Six lessons from six months of working as an architect/technical project lead on a cloud project

1. JDK.IO 2017
Copenhagen, 19 June 2017
Filip van Laenen
@filipvanlaenen
fvl@computas.com
Clouds with Trenches
and Sharp Edges

2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/
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3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelrusinski/2733962928/
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4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/satguru/12120373395/
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5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ton-schulten/15897871561/
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6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/koroleva-couture/9948067165/
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7. 7
Lesson Learned #1:
A Cloud Doesn’t Configure Itself
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

8. Configuration Reduction
• You can reduce the need for
configuration
• You can’t eliminate it
• You can only replace it
• Consequence:
• Plan for it
• Include it in estimates
• Allocate people for it
lim
t→∞
k(t)=0
8

9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/satguru/12120373395/
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10. Let me tell you a little story…
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11. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jockrutherford/6114920524/
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12. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaako/2910036286/
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13. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jockrutherford/6114920524/
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14. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jockrutherford/6114920524/
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15. 15
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jockrutherford/6114920524/

16. 16
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jockrutherford/6114920524/

17. Cloud Configuration
• Scripted
• Parameterized
• Version controlled
• Flexibility
• Ad-hoc environments
• Experiments
• Wipe and re-create
lim
t→∞
k(t)=0
17

18. New Skill Set
• Obsolete*
skills:
• Disk, RAM, CPU specs
• RAID specification
• Fail-over and back-up
• New skills:
• Configuration scripting
• Bill optimization
*
Sort of…
18
https://www.flickr.com/photos/evilnick/183967317/

19. 19
Lesson Learned #2:
Bill Optimization is the New Performance
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

20. “Old School” Performance
• Constraints:
• Fixed number of CPUs
• Disk, RAM, CPU specs fixed
• Measurement:
• Computation time
• Remediation:
• Refactor code
• Buy more servers
20
https://www.flickr.com/photos/evilnick/183967317/

21. Cloud Performance
• Constraints:
• Computation time?
• Measurement:
• (Computation time)
• Bill
• Remediation:
• Refactor code
• Refactor infrastructure
21 https://www.flickr.com/photos/eovemar/6275924614

22. Cloud Performance Test
start_amount ← bill.current
1000.times do { test }
end_amount ← bill.current
assert end_amount –
start_amount ≤ $1.00
22 https://www.flickr.com/photos/eovemar/6275924614

23. Scaling Out
• Do you think you can
outscale Google, Amazon or
Microsoft?
• Disk space
• RAM
• CPU time
• They can easily outscale you
• Through the bill
23 https://www.flickr.com/photos/eovemar/6275924614

24. 24
Lesson Learned #3:
Clean up after Yourself
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

25. Time Is Money
• Close down old projects
• Close down unused nodes
• Audit your bills
25 https://www.flickr.com/photos/eovemar/6275924614

26. 26
Lesson Learned #4:
You’re in Production from Day 1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

27. No Security by Obscurity
• Public clouds by definition
accessible everywhere
• Synthetic data
• Authentication and
authorization
27
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sushicam/4950692923/

28. Internal Security
• Developer ≠ administrator
• Environments
• Nodes
• Data
• Billing responsibility
28
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sushicam/4950692923/

29. 29
Lesson Learned #5:
You Don’t Own the Cloud
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

30. Regions and Availability
• GA: General Availability
• Keyword: “general”
• Region important
• Whitelisting
30 https://www.flickr.com/photos/punxutawneyphil/6207458951/

31. Versions as a Service
• New versions
• Alpha and beta versions
• Cool
• But unreliable
• Incompatibilities
• Between client libraries
31
https://www.flickr.com/photos/serdar/11619340553/

32. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ton-schulten/15897871561/
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33. Bug Fixes as a Service
• Central bugs
• And central bug fixes
• Central downtime
33 https://www.flickr.com/photos/mariushaffner/19040548474/

34. 34
Lesson Learned #6:
Logging is Everything
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

35. Set Up Logging Correctly
• System logging
• Learn to read system logs
• Audit the logs regularly
• Application logging
• Integrate with logging
infrastructure
35
https://www.flickr.com/photos/waltstoneburner/7946581522/

36. https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/
36

37. 37
Lesson Learned #1:
A cloud doesn’t configure itself
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

38. 38
Lesson Learned #2:
Bill Optimization is the New Performance
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

39. 39
Lesson Learned #3:
Clean up after Yourself
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

40. 40
Lesson Learned #4:
You’re in Production from Day 1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

41. 41
Lesson Learned #5:
You Don’t Own the Cloud
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

42. 42
Lesson Learned #6:
Logging is Everything
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3498450536/

43. https://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelrusinski/2733962928/
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44. https://www.flickr.com/photos/koroleva-couture/9948067165/
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45. Questions?
Comments?

46. Thanks!