management using CI/CD workflows. For many organizations that have shifted from a monolithic architecture to microservices, it has become more complicated to configure the infrastructure.
Modern approaches to software delivery, based on cloud-native services and a DevOps culture, require software development in containers and deployment as microservices and management using CI/CD workflows. For many organizations that have moved from monolithic architectures to microservices , configuring the infrastructure has become more complex.
Internal developer platforms (IDPs) were designed to compartmentalize complexity and make life easier for the Devs and the Ops, while also improving the project implementation quality and business performance. What is an internal developer platform, how does it work, and what benefits do companies get from using such a platform? Read on to find out.
The Internal Developer Platform (IDP) aims to divide complexity and make life easier for developers and operators, while improving project implementation quality and business performance. What is an internal developer platform, how does it work, and what benefits does a company gain from using such a platform? Read on to find out.
What Is an Internal Developer Platform?
What is an internal developer platform?
Internal developer platforms are becoming widespread as they help teams and entire organizations streamline processes and communication related to feature development by allowing team members to concentrate on what is critical to their roles.
Internal developer platforms are becoming commonplace because they allow team members to focus on things that are critical to their roles, helping teams and the organization as a whole streamline the process and communication related to feature development.
An internal developer platform is a layer that embraces technologies and tools the operations team prepares and sets up for further independent usage by a development team.
The internal developer platform is a layer that contains technologies and tools that the operations team prepares and sets up for further independent use by the development team.
An IDP provides the basis for all company tools, services, APIs and knowledge. This is internal tooling that gives more freedom and flexibility for software creation. The goal of the IDP is to ensure the pace of development and hide unnecessary infrastructure details from software engineers. In the internal developer platform concept, there are two parties involved: the Ops and the Devs.
IDP provides the foundation for all company tools, services, APIs and knowledge. This is an internal tool that allows more freedom and flexibility for software creation. The goal of IDP is to ensure development velocity and hide unnecessary infrastructure details from software engineers . In the internal developer platform concept, two parties are involved: Ops and Devs.
The operations team focuses on infrastructure: they configure the internal platform, specify resources, govern permissions, optimize and automate repetitive tasks to provide an ideal environment for developers — one that is properly configured so that developer teams can work self-sufficiently, without relying on the Ops. Developers can be autonomous and make the most out of such internal platforms, including automated testing, deployment and consistent processes, thanks to the ready-to-use development environment prepared by the Ops.
Operations teams focus on infrastructure: they provision internal platforms, assign resources, manage permissions, optimize, and automate repetitive tasks to provide an ideal environment for developers—one configured correctly so that teams of developers can work self-sufficiently, while No need to rely on operations. Developers can autonomously and fully leverage these internal platforms, including automated testing, deployment, and consistent processes, thanks to Ops-ready out-of-the-box development environments.
It can be said that the IDP is an abstraction layer allowing developers to deploy the needed infrastructure automatically, and build and run applications independently. Companies can buy ready-to-use IDPs or build proprietary platforms for internal usage.
It can be said that IDP is an abstraction layer that allows developers to automatically deploy the required infrastructure and build and run applications independently. Companies can buy ready-to-use IDPs or build proprietary platforms for internal use.
The Benefits of an Internal Developer Platform
Advantages of an in-house developer platform
IDPs are incredibly useful and beneficial for organizations as they streamline projects and help improve the level of satisfaction of team members. How do they do it? In the following ways:
- The operations team makes the most use of efficient technologies and tools; its load is balanced, pressure is relieved, and all repetitive tasks are automated, which results in higher productivity of the team.
- The development team doesn’t depend on the Ops; it can manage deployments and environments on its own by relying on ready-made platform configurations and processes. This increases productivity and visibility, reduces the load and the lead time, and increases deployment frequency. It also prompts developers to be creative and experiment with the configuration of internals.
- The company relies on prearranged flawless platform processes, which allows it to kick off projects quickly and with less effort.
