DEV Community: Edith Puclla

Volunteering at FOSDEM: my best way to experience the conference

Edith Puclla — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 17:58:26 +0000

FOSDEM is huge, busy, and full of amazing open source energy. But behind all the talks, devrooms, booths, and hallway conversations… there’s one simple reason it works:

FOSDEM is built by volunteers.

FOSDEM is a free, non-commercial, two-day event run by volunteers to support Free and Open Source Software. It’s where open source developers and communities meet to share updates, learn from each other, and collaborate.

It’s also massive: the 2026 schedule includes around 70 tracks across many rooms, with lots of talks happening in parallel, and is expected to have more than 8,000 attendees.

FOSDEM 2026 will take place at the ULB Solbosch campus in Brussels, Belgium, on 31 January and 1 February 2026.

Where do I register?

This is the most common question, and the answer surprises everyone: You don’t register. FOSDEM is free and has no registration; you just show up.

The only “registration” you might see is for separate co-located events (example: some independent events around FOSDEM run by other groups).

FOSDEM is on a campus with multiple buildings. Talks are spread across those buildings, and the schedule tells you exactly which room. Every talk has a building and room name in the schedule, for example:
“K.1.105” = building K, floor 1, room 105), so expect to walk between buildings and leave a little time between talks.

This is my talk from the previous year, and how it was scheduled:

How talks work: the schedule is organised into tracks/devrooms, think of each devroom as a mini-conference run by a specific community. Since lots of sessions happen at the same time, you’ll need to pick what you want to attend. Some rooms fill up quickly, so for must-see talks it’s worth arriving 10–15 minutes early… otherwise you might just be greeted by a "Room full" sign at the door.

What to expect: It’s busy, fun, and full of people everywhere, plus plenty of coffee, and the classic Belgian combo of beer and fries. The best parts are the talks and the "hallway track" (all the great conversations you’ll have between sessions). Keep the schedule open on your phone so you can quickly find rooms and move between talks without getting lost. You can download the corresponding app on your phone to view the room distributions and agenda.

What does it mean to volunteer at FOSDEM?

I volunteered at FOSDEM in the past (yes: clean-up, set-up, carrying stuff, helping where needed 😄), and I’m planning to volunteer again this year. Volunteering at FOSDEM means donating a bit of your time to help the event run smoothly and stay safe and welcoming for everyone.
A small crew works on FOSDEM year-round, but during the event, the team grows into a large group of volunteers doing practical, hands-on tasks. Volunteering can range from a couple of hours to half a day, and you can take from one task or several.
And the best part: you can still enjoy the conference. Many tasks happen on Friday (build-up), so you can help without missing talks.

What kind of volunteer tasks exist?

Tasks vary each year, but the most common ones look like this:
1) Build-up (usually Friday)

helping with room setup (chairs, signs, cables)
preparing info points
supportin g devrooms with last-minute logistics

2) During the conference (Saturday & Sunday)

helping speakers / room introductions
guiding attendees (directions, queues, where to go next)
supporting volunteers/devrooms when something unexpected happens

3) Clean-up (after sessions/end of day)

Collecting leftover materials
resetting rooms
keeping spaces tidy and safe

My experience volunteering

Volunteering at FOSDEM is not just helping out, it’s also a great way to practice useful skills in a real, fast-paced environment.

For example, Infodesk shifts help you build communication, active listening, and calm problem-solving when people ask questions; being a Runner or doing Transportation / van loading builds coordination, prioritization, and logistics thinking; Buildup / cleanup improves teamwork and getting things done efficiently (I love this one); Cloak room is great for organization and handling high traffic; Heralding (introducing talks) is a fun way to practice confidence and public speaking; and the Video team / camera operator roles help you learn basic AV workflows and attention to detail. You can choose tasks that match what you want to grow, and even a 2-hour shift can teach you a lot.

Matteo Lopez (One of my friends) shares a great first-time volunteer experience where he practised his communication skills and his public speaking in front of a big audience. This is his experience on day 1!

