4 ms·

Two terms was such a common source of mistakes: I shut down a server parked in a nearby country and we had to drive there to turn it on. Since then I’ve adopte

Two terms was such a common source of mistakes: I shut down a server parked in a nearby country and we had to drive there to turn it on. Since then I’ve adopted custom prompt and color scheme for production. I really wish there was some practical information course at compsci with these kind of tips to prevent the most common slippages

gumby 9y ago
> Since then I’