Meeting Rajveer Singh, Associate Principal Consultant at Red Hat, at the New Delhi International Book Festival
Empowering Innovation through Open Source: Rajveer Singh’s Journey from Floppy Disks to Ansible Mastery
Introduction
In the bustling environment of the New Delhi World International Book Fair, amidst the sea of knowledge seekers and literary enthusiasts, Luca Berton, a notable figure in the tech community, encounters a kindred spirit in Rajveer Singh. Rajveer, a dedicated professional at Red Hat, shares a fascinating journey that spans the realms of open source technologies and innovative problem-solving. His story is not just a narrative of personal growth but a testament to the transformative power of technology and community.
The Genesis of a Tech Visionary
Rajveer’s odyssey in the tech world commenced with the humble floppy disk, a testament to his enduring passion for open source technologies. His nights spent swapping floppy disks to install Linux symbolize the initial steps of a journey towards technological mastery. This foundational experience laid the groundwork for his eventual gravitation towards Ansible and configuration automation technologies, driven by the desire to solve real-world problems with open source solutions.
Embracing Ansible: A Leap Towards Automation
Rajveer’s encounter with Ansible marked a pivotal moment in his career. Faced with the challenge of ensuring configuration persistence in critical healthcare systems, he leveraged Ansible to establish a standard operating environment. This strategic move not only enhanced predictability and control but also underscored the significance of infrastructure as code and GitOps in the contemporary tech landscape.
A Problem Solver at Heart
At Red Hat, Rajveer’s daily endeavors involve tackling complex challenges across various industries, from telecommunications to government sectors. His role as a problem solver is not confined to technical issues but extends to enabling organizations to navigate their digital transformation journeys. Rajveer’s expertise in hybrid cloud and Ansible automation is instrumental in designing solutions that address the unique needs of each customer.
Envisioning the Future of Technology
Rajveer’s insights into the future of technology highlight the pivotal role of artificial intelligence in amplifying human capabilities. He envisages a world where technology, blended with AI, propels problem-solving to unprecedented heights, making today’s achievements seem modest in comparison. This vision is not just about technological advancements but also about the democratization of innovation, where community contributions fuel collective progress.
The Power of Community and Collaboration
The conversation between Luca and Rajveer transcends personal achievements, underscoring the essence of community and collaboration in the tech world. Rajveer’s journey is a beacon for the ethos of “sharing is caring,” advocating for a culture of learning and giving back. His story is a compelling reminder of the boundless possibilities that arise when individuals unite with a common purpose, fostering an environment where innovation thrives through shared knowledge and experiences.
A Call to Action: Automate More, Share More
As the dialogue at the book fair concludes, Rajveer’s parting message resonates with a simple yet profound call to action: “Keep learning, keep sharing.” In a world increasingly driven by technology, Rajveer Singh’s journey from an open-source enthusiast to a technology innovator embodies the spirit of perpetual learning and the transformative power of sharing knowledge. His story is not just a narrative of personal achievement but a beacon for the future of technological innovation and community collaboration.
Links
Full Interview
Luca Berton: Hi, Friends; this is Luca. I’m here at the New Delhi World International Book Fair, and a new friend came to say hi. I’m so excited because he made a long journey just to meet me. I have a problem with a mic, which is a little bit shorter, so I’m trying to squeeze in as much as possible. Please introduce yourself.
Rajveer Singh: Yeah, my name is Rajiv Singh and I’m working for Red Hat. I’m very passionate about open source technologies and helping the customers for their interesting problems with the help of open source technologies. And I have started the journey in the IoT Rookie. And I remember those days when I was installing the Linux on the floppy disk and I was spending my whole night just simply changing the floppy disk.
Luca Berton: That was very interesting. Wow, wow. This is the type of story that I like. Because I also started in this way. I remember going to [00:01:00] my Linux user group and installing Linux with a bunch of CDs. It was like a tower, like more than 10 CDs. And I think this was a foundation and what would bring you more into Ansible and configuration automation technologies?
Rajveer Singh: Uh, this is a very interesting story where I started in the Ansible. I remember the story where I was working for one of the customers. I was new in that team and what happened was, uh, the member who was working there already managing the Healthcare systems are very critical and humans used to make the configurations non persistent.
Luca Berton: Oh! We were just talking about this very interesting use case. Please go ahead. Yeah.
Rajveer Singh: So, uh, uh, this is the story about when I joined one organization and, uh, there was the team member who was used to Make the configuration persistent and documentation for the [00:02:00] technical person is a very difficult task.
The moment he left the organization and one fine day, the server got rebooted, and there was an outage. We were not sure like what exactly the configuration was. At that time, I thought Unbelievable! Thankfully, somehow, we managed to bring those services back up. But it was a great time when we had to do the introspection, how to get rid of that kind of problems.
At that time, Ansible was not there. So, I took the help of CFG to use the tool to capture the configurations. Very soon, I came to know about Ansible. And the moment I came to know about Ansible, the YAML, I was really fascinated, and I started creating the standard operating environment.
