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1.1       snw         1: .TL
                      2: DSSP-001: Essential Philosophy Document
                      3: .br
                      4: \fIRevision 1.3 (05/09/19)\fP
                      5: .AU
                      6: Serena Willis
                      7: .AI
                      8: Datashed Proprietor
                      9: .AB
                     10: The Essential Philosophy Document, or "EPD", summarizes the overall philosophy
                     11: of information technology guiding technology decisions in data center design,
                     12: equipment deployment, and software deployment employed in the Datashed and its
                     13: environs.
                     14: 
                     15: The primary goal of the Datashed is to provide a 1990s-style data center environment,
                     16: eschewing the modern, homogeneous approaches to equipment and operating system
                     17: selection. To that end, the Datashed will host the majority of its services on
                     18: non-commodity hardware, using a wide variety of operating systems.
                     19: 
                     20: The Datashed does, however, make concessions to modern practices in select areas.
                     21: Its physical cabling plant is structured, the core of its network secure and
                     22: performant, and some commodity x86/Linux equipment is used for monitoring,
                     23: backup storage, and occasional hardware emulation.
                     24: .AE
                     25: .NH
                     26: Heterogeneous Environment
                     27: .LP
                     28: The Datashed offers a heterogeneous hardware and software environment. This means
                     29: that services will be provided by and available to non-commodity hardware. Racks
                     30: will not match each other, servers will be more than commodity x86-64 hardware running
                     31: Linux, networks will be varied beyond the standard UTP-based Ethernet. 
                     32: 
                     33: This derives from a belief that choice and variety in IT deployments is a good 
                     34: thing, and though we value consistency, our adherence to it is not slavish.
                     35: .NH
                     36: Relaxed Approach
                     37: .LP
                     38: We feel that the IT industry takes itself too seriously. We want to provide an
                     39: alternative. Just by looking at the decor (such as wall scrolls), one can tell that
                     40: the Datashed is not a somber place. It seeks to be as inviting to humans as it is
                     41: to servers, switches, and routers.
                     42: 
                     43: Though we attempt to maintain a well-managed structured cabling plant, the Datashed
                     44: is not unfriendly to the occasional experimental or \fIad hoc\fP deployment.
                     45: .NH
                     46: Traditional Administration
                     47: .LP
                     48: We don't believe that building up a server interactively is a bad thing. Not everything
                     49: needs to be scripted and repeatable, except where it's important. One will not
                     50: encounter complex DevOps orchestration tools in wide use here, although tenants
                     51: are free to use them in their own colocated environments.
                     52: .NH
                     53: Open Community
                     54: .LP
                     55: We strive to make technical details of our projects known to members of our community,
                     56: and the Internet community at large. We believe this will foster an environment that
                     57: is both fun and educational.
                     58: .NH
                     59: DIY Ethic
                     60: .LP
                     61: We follow a DIY ethic. With limited resources, a small, non-commercial data center 
                     62: such as ours must be both pragmatic and resourceful. If a standard practice that is
                     63: accepted in large, commercial data centers is impractical or financially unfeasible,
                     64: we will develop a robust alternative, rather than giving up and saying it cannot be
                     65: done.
                     66: 
                     67: We don't typically have support contracts with hardware or software vendors, even if
                     68: it means that we do not receive the latest and greatest updates. Often, our equipment
                     69: is old enough that the vendor either no longer exists, or would not provide support 
                     70: anyway. We mitigate threats ourselves, use secondhand and/or EOL equipment whenever 
                     71: we can, and don't shy away from exposing old operating systems to the Internet.
                     72: .NH
                     73: Reasoning for DSSP Standards
                     74: .LP
                     75: The DSSP standards are in place to help us stay on-track with our overall philosophy,
                     76: and give us reminders for tasks that we want to do consistently each time. There are,
                     77: however, no committees or bureaucracies dedicated to enforcing them. The DSSP standards
                     78: exist to serve \fBus\fP; they do not exist for us to serve \fBthem\fP.
                     79: .LP
                     80: @(#)dssp-001.ms        1.3
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