Tech News

Red Hat Announces Ansible Lightspeed with IBM watsonx Code Assistant

Red Hat has released Ansible Lightspeed with IBM watsonx Code Assistant – a generative AI service for Ansible operators and developers, aimed at helping organizations accelerate IT automation.

Ansible Lightspeed (https://www.redhat.com/en/technologies/management/ansible/ansible-lightspeed) "accepts prompts entered by a user and then interacts with IBM watsonx foundation models to produce code recommendations built on Ansible best practices," Red Hat says.

The service also helps keep codebases updated. It "scans existing content and automatically provides update recommendations that are ready to review, test, and apply, making it easier to maintain quality and consistency across the development life cycle," Red Hat says.

Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift Announced

Dell has announced the availability of the Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift (https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/apex/cloud-platforms/red-hat-openshift.htm), which it describes as "the first fully integrated application delivery platform purpose-built for Red Hat OpenShift."

The APEX Cloud Platform, which was jointly engineered with Red Hat, "combines Dell's automation management software, PowerEdge servers, and software-defined storage with Red Hat's container orchestration platform in a single appliance," according to the announcement (https://www.dell.com/en-us/blog/dell-red-hat-and-the-future-of-containers/). It offers:

• Simplified multicloud deployment
• Accelerated application delivery
• Optimized workload placement

The collaboration between Dell and Red Hat also "helps ensure that customers have rapid access to new patches, helping to mitigate security vulnerabilities," Dell says.

NSA Offers Best Practices for OSS in Operational Technology Environments

Implementation and patching of open source software (OSS) in operational technology (OT) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_technology) environments "continues to be a challenge due to safety concerns and the potential disruption of critical systems," according to the NSA.

To promote better understanding and highlight best practices, the NSA, along with CISA and other agencies, has released new guidance (https://www.nsa.gov/Press-Room/Press-Releases-Statements/Press-Release-View/Article/3552309/nsa-and-us-agencies-issue-best-practices-for-open-source-software-in-operationa/) for securing these systems.

The fact sheet recommends "supporting OSS development and maintenance, patch management, authorization and authentication policies, and establishing common frameworks." The guidance "also encourages the adoption of 'secure-by-design' and 'secure-by-default' principles to decrease cybersecurity risk in OT environments."