All IT developers are well-acquainted with the familiar advice offered by Murphy’s law: “If something can go wrong, it will.” Nothing is more certain than that a code change, update, patch or mass deployment for an existing system always has the potential for error, typically affecting many users. These errors may be minimal or catastrophic, but all are impactful and can be resource-draining, especially if the source of the problem is unknown.
If your company has remote devices on their systems, these problems can be even more difficult to assess. Fortunately, with remote computer control software, IT professionals have access to a tool that can help troubleshoot issues from afar.
Continuous Integration for Stable Development Procedures
Odds are that if you are an IT professional employed by a large business, you most likely work on any and all things requiring technical expertise as related to computer, network, database or automated deployment issues. Your specific duties may be narrow or broad, depending on the particular needs of the company.
Many large companies utilize in-house software programs and applications that require frequent updates and revisions obtained by code changes. If you are a developer working alongside others on the same application, you will need to address the question of how and when to add individual segments of code.
One solution is using continuous integration, which is often used conjointly with continuous delivery. Continuous integration, or CI/CD, is a method of development that requires all developers to add code on a regular basis by checking it into version control repositories.
Continuous Integration
Continuous integration promotes consistency and an automated build process. Not only does it help with managing and testing code regularly, but it also requires developers to commit small changes in a timely fashion. Using continuous integration avoids having to integrate an enormous amount of changes at one time, which can be hard to track in case problems arise.
Continuous Delivery
Continuous delivery is the process of pushing the revised code to specific environments, which can be for development, testing or production. Continuous delivery streamlines the movement of code between different environments, which are often housed on servers. This automates all code processes, such as pushing code changes, testing the code, making builds and performing calls to any services that may need restarting.
Continuous Deployment
Continuous deployment takes place after continuous delivery, where developers have tested and validated the code. Although all three processes work well together, you may choose to use or not use continuous deployment in conjunction with continuous integration and continuous delivery.
A common reason why companies decide not to use continuous deployment is that they do not want to present constant changes to their users. These companies would then still use more traditional, staged deployments while still implementing continuous integration.
Using CI/CD is very useful and helps with better tracking and testing. It is also conducive to regression during testing. However, when deployment automation pushes a mass update by using software deployment tools across multiple platforms or devices, problems can sometimes arise.
Continuous Integration Is Not a Magic Solution
There is no such thing as a perfect technical solution. Just as people are imperfect, so are the systems they design. There is no perfect remedy to address all possible future problems after deployment.
While implementing continuous integration for development is a good way to ensure best practices, it will not ensure perfect outcomes. Inevitably, there will be times when the new code behaves differently when used by real clients after deployment. This is often a case of unexpected variables or incorrect expectations, but it can still cause significant problems.
For a company that possesses many remote devices that are located either from each other or from the center of control, this can be quite a problem, especially if the answer to the issue is not immediately obvious.
Impero’s remote support software works across multiple mainstream devices and platforms and combines all your tools into one cohesive interface. If a mass deployment has derailed your systems, remote access to these devices and systems can help you troubleshoot the issues and get things running again.
Patches and Upgrades Are Potentially Risky
It is often necessary to install patches and upgrades to existing software applications, hardware components, and other types of technical services and systems. These are usually used to address compatibility issues, added enhancements and security concerns. Regardless of the reasons, installing patches and updates can sometimes cause runtime problems or even failures.
A patch is usually a fix for a program bug and is often a security patch. Whenever a program has an authenticated security breach, the owner of the program will usually work diligently on a patch for the problem. Updates and upgrades are more substantial and add enhancements and new features to an existing program. Upgrades can include patches.
On the release of the patch or the upgrade, users of the software can obtain the release and install it. This is when things can get tricky. Sometimes, patches and updates will work just fine on one device but will cause issues with another device.
Having a remote control software solution like Impero Connect can make life a bit easier for IT professionals faced with technical problems. When there are different types of devices that are in multiple locations and the problem does not have any obvious reasons, Impero Connect gives you the access you need to troubleshoot the issue.
Reap the Benefits of vPro With Impero Connect
Impero Connect seamlessly integrates with Intel vPro Active Management Technology which not only secures remote control capabilities but also makes routine maintenance more efficient. IT technicians have the secure access they need to remote devices for conventional use as well as the convenience of connecting to a device with vPro in the event of a disaster, like a system crash.
We combine the native power of vPro to access the BIOS in the rich suite of features of Impero Connect. You can reboot devices through the BIOS remotely, lock remote input devices, and utilize 2-factor authentication to ensure the highest security. Having the accessibility to all secure remote capabilities in one platform, Impero Connect, allows IT professionals to quickly recover devices suffering from software failure.
Troubleshoot Remotely With Impero Connect
As an IT professional, you are often faced with problems arising from mass deployment. This deployment can be a collection of code changes, a patch or an upgrade used with continuous integration or other development processes. No matter the type of changes taking place or the automated tools used to push the deployment, if there is a problem, you need a fast and flexible way to access various platforms and devices that are having issues.
Impero Connect is the perfect answer for gaining immediate access to troubleshoot the types of failures and issues that can arise from a deployment applied across multiple systems and platforms. With Impero Connect, you have consolidated access for devices and users throughout your network and over the internet. Impero has security credentials and multifactor authentication that is customizable and offers you a single access point for both internal and third-party users.
Several benefits of Impero Connect include:
- Cross-platform operating system support – Impero Connect supports mainstream operating systems like Windows, Linux, Mac and Android.
- Cross-platform connectivity support – Remote access to multiple platforms, network segments, and communication protocols are available simultaneously.
- Support for embedded operating systems – You can use both native and in-house operating systems.
- Gateway connections – The gateway connections work seamlessly across network segments.
- Secure communication protocol – Send self-hosted or cloud-based internet connectivity through a secure communication protocol.
- Centralized management – Individual and group roles and permissions are easily managed through the centralized interface.
- Microsoft Azure – There are many options for multifactor authentication, including Microsoft Azure.
- Security for unattended devices – Access your unattended devices through secure tunnels.
Solving IT issues can be difficult at times. Let Impero help smooth your path to success with our tested and reliable solutions. Our secure remote access applications ensure that your connections are safe and meet compliance standards. Contact Impero today and find out just how much we can help you manage your IT responsibilities.