How BitPusher’s Six-Person Team Does the Work of a Dozen People and some of the tools we use

What BitPusher Does “ Infrastructure Management Solutions for Web Sites and Web Applications” in other words, outsourced web operations Our business model is to be so much more efficient that we can do a better job, save customers a lot of money and still be profitable

“ Infrastructure Management Solutions for Web Sites and Web Applications” in other words, outsourced web operations

Our business model is to be so much more efficient that we can do a better job, save customers a lot of money and still be profitable

General principles for doing more with less Only do things you do well Have productive employees Avoid work

Only do things you do well

Have productive employees

Avoid work

How to avoid work Learn from your experience Don’t change directions too much Use standards and tools that fit Avoid taking on inherently arduous tasks

Learn from your experience

Don’t change directions too much

Use standards and tools that fit

Avoid taking on inherently arduous tasks

Infrastructure management processes Be driven by the problems you actually have Be thoughtful about risk and cost Make work reusable whenever feasible Keep track of annoyances, and address them Make choices which allow for flexibility Question choices and re-solve problems occasionally

Be driven by the problems you actually have

Be thoughtful about risk and cost

Make work reusable whenever feasible

Keep track of annoyances, and address them

Make choices which allow for flexibility

Question choices and re-solve problems occasionally

Infrastructure management tools Warning: don’t expect too much

Warning: don’t expect too much

Infrastructure management tools: monitoring Nagios Solid framework, lots of choices as to which abstractions to use and how. Don’t over-engineer initially, but keep improving. Configuration is all in text files, making it relatively easy to revamp.

Nagios

Solid framework, lots of choices as to which abstractions to use and how.

Don’t over-engineer initially, but keep improving.

Configuration is all in text files, making it relatively easy to revamp.

Infrastructure management tools: time-series graphs Cacti or Munin Allows you to understand system load, and know what’s normal and what’s not Capacity planning Cacti gives the best graphs, with flexible timeframes Munin is easier to set up and automate

Cacti or Munin

Allows you to understand system load, and know what’s normal and what’s not

Capacity planning

Cacti gives the best graphs, with flexible timeframes

Munin is easier to set up and automate

Infrastructure management tools: initial system imaging Kickstart (or AutoYaST, Jumpstart, etc.) Focus on getting a good baseline OK to have some manual steps (e.g., RAID setup) unless you image massive numbers of servers End state is less important if you use a configuration management tool

Kickstart (or AutoYaST, Jumpstart, etc.)

Focus on getting a good baseline

OK to have some manual steps (e.g., RAID setup) unless you image massive numbers of servers

End state is less important if you use a configuration management tool

Infrastructure management tools: configuration management Puppet Solid model, lots of ways to use Very flexible and powerful Significant investment to learn and find your style; be prepared to redo things a few times Makes sense for dozens of servers or more

Puppet

Solid model, lots of ways to use

Very flexible and powerful

Significant investment to learn and find your style; be prepared to redo things a few times

Makes sense for dozens of servers or more

Infrastructure management tools: application deployment Capistrano, homemade tools Extremely important Avoids hands-on work on production servers Worth extra effort to get right; eliminate repetitive high-risk steps

Capistrano, homemade tools

Extremely important

Avoids hands-on work on production servers

Worth extra effort to get right; eliminate repetitive high-risk steps

Infrastructure management tools: ticketing/issue tracking Request Tracker (or any of many others) In addition to whatever else you do with it, make sure it provides a way to track “loose ends” Make sure to implement processes that get things handled on an appropriate time frame

Request Tracker (or any of many others)

In addition to whatever else you do with it, make sure it provides a way to track “loose ends”

Make sure to implement processes that get things handled on an appropriate time frame

Contacting BitPusher Daniel Lieberman: 415-346-6448 [email_address] General sales contact: 888-9PUSHER option 1 [email_address]

Daniel Lieberman: 415-346-6448

[email_address]

General sales contact: 888-9PUSHER option 1

[email_address]