My first time volunteering was after a very busy day, and I had attended several talks and walked a lot. I signed up on the FOSDEM volunteering website for a cleanup shift. The work was coordinated by experienced FOSDEM organizers who assigned tasks and guided volunteers during the shift.
The key is to register in advance, then show up at the exact place and time listed for your task. On the volunteer website, you can browse the available tasks, choose one, save it, and find the instructions you’ll need.

You can also join the Matrix chat to talk with other volunteers, coordinate tasks, and stay in the loop when something changes.

You meet people fast, you learn how the event runs behind the scenes, and you often pick up new skills, at least that was the case for me. It’s also a refreshing change from daily work. Even small tasks matter because FOSDEM is huge, and small problems can quickly become big problems if nobody is there to help.

Volunteering also gives you a different kind of confidence at the conference. You stop feeling like a visitor and start feeling like part of the community.
And after a day of volunteering, there’s usually a dinner for volunteers. This is my favourite part. We can finally sit down, talk, share ideas, and really connect. It’s amazing how easy it is to chat with people about anything, and you often meet folks you’ll see volunteering again next year. I’m excited about it! (Also: after a full day of work, your appetite definitely increases 😄)

How to volunteer

Volunteers can choose tasks and shifts through the https://volunteers.fosdem.org/tasks/.
There’s task documentation for volunteers, which is worth reading before the event so you know what to expect.
There’s a volunteer chat channel and a mailing list where updates are shared, especially close to the event.
If it’s your first time: don’t worry. Volunteering is designed to be approachable. You’ll be supported, and you can always ask for help.

Tips if it’s your first time volunteering

Wear comfortable shoes (you’ll walk a lot).
Bring a water bottle and a snack.
Keep your phone charged (maps + coordination).
If you’re unsure, ask. It’s normal.
Pick one short shift to start; you can always add more later.

My Final thought

If you’re already attending FOSDEM, volunteering for even 2–3 hours is one of the easiest ways to give back, and honestly, one of the best ways to experience the conference.
You’ll help the event run smoothly, meet great people, and leave with that warm feeling of: "I helped make this happen."
Here is the link for volunteering: https://volunteers.fosdem.org/ , for 2026 is open.

If you’re going this year, maybe I’ll see you in a volunteer shift! See you soon! 👋

My Second Barcamp Adventure in London 🇬🇧

Edith Puclla — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 22:24:12 +0000

Last Saturday, I attended Barcamp London XIII, my second time experiencing this unique event. Barcamp is unlike any other conference. It’s an unconference where the attendees create the schedule on the day. You show up, bring your ideas, and decide what to share or learn. This year, it was held at the London Academy of Excellence, a welcoming space with plenty of room for creativity and connection, and it was sponsored by Proactive & UKGovCamp, whose generosity allows Barcamp to stage an event that is free for all attendees.

As my group(Vita, Sasha and I) arrived a bit late, we were greeted with a warm welcome and kindly directed towards the session board, where people just started adding their session ideas. The energy was contagious as everyone huddled around, deciding what presentations to present or attend.

My co-presenters and I added our session (“Play to Live + Beyblade Experience”) to a slightly later time so we could attend some of the earlier events.

This is my new hobby now! I am a Beyblade player! 🥳

We proceeded to the cafeteria which had a good selection of breakfast snacks, coffee and refreshments 🤤. There was also a table set up full of stickers and 3D-printed goodies.

The event felt like a big family gathering where everyone was excited to meet and share ideas 💭. I joined several talks throughout the day on topics like technology, games, philosophy, and even finance. It was fascinating to hear different perspectives and share thoughts with such an open-minded group.

When it came time for our talk, I felt more confident than last year. Barcamp’s format is so supportive - it’s the perfect place to practice public speaking. People were genuinely interested in what we had to share, and the interactive element of our session made it even more enjoyable 🐙🥳.

The event wasn’t just about talks and presentations. There were games, prizes, and plenty of chances to connect with others. It was the perfect way to wrap up a day full of learning and laughter 😁.

Barcamp is an event I’d recommend to anyone. It’s a space where you can share, learn, and just be yourself. Follow Barcamp to get updates about Barcamp 2025.

If you’ve never been, make sure to grab a ticket for next year—you won’t regret it!