Okay. So that whatever the configurations are there, they are source controlled, disk controlled. And, uh, you know, like, who is changing what. You have better control and predictability. Yeah, definitely. And from there, uh, the journey of Ansible
Luca Berton: started. Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think infrastructure as code and GitOps are the future. Do you agree with me?
Rajveer Singh: Absolutely. There’s no doubt about it because, at the end of the day, everybody wants to have tracking, and there has to be a proper understanding of who is doing what. And if something goes wrong you can revert it back. And that kind of integration CICD and everything is possible because of that.
Luca Berton: So this is absolutely a good thing. I like it because he is very passionate about technology. So do I. And it’s so nice having this chat. I can stay here forever. I can stay all day chatting about how we can improve our infrastructure and how we can get a better organization. And I know that you have a lot of, um, you are very helpful for a lot of different firms, a lot of different brands. Can you tell me more about your day-to-day job? Do you work
Rajveer Singh: in Red Hat? Yes, I am working with Red Hat, and I’m very passionate about this organization. Uh, where I get the opportunity to work on always challenging projects and challenging problems on the customer as part of my hybrid cloud and unstable automation journey, I always, uh, get into the customer requirement and understand and help them how they can move from where exactly they are to the next level and solve their business problems.
And there are, you can talk about the industries from, uh, telcos to Uh, BFSI, government, all different, different verticals. I usually work with the customers and help them to have the design and fix their problems.
Luca Berton: Oh, this is great. I think you are a problem solver. I see your attitude, and this is great. Can you give me a view about the future, uh, how you see the future of technology?
Rajveer Singh: The future of technology is going to be really very interesting. The different technologies are coming up, and thanks to this, uh, artificial intelligence, uh, now the technologies are going to be blended with the ai.
What we are able to do today, the power of, uh, solving those problems and doing those things is going to be tremendously multiplied. So today, say if one person is able to solve, say x problem. With the help of blending this AI and all those technologies, we will be able to solve, say, I say, 100 times more than what we are doing today.
Luca Berton: Yeah, I definitely agree. I hear you on getting rid of a mundane task or things that are not getting like a great, uh, a great, a great value for the day-to-day job. I think also that there is a trend about, uh, prompt [00:06:00] engineering. We have a lot of interesting things. I’m pretty excited to live here right now.
And also, if you think about that, I’m here in India, talking about technology, talking about Ansible, with a person we never met before, but he just dropped me a message on LinkedIn saying, I’m here, I’m in New Delhi. We need to say hi. And this is incredible. What do you think? And you came with all your lovely family. That is great for me to meet you all in person.
Rajveer Singh: Absolutely. Because this is very important. When you follow someone and, uh, There have been, like, NCBI examples. I have used certain examples while solving some of my customer’s problems. And it creates, uh, like, uh, an invisible bond. If I get the kind of chance that, uh, if I can have face-to-face, uh, some connections, that’s nothing like any, uh, any other thing.
So I would say, uh, whatever the work you are doing, this is really helping so many faces, so many lives that is not countable. And the value that is coming out of it is giving the feeling of that every day we are learning. We are taking from the community and if we are giving back to the community, there’s nothing more than that feeling.
Luca Berton: Yeah, definitely. I really hear you on this topic. When I was in Berlin for the Ansible Community Day, I had a similar conversation with Carol Chang and all the community leaders. I also met Walter in the Czech Republic, and I think that this is very important. I want to learn from the community and give back to the community.
Every day, actually, I’m learning new things. These are the bases of like creating post on the, on the blog, creating some content that I’m publishing in my video. And this is great. Thank you so much for coming here. What is your best contact? If somebody wants to reach you out?
Rajveer Singh: Uh, I’m available on my LinkedIn profile and there is an option to book this.
Appointment. Great. I have certain schedules available, so if there are any questions, feel free to contact me. Yeah, please.
Luca Berton: Can you repeat your name for our
Rajveer Singh: audience? Yeah, my name is Raj Singh and my profile, you can search on the LinkedIn as Singh R 49.
Luca Berton: Cool. I hope you get a lot of friends that are seeing this video and would like to reach you out. One. What is your last message for the audience?
Rajveer Singh: Uh. For everyone, this is the open world. Sharing is caring. Keep learning, keep sharing.
Luca Berton: Oh, that’s great. Guys, let’s automate more and see us on the next adventure. Bye! Bye bye!
Conclusion
In conclusion, the enriching dialogue between Luca Berton and Rajveer Singh at the New Delhi World International Book Fair is more than just an exchange of experiences in the realm of technology. It is a vivid illustration of the unifying power of open-source technologies and the impact of community-driven innovation. Rajveer’s journey, from experimenting with floppy disks to mastering Ansible and embracing the future of AI in technology, showcases the evolution of a tech enthusiast into a visionary leader. His dedication to solving complex problems, coupled with his belief in sharing knowledge and giving back to the community, encapsulates the essence of progress in the tech world. This conversation not only highlights the transformative journey of an individual but also serves as an inspiration for current and future generations to pursue technology with passion, collaborate openly, and contribute to the collective growth of the tech community. The underlying message is clear: the future of technology is not just about the advancements we achieve but about how we leverage these innovations to foster a more connected, knowledgeable, and solution-oriented world.
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