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Cloud.gov

cloud.gov

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Re: Cloud.gov

#61

Post by nvas »

superuser2 wrote: post #53
nvas wrote: post #39

I work in GSA as well, and I have a lot of trouble getting software approved that you use all the time, even getting nginx approved took a long time. Forget about vagrant, virtual box, recent versions of python, etc... How were you able to get ATOs to operate most of your systems and work through these policies?

(I know very little about this world) why do you need approvals to use open source software? Certainly the purse strings are tightly held, but why is use of free software restricted?

The way I see it, there are multiple grades of free software. There is difference between downloading a linux distro or apache project and downloading some dude's python library from pip.

Any software used on government systems has to go through an accreditation process. This is to prevent you from pulling in some random code that may have security vulnerabilities or backdoors. Just because it is open source doesn't mean it is secure.

As an example, we've had to run security scans on jquery for god's sake and justify every occurence of random number generation to make sure it wasn't used for anything security related....

There are other things like warranty, support, size of the community, etc...

Overall, GSA is one of the best agencies when it comes to open source. It has definitely come a long way, but still a long way to go.

Re: Cloud.gov

#62

Post by nvas »

konklone wrote: post #60
nvas wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol, why don't we discuss it in the open?

Sure, we have a lot of ATO/compliance stuff in the open: https://pages.18f.gov/before-you-ship/ And there's a GitHub repo with an issue tracker that would make for better conversation capturing than HN: https://github.com/18f/before-you-ship

Don't get me wrong, I really like the stuff you guys are doing, but I think 18F and the rest of the Gov operate in two different realms of bureaucracy and feasibility. Your management is on board with this stuff, while for the rest of the Devs in the government it's an uphill battle from the bottom.

There is still a large gap between software that is on the approved list and the stuff you use, but as I am sure we both know, there are waivers and blind eyes for that. If someone really wants it, it will happen.

You guys are paving the way with your tools and process. But, please be careful, one serious security breach and it's kaput. For example; the incident with slack. I know it was trivial and people chose to blow it out of proportion, but regardless, it will now be harder for me to get slack approved for our team.

Re: Cloud.gov

#64

Post by Veratyr »

verst wrote: post #3

I'm about to join 18F (in a few weeks), working on cloud.gov. I worked on the Google Cloud Platform team around the time Compute Engine and Big Query were launched (but spent most of my time on App Engine). A few weeks ago at the Cloud Foundry Summit the folks from cloud.gov.au gave a keynote. Cloud.gov got some nice shoutouts - the Australian counterparts reused a lot of the cloud.gov work, thanks to the transparent…

> Australian counterparts

Could you elaborate? I'm an Australian but I haven't heard about anything 18F/Cloud.gov-like back home.

Re: Cloud.gov

#65

Post by bmogilefsky »

bmogilefsky wrote: post #24
empath75 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What sorts of jobs are available there and what's the salary like? I currently do devops at a large Internet content company near Dulles and I've got federal government experience from many years ago.

We're recruiting actively across many disciplines. 18F employs a huge range of amazing people with diverse histories from both inside and outside of government. Everyone is an impact junkie. Salary is competitive with industry through a special hiring authority although capped at government levels without bonus, stock, etc. There are intangibles that come from actually being able to improve the way government approac…

I said "through a special hiring authority" above but that's inaccurate, sorry for the mix-up... We use the normal GS scale.

Re: Cloud.gov

#66

Post by jksmith »

bmogilefsky wrote: post #11

I'm the product lead on cloud.gov... Thanks for noticing us! There are other Cloud Foundry deployments, but what makes cloud.gov special is the focus on ensuring federal agencies are actually able to use it. Federal compliance for a cloud service provider is a tough bar to clear, and without it most agencies are simply unable to take advantage of capabilities the rest of the world now takes for granted. That in turn…

Yep, I just got Azure Gov FedRamped on my project and it was some serious gnashing and pulling of teeth. Writing all those CMS and IRS procedure docs was a great, but arduous experience. There's a larger story here though involving application outside the US, which is what I'd like to pursue after my current project. It definitely will not include Azure unless that becomes a more cost effective platform. Would love to chat with you guys about some ideas.

Re: Cloud.gov

#67

Post by frozenport »

Godel_unicode wrote: post #54
frozenport wrote: post #10

Isn't the the "Platform-as-a-service" logo the Amazon AWS logo? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Am...

Look the domain up in domaintools, they run on top of AWS govcloud. https://whois.domaintools.com/cloud.gov

I wonder if they are just reselling: https://aws.amazon.com/govcloud-us/

Re: Cloud.gov

#68

Post by auxesis »

Veratyr wrote: post #64
verst wrote: post #3

I'm about to join 18F (in a few weeks), working on cloud.gov. I worked on the Google Cloud Platform team around the time Compute Engine and Big Query were launched (but spent most of my time on App Engine). A few weeks ago at the Cloud Foundry Summit the folks from cloud.gov.au gave a keynote. Cloud.gov got some nice shoutouts - the Australian counterparts reused a lot of the cloud.gov work, thanks to the transparent…

> Australian counterparts Could you elaborate? I'm an Australian but I haven't heard about anything 18F/Cloud.gov-like back home.

https://www.dto.gov.au/our-work/cloud/

Re: Cloud.gov

#69

Post by gooserock »

bmogilefsky wrote: post #24
empath75 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What sorts of jobs are available there and what's the salary like? I currently do devops at a large Internet content company near Dulles and I've got federal government experience from many years ago.

We're recruiting actively across many disciplines. 18F employs a huge range of amazing people with diverse histories from both inside and outside of government. Everyone is an impact junkie. Salary is competitive with industry through a special hiring authority although capped at government levels without bonus, stock, etc. There are intangibles that come from actually being able to improve the way government approac…

For what it's worth, I applied to work with 18F late last year. I'm a web developer with a wide array of skills - front-end, back-end, and even UI/UX design, product design, and some marketing and management - with about 8 years of experience, mostly doing independent consulting with a couple years at a SF startup in there. I'm also very civic minded, doing a bunch of pro-bono work and (since) getting involved in community activism.

I had two phone interviews in which both interviewers asked almost the exact same questions (which struck me as odd). Then I had a third phone interview in which the interviewer - who had a law background, as I recall - seemed very disappointed that I had not worked on Google-sized teams before. Maybe he was having a bad day, but his tone made it sound like I was wasting his time. That was the last I heard from them.

Sorry, this probably isn't the right place to comment on this, but I just wanted to share my experience with you. I was somewhat disappointed in the process, even though I LOVE the mission of 18F. I was prepared to up and move to DC, and honestly take whatever salary you offered - I was in it for the mission, not the money.

Re: Cloud.gov

#70

Post by ceejayoz »

brianwawok wrote: post #28
verst wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See: https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/ I'll let @bmogilefsky describe the jobs. @18F as a whole hires engineers, designers, product managers, content writers, journalists, folks with non-traditional cross-functional backgrounds, etc. Salary depends on job grade. See [1] for an explanation of the grades within 18F. Then see the GS pay scale [2] to figure out the pay for your grade in your region. [1]: https://pages.1…

Nothing says "we employ the best" like "fixed salary based on tenure and job function"

https://m.signalvnoise.com/we-only-hire-the-best-c711c330fc2...

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2005/01/27.html

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