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Datashed Systems Standards and Procedures

    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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