- Clients get their projects faster and at a lower price; software releases become more stable, as the project can start from the get-go and by relying on out-of-the-box processes and workflows of the internal platform.
IDPs are very useful and beneficial for organizations as they simplify projects and help increase team member satisfaction. How did they do that? By:
- The operations team takes full advantage of efficient technology and tools; its load is balanced, stress is relieved, and all repetitive tasks are automated, increasing the productivity of the team.
- The development team does not depend on operations; it can rely on out-of-the-box platform configurations and processes to manage deployments and environments on its own. This improves productivity and visibility, reduces load and lead times, and increases deployment frequency. It also prompts developers to be creative and experiment with internal configurations.
- The company relies on a pre-arranged flawless platform process, which enables it to launch projects quickly and easily.
- Customers get their projects faster and at lower prices; software releases become more stable because projects can start from the ground up and rely on the internal platform's out-of-the-box processes and workflows.
The Principles of IDP Operation
IDP operating principles
How does an internal developer platform work? It integrates into the existing workflows and CI/CD processes and minimizes decisions related to infrastructure; it powers self-contained builds and manages role-based access.
How does the internal developer platform work? It integrates into existing workflows and CI/CD processes and minimizes infrastructure-related decisions; it enables independent builds and manages role-based access.
Since the organization’s experts decide on the configuration of the specific platform, the tool stack and the code base, all internal platforms differ greatly. A typical internal developer platform consists of the following key components that are centered around an API:
All internal platforms vary widely as the organization's experts determine the configuration of specific platforms, tool stacks, and code bases. A typical in-house developer platform consists of the following key API- centric components :
- Infrastructure orchestration (used by the Ops)
- Role-based action management (used by the Ops)
- Application configuration management (used by the Ops)
- Deployment management (used by the Devs)
- Environment management (used by the Devs)
- Infrastructure Orchestration (used by Ops)
- Role-Based Operations Management (used by Operations)
- Application Configuration Management (used by Ops)
- Deployment management (used by developers)
- Environment management (used by developers)
Depending on the platform, a user interface or a command-line interface may be provided for the API. APIs integrate technologies and tools that are used by the team to minimize maintenance and security risks. External resources connect via resource drivers that can be performed as stand-alone services or Infrastructure as Code.
Depending on the platform, a user interface or a command-line interface can be provided for the API. APIs integrate the technologies and tools used by teams to minimize maintenance and security risks. External resources are connected through resource drivers that can be executed as standalone services or infrastructure as code.
When configuring an internal developer platform, the operations team automates and streamlines repetitive processes by doing the following:
- They provide required resources that enable requests and environments.
- They build application configuration templates.
- They assign clusters to environment types.
- They manage permissions.
- They manage service-level agreements.
When provisioning an internal developer platform, operations teams automate and simplify repetitive processes by doing the following:
- They provide the resources needed to enable requests and environments.
- They build application configuration templates.
- They assign clusters to environment types.
- They manage permissions.
- They manage service level agreements.
As a result, developers can do the following at their own discretion, not involving the Ops:
- Change configurations
- Deploy and manage deployment automation
- Spin up, roll out and back resources and environments
- Request resources
Therefore, developers can do the following at their discretion, without involving Ops:
- change configuration
- Deploy and manage deployment automation
- Launch, launch, and backup resources and environments
- request resource
With an internal developer platform, developers can code in IDEs they are used to and rely on the existing git-push-deploy-based processes (an IDP only adds some automation to them). They use the platform to deliver the code.
Let’s have a look at how developers work with an IDP step by step. They:
- choose the environment type, which automatically determines resources to be used by the platform for each specific state
- choose workloads
- change the prearranged configurations
- start the deployment of the environment.
After that, the platform accepts configuration changes, creates a manifest, places required variables into the container and enables the environment.
With an internal developer platform, developers can write code in their accustomed IDE and rely on the existing git-push-deploy based process (IDP will only add some automation to it). They use the platform to deliver code.
