Integration

Integration is the process of connecting different systems and applications together so that they can share data and functionality. The goal of integration is to create a unified system where the various components work together seamlessly.

There are several methods and technologies used for integration in devops and cloud native environments. A common approach is API integration, where applications expose APIs that allow other programs to access data and features. For example, a continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline may integrate with a source code repository via API calls to automatically build and test code changes. Container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes also rely heavily on API integration, using Kubernetes APIs to manage and interconnect containers running across a cluster. Messaging protocols like REST APIs and asynchronous messaging queues are often used for lightweight integration. More complex integrations may require an enterprise service bus (ESB) to route messages and data between applications. The choice of integration method depends on the systems involved and requirements like performance, reliability, and security. Overall, integration enables the automated flows of data and workflows essential for efficient devops and cloud native systems.