DevOps & Automation

Whoever builds a system also runs it. That is why we automate everything we do not want to do twice by hand. Since 2021 we have been building and running OpenShift clusters, Kafka and PostgreSQL for the environments of RCI Banque’s banking application, with Ansible deployments from Git and GitOps via Flux.

Large systems never run without faults. Something always goes wrong. When we see a new failure pattern, we try to fix the problem. In any case we build a new check, so that we are alerted the next time it happens.

Typical tasks

  • Build, run and monitor OpenShift and Kubernetes clusters
  • Install and configure Kafka clusters: topics, ACLs, Confluent Platform
  • Change data capture with HVR: capture on Oracle, integrate into Kafka topics
  • Deployments with Ansible and AWX, versioned in Git; Helm charts and GitOps with Flux 2, Harbor as container registry
  • Monitoring and alerting with checkmk (checkmk monitoring plugins)
  • Automate operations in shell, Python, Perl, SQL and PL/SQL

From practice

For RCI Banque we have been running several environments of the banking application since 07/2021, with the core of the application in two flavors:

  • classic on Oracle 19c with a self-installed JBoss (retired in Q2 2026)
  • as a container variant on rootless Podman

On top of that OpenShift with Kafka, PostgreSQL under Patroni and HVR for the scalable API of the banking system.

The application went live in mid-2023; since then the rollout to further country organizations of Renault Bank has been under way.

In 2026 we carried out the first major version upgrade.

Frequently asked questions

Do you also take over operations of an existing Kubernetes cluster?
Yes. We take over setup, operations and monitoring of existing OpenShift and Kubernetes clusters, including patch management of the underlying Linux systems. At RCI Banque we have been running the clusters since 2021.
Which tools do you use to automate deployments?
Ansible and AWX for deployments from Git, Helm charts and GitOps with Flux 2 for Kubernetes, Harbor as container registry, plus shell, Python, Perl and PL/SQL for operations.
Can you build and run Kafka?
Yes. We install and configure Kafka clusters, including Confluent Platform, with topics and ACLs, and connect databases via change data capture, for example with HVR from Oracle to Kafka.
Do you work on our systems or bring your own?
On your systems and in your repositories. Everything we build stays with you, versioned and documented.

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