The tough part when it comes to dealing with containers (at least for me), is picking the platform you are going to run them on and then learning all the tools.

Do you use Docker? Rocket? LXC?

Do you automate configuration management and deployment using Puppet? Chef? Ansible?

Do you run them bare metal or nest them in VM instances on a Hypervisor/Cluster?

And those are just the tools that come to mind. You also need a certain level of proficiency when it comes to shell scripting, and many of the other frequently used languages (Python, Ruby, Javascript, PHP...).

There are so many pieces of the puzzle that really need to be in place before containerization of workloads can become a viable replacement for current virtualized infrastructures. There are many projects that have already adopted the format and written their own scripts/APIs to really simplify the process of deploying and maintaining their products in containers. Discourse forum software is a great example. Everything is managed from a single script, instead of having to interface with Docker directly.

Any random Linux distro will do this... I don't understand the excitement.

@wirestyle22 It also allows you to add in additional levels of security by essentially walling off each instance of a service versus running said service in parallel with other services that your application(s) might depend upon. So instead of having a single virtual machine running Apache, MySQL, and PHP; you'd have a container for each service, each with their own hardened attack surface. Also, it allows for a more efficient and responsive dynamic scaling model for applications that is mostly platform independant.

@Dashrender said in RAID card for server upgrade:

@RamblingBiped said in RAID card for server upgrade:

I've finally got that thinking shifted and we're moving toward a unified hardware lifecycle.

What does this mean, exactly?

I used to be of the mindset, auto replace every X years was a good plan. Now I'm to a point where I don't replace unless a machine suffers a failure of a motherboard or powersupply (OEM machines I don't worry about trying to replace PSs).

I currently have around 10 laptops/desktop that are from 2011, probably won't replace them, as I said, until they die. RAM upgrade, sure, HDD to SDD, maybe.

They were just buying components and building a new workstation everytime they hired a new engineer or employee. I've got so many different builds floating around that it is nuts to try and keep track of everything. I'm moving toward one or two different configurations of laptop for ease of management. They are less expensive to maintain, and as they age out I'll just move them into the lab as test systems.

We basically run our systems into the ground as well. Every old desktop that I've replaced has been put back into the wild as a system for an Intern or into a lab for testing.

@MattSpeller said in RAID card for server upgrade:

@RamblingBiped What are your goals with the upgrades? Maybe there's another way to skin this cat so you can take time off and not sweat it

Primary goal is to get the Hypervisors updated and inside a new case that takes up less space and has redundant power supplies. Hardware RAID was just an additional nice-to-have.

@MattSpeller said in RAID card for server upgrade:

@RamblingBiped said in RAID card for server upgrade:

@MattSpeller said in RAID card for server upgrade:

@RamblingBiped said in RAID card for server upgrade:

@Dashrender No, it doesn't have hot swap bays

Dude - no hot swap == no user serviceable hdds

Unless your users are exceptionally well trained I wouldn't even suggest it. I'd get a relationship started with a local IT company and have them send a tech to learn and document what you want done if you're away and poop occurs.

They are well trained engineers that I wouldn't fret about having crack open a server case. That said it is a lot of work to go through for an inconvenient added convenience. I'll have to see what other options I have, maybe I can find bays that will work.

I'm super jealous of your user base lol

Double edged sword... I get some very interesting problems that come along with it. lol

@scottalanmiller said in RAID card for server upgrade:

Also seems an odd place to spend money... cut corners on white box server... but then splurge on hardware RAID. Just a weird mix of spending.

Especially when there is Linux software RAID available for excellent reliability without the hardware RAID. If this were Windows it would make more sense to me.

Fair enough, I'll probably just stick with software RAID. If I would have been here before they were built I would have suggested getting refurbished units from somewhere like xByte instead of building by hand. Everything they had when I came on was built in-house, including all workstations. I've finally got that thinking shifted and we're moving toward a unified hardware lifecycle. Unfortunately/fortunately the servers are adequate for our current workloads, so I can't realistically justify replacing them. I'm going to be moving them into new chassis with redundant power supplies and updating their operating systems and implementing a new backup schedule/process for VMs.

@MattSpeller said in RAID card for server upgrade:

@RamblingBiped said in RAID card for server upgrade:

@Dashrender No, it doesn't have hot swap bays

Dude - no hot swap == no user serviceable hdds

Unless your users are exceptionally well trained I wouldn't even suggest it. I'd get a relationship started with a local IT company and have them send a tech to learn and document what you want done if you're away and poop occurs.

They are well trained engineers that I wouldn't fret about having crack open a server case. That said it is a lot of work to go through for an inconvenient added convenience. I'll have to see what other options I have, maybe I can find bays that will work.

@MattSpeller Yeah, I'll probably be going the ebay route if I do get them. Right now I'm in the planning phase of the upgrades and this is one of the "nice to haves" that I'm gunning for...

@Dashrender No, it doesn't have hot swap bays, but that's not my major concern. Murphy's law kicking in while I'm away and having to talk someone at the office through swapping a drive is though. I'm thinking them opening the server, yanking a drive, and putting a new one in is less stressful than me trying to talk them through all the necessary steps in linux for swapping out the disk.

Price may dictate I follow the inconvenient route though... We'll see.

@scottalanmiller said in RAID card for server upgrade:

I stick to LSI or Adaptec myself. What are the details on the setup and why the switch to hardware?

They are currently using Linux software RAID, I figure adding hardware RAID would simplify the process of swapping failed disks if/when that happens. So mostly just convenience.

I'm going to be doing some upgrades to our production hypervisors (white boxes built just before I started) and I'm looking to add hardware raid. Any recommendations on specific cards?

I think I would rather receive full payment and save/invest those funds myself over the 4+ years. I'm more interested in employers that would allow you to take an entire year off and have your job waiting after the fact. Letting my employer keep that portion of my salary is like overpaying your taxes in the attempt to get a larger refund; you're effectively losing income.

I uninstalled Teamviewer from all my systems at home anyway. Their lack of adequate response doesn't necessarily instill faith...

@Nic said in Teamviewer hacked:

The Register is calling them out on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TheRegister/status/738093006574653440

The interaction between the two is entertaining and disturbing... It's been over a half an hour and no response as to why they don't have an updated explanation to the compromised accounts and DNS redirection to China...

@Nic said in Teamviewer hacked:

@RamblingBiped might be that they don't have all the info yet - who knows?

I was also being somewhat sarcastic... I also think the link I posted might be dated (May 23rd) and referencing a different incident.

I'm glad I don't use their product...

@Nic said in Teamviewer hacked:

@RamblingBiped said in Teamviewer hacked:

It looks like they are saying they were not hacked: https://www.teamviewer.com/en/company/press/statement-on-potential-teamviewer-hackers/

That seems to be in conflict with what a lot of people are reporting on /r/sysadmin

Surely they wouldn't mislead their customers to protect their own interests though?

It looks like they are saying they were not hacked: https://www.teamviewer.com/en/company/press/statement-on-potential-teamviewer-hackers/

Also, the more effort you openly make toward trying to learn their language will more than likely amass a fair amount of brownie points with the end users you're supporting. That goes a long way at easing frustration created from the language barrier.