Let's take a step-by-step look at how developers use IDP . them:
- Select the environment type, which automatically determines the resources used by the platform for each specific state
- Select workload
- Change pre-arranged configuration
- Start deploying the environment.
After that, the platform accepts the configuration changes, creates a manifest, puts the required variables into the container and enables the environment.
When an Internal Developer Platform Makes Sense
When does it make sense to use an internal developer platform
Although an internal developer platform is very useful for many projects and in many situations, it may be excessive in some cases. We don’t recommend switching to an IDP unless necessary, to make the most of its true value.
While an internal developer platform can be very useful for many projects and many situations, it can be overkill in some cases. We do not recommend switching to IDP unless necessary to get the most out of its true value.
However, the following points may red-flag that an organization needs to migrate to an IDP:
- It plans to switch to microservice architecture.
- It has a team that comprises more than a dozen developers and further upscaling is expected.
- It lacks proper DevOps expertise.
- DevOps engineers handle too many repetitive tasks.
- Developers are highly dependent on the operations staff.
- It needs full, detailed access to the infrastructure.
- It needs more control over the platform’s cost.
- It has security concerns.
- It plans multi-cloud applications.
However, the following points may raise red flags that an organization needs to migrate to an IDP:
- It plans to switch to a microservices architecture.
- It has a team of more than a dozen developers and expects to expand further.
- It lacks proper DevOps expertise.
- DevOps engineers handle too many repetitive tasks.
- Developers are highly dependent on operators.
- It requires comprehensive, detailed access to the infrastructure.
- It needs to better control the cost of the platform.
- It has security issues.
- It plans multi-cloud applications.
In the following cases, the implementation of an internal developer platform would have a detrimental effect:
- Small teams that comprise up to dozen developers and a few DevOps specialists who are good with infrastructure configuring and scripting
- An application that has monolithic architecture or simple infrastructure
The implementation of the internal developer platform will be adversely affected in the following cases:
- Small team of up to a dozen developers plus some DevOps experts who specialize in infrastructure provisioning and scripting
- Applications with monolithic architecture or simple infrastructure
IDP vs. PaaS: Who Wins the Battle?
IDP vs. PaaS: Who Wins the Battle?
The core difference between the two types of platforms lies in the party that controls the technology stack and development processes. In the case of a platform as a service (PaaS), a vendor provides its prescriptions on this point, while an IDP allows teams to choose and set up internals they feel comfortable with.
The core difference between the two platforms is who controls the technology stack and development process. In the case of Platform as a Service ( PaaS ), the provider provides its prescription at this point, while the IDP allows the team to choose and set the internal structure they feel comfortable with.
When should an organization choose a PaaS? If it’s small and needs to have an operational team as soon as possible. However, they should be prepared for little flexibility and freedom. In this case, Cloud Foundry, Heroku and other Platform-as-a-Service solutions are the workarounds.
When Should Organizations Choose PaaS ? If the scale is small, it is necessary to form an operation team as soon as possible. However, they should be prepared for a lack of flexibility and freedom. In this case, Cloud Foundry, Heroku, and other platform-as-a-service solutions are the way to go.
When should an organization choose an IDP and not a PaaS? If it wants to have flexibility, freedom and complete control over its platform infrastructure and processes.
When should an organization choose an IDP over PaaS? If it wants flexibility, freedom and complete control over its platform infrastructure and processes.
Make Life Easier for Devs and Ops with an Internal Developer Platform
Make life easier for developers and operators with an internal developer platform
Internal developer platforms have become a widespread phenomenon, and are expected to gain even greater popularity in the future. Because of the incredible benefits that IDP provides to development and operations teams, many large enterprises, such as Airbnb and Spotify, use it extensively.
Internal developer platforms have become a common phenomenon and are expected to grow in popularity in the future. Because of the incredible benefits that IDP provides to development and operations teams, many large enterprises , such as Airbnb and Spotify, use it extensively.
Excerpt from:
What Is an Internal Developer Platform (IDP)? | SaM Solutions