See you at Barcamp 2025!! Woohohoho!! 🎉💃🏻🕺🏽

By the way, we’re looking for a venue and sponsor to host a free Beyblade tournament!
If you’re interested, feel free to connect with me, Edi. 🎉

Get Started with Percona Everest on Azure AKS

Edith Puclla — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:45:57 +0000

Percona Everest is a powerful cloud-native solution for managing and scaling database clusters.

In this guide, I will explain how to create an AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) cluster and install Percona Everest using the official documentation.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:
An active Azure subscription.
Azure CLI installed and configured.
Access to the official Percona Everest documentation.

Step 1: Create an Azure AKS Cluster

First, we need to create an AKS cluster to run Percona Everest. The following command sets up a cluster with 3 nodes, managed identities, and the necessary configurations.

az aks create \ -g percona-operators \ --subscription "Percona Primary" \ -n my-percona-everest-cluster \ --load-balancer-sku basic \ --enable-managed-identity \ --node-count 3 \ --node-vm-size Standard_B4ms \ --min-count 3 \ --max-count 3 \ --node-osdisk-size 30 \ --network-plugin kubenet \ --generate-ssh-keys \ --enable-cluster-autoscaler \ --outbound-type loadbalancer \ --kubernetes-version 1.29 \ -l eastus

Step 2: Connect to Your AKS Cluster

Once the cluster is created, you need to configure kubectl to connect to it. Use the following command to get credentials for your AKS cluster:
az aks get-credentials \ --resource-group percona-operators \ --name my-percona-everest-cluster

You can verify the connection to the AKS cluster by listing the nodes:

kubectl get nodes

This should display the nodes in the cluster in a "Ready" state.

Step 3: Installing Percona Everest

Now, let's download and install the Everest CLI, the command-line tool to interact with and manage Percona Everest.

For macOS users:

curl -sSL -o everestctl https://github.com/percona/everest/releases/latest/download/everestctl-darwin-arm64 chmod +x everestctl

Next, install Percona Everest:

./everestctl install

During installation, you'll be asked to provide a namespace for Everest to manage. If no name is provided, it will default to everest.

Afterward, you will choose which operator to install (MySQL, MongoDB, or PostgreSQL). For this demo, I will install all of them.

Step 4: Setting the Admin Password

Once the installation is complete, update the password for the admin user with this command:

everestctl accounts set-password --username admin

Alternatively, you can retrieve the initial admin password using:
everestctl accounts initial-admin-password

Remember, it's best to set your own password, as the generated one isn't stored securely.

Step 5: Accessing the Percona Everest UI

To access the Everest UI, you can use kubectl port-forwarding:
kubectl port-forward svc/everest 8080:8080 -n everest-system

Now, open your browser and navigate to localhost:8080. The default username is admin, and you can paste the password generated earlier.

Once logged in, you can start creating your databases. For example, I will create a PostgreSQL database with two nodes. You can also create databases for MongoDB and MySQL.

Step 6: Explore More Features

Percona Everest has many advanced features, such as:

Multi-cloud deployments
Support for multiple open-source databases
Horizontal and vertical scaling
Disaster recovery capabilities
Resource allocation flexibility
Database monitoring with Percona Monitoring and Management (PMM)

You can explore these features in more detail through the official Percona Everest documentation. If you'd like to see more demos, feel free to check out the list of videos available on our YouTube Channel.

That's it! I hope you found this guide helpful. Leave your comments if you have tried it in Azure or any other cloud provider.

Thanks for reading, and have a nice week!

Installing a Database Management Application on GKE with Percona Everest

Edith Puclla — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 15:05:00 +0000

Hi there! Welcome to this step-by-step guide on deploying a Database Management Application using Percona Everest on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE).

What is Percona Everest?

Percona Everest is an open-source, cloud-native database platform designed for automated database provisioning and management. In simpler terms, Percona Everest simplifies and automates the entire lifecycle of databases in cloud environments using Kubernetes.

Setting Up the Environment

Before to start, ensure you have gcloud and kubectl installed. If you haven't done this yet, you can install them with the following commands:

gcloud auth login
gcloud components install kubectl

With these tools ready, we can proceed to create a Kubernetes cluster on GKE.

Creating the Kubernetes Cluster

To create a Kubernetes cluster, use the following command:

gcloud container clusters create percona-everest-cluster --zone europe-west2-a --cluster-version 1.27 --machine-type n1-standard-4 --num-nodes=1

That command will create a cluster with:

Name: percona-everest-cluster
Zone: europe-west2-a
Kubernetes version 1.27
Machine type: n1-standard-4
Number of Nodes: 01 node

The cluster creation will take a few minutes.

Once the process is complete, you should see a status of "RUNNING" indicating that your cluster is healthy and operational.

Setting Up Cluster Role Binding

Next, let's set up a ClusterRoleBinding to manage permissions for your Google Cloud user. This will give the currently logged-in user all necessary permissions over the cluster.

kubectl create clusterrolebinding cluster-admin-binding --clusterrole cluster-admin --user $(gcloud config get-value core/account)

Now that the cluster is set up, it's time to install Percona Everest.

Installing Percona Everest

First, verify that your Kubernetes cluster is up and running by checking the nodes:

kubectl get nodes

Now, let's download and install the Everest CLI, the command-line tool to interact with and manage Percona Everest.

For macOS users:

curl -sSL -o everestctl https://github.com/percona/everest/releases/latest/download/everestctl-darwin-arm64
chmod +x everestctl

Check how to do it in other Operating Systems in Install Everest CLI

Next, install Percona Everest:

./everestctl install

During installation, you'll be asked to provide a namespace for Everest. If no name is provided, it will default to everest.

Afterward, you will choose which operator to install (MySQL, MongoDB, or PostgreSQL). For this demo, I will install all of them.

The installation includes several steps, let’s review these steps:

Install the Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM), which automates lifecycle management for Kubernetes database operators.
Integrate Percona’s operator catalog into your Kubernetes environment, giving access to Percona's database solutions.
Set up a dedicated space for monitoring tools.
Deploy the VictoriaMetrics operator to manage monitoring and metrics collection for your databases.
Configure and deploy the necessary tools for monitoring the health and performance of your databases.
Creates a namespace specifically for the Percona Everest environment
Deploy the required database operators (Percona XtraDB Cluster, Percona Server for MongoDB, and PostgreSQL) within the “Everest” namespace.
Set up Role-Based Access Control to manage permissions.
Installs the core Everest operator, which automates the provisioning and management of databases within the Kubernetes cluster.
Deploy the API server for Everest, enabling communication between different components and allowing external systems to interact with Everest.

Setting the Admin Password

Once the installation is complete, update the password for the admin user with this command:

everestctl accounts set-password --username admin

Alternatively, you can retrieve the initial admin password using:

everestctl accounts initial-admin-password

Remember, it's best to set your own password, as the generated one isn't stored securely.

Accessing the Percona Everest UI

To access the Everest UI, you can use kubectl port-forwarding:

kubectl port-forward svc/everest 8080:8080 -n everest-system

Now, open your browser and navigate to localhost:8080. The default username is admin, and you can paste the password generated earlier.

Once logged in, you can start creating your databases, create backups and restores, and monitor them.

Explore More Features

Percona Everest has many advanced features, such as:

Multi-cloud deployments
Support for multiple open-source databases
Horizontal and vertical scaling
Disaster recovery capabilities
Resource allocation flexibility
Database monitoring with Percona Monitoring and Management (PMM)

The official Percona Everest documentation provides more detailed information about these features. If you'd like to see more demos, check out the list of videos available on our YouTube Channel.

That's it! I hope you found this guide helpful.

Thanks for reading, and have a nice day!

Recap: Docker Captains Summit 2024 in Lisboa

Edith Puclla — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 10:56:12 +0000

Hey everyone! I recently had the opportunity to attend the Docker Captains Summit.
This year, it took place in June 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal. There were approximately 50 captains, including the fantastic Docker staff: the DevRel team and the product engineering team.
I was excited to learn about the newest and hottest features in Docker technologies and to give feedback on these features. It was also an intensive two-day event where we created content and learned as much as possible from other captains looking for collaboration opportunities.

Note: If you prefer a more visual recap, check out the video I made about our Captain Summit on YouTube. Enjoy!

Here's a quick look at the exciting topics we covered at the summit.

DevRel and Docker

We learned how the DevRel team at Docker operates and their behind-the-scenes initiatives.
The team also shared details about the benefits and contributions a Docker Captain can make. The networking opportunities and the chance to contribute back to the community stood out to me. As for contributions, they are very open and unique to each captain. They can choose between developing, creating content (videos, blogging, podcasts), doing demos, or speaking at conferences. There is no pressure, and it's open to creativity for all captains. It’s what I love the most!

This was one of the talks I delivered at the Umbraco Codegarden Conference in Denmark after the Docker Captain’s Summit, where I shared about Docker, Kubernetes and Operators. Additionally, I briefly provide an overview of how these technologies give rise to Percona Everest, a platform to manage databases on Kubernetes using a GUI.

You can learn more about becoming a Docker Captain in the Docker Captains Program and check out these different ways to get involved in Docker community programs.

Speed networking

One of the goals of this activity was to find common tech interests for future collaborations. I met around 10 Docker captains, and we shared interests in various tech stacks. My goal is to collaborate with captains who create content about databases, containers, and Kubernetes. We compiled three or more potential collaborations from these interactions, including blogs, videos, and podcasts. I found three opportunities for cooperation:

Michael Yuan, maintainer of the Cloud-native WebAssembly project
Nirmal Mehta, Principal Specialist Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Julien Maitrehenry, Cloud Architect at Solutions Kumojin

We have so many exciting collaboration ideas, but we had to pick just a few of the best ones due to time!

Some results from the captains' collaborations are already live. For example, you can see Bret Fisher and Nirmal Mehta on Cloud Native DevOps: Live Q&A (Stream 272).

I also connected with more Docker Captains from South America: Yhary Estefania Arias, Rossana Suarez, and Camilla Martins - exceptional Docker Captains.

Testcontainers: hands-on demo

We had a fantastic presentation by Oleg Šelajev, where we did a demo with Testcontainers.

Testcontainers is an open-source framework for providing throwaway, lightweight instances of databases, message brokers, web browsers, or anything that can run in a Docker container.

Testcontainers can work with any database. I was curious about integrating Percona databases with Testcontainers and asked Oleg about it, this as his answer:

MySQL and Percona Server for MySQL likely work with the same MySQLContainer if:

The images use the same command to start the database.
Configuration files are in the exact location.
The database port matches.
The waiting strategy is the same (usually based on a log pattern like "database is ready").

And here are the things we can test with databases:

Connection Tests
CRUD Operations
Schema Validation
Transaction Management
Performance Testing
Data Integrity Tests
Backup and Restore Tests

If you want to learn and are curious about Testcontainers, check out the Getting Started demo and join the Slack community.

Hack Days

We did different activities like coding, testing, social media content creation - anything where we could feel comfortable and show our creativity 🎨 ,
This activity was fascinating because it completely differed from what we do daily on the computer. These activities required creativity, provided an opportunity to overcome fear of the camera, and encouraged teamwork.

You can see Tobias Fenster in this Docker TikTok trend.

AI/ML Talk Working Group and Product Feedback Session

There were also opportunities to participate in the AI/ML Talk Working Group, where we discussed how AI/ML teams work, the tooling ecosystem, and the application development status in this AI era. We also discussed the Docker Extension for GitHub Copilot, where the team showed a very nice demo, as described in the previous link.

The team also provided opportunities for us to give product feedback on several products:

Docker Scout Roadmap
Docker Desktop
Docker Hub
Docker Testcontainers
Docker Scout
Docker Build Cloud

You can join in the Docker Public Roadmap and share your feedback

Boat Ride

I almost forgot about our fun boat ride in Lisbon. This was so much fun!! Really fun! :)

Ayacucho Docker Moby met the Docker Captains

I took Moby, the Ayacucho version from Peru, to meet other Docker captains. And well, Moby found a new home.

Conclusion

Attending the Docker Captains Summit came at the perfect time for me. It was like a refreshing break from my daily activities, and I found a family there. Everyone was really friendly to each other—we laughed, ate a lot, and collaborated.
What I will cherish the most are the happiness, comfort, and personal lessons I learned from all the captains. Thanks, Docker and all the captains, for making this possible! I'm waiting for the Docker Captains’ Summit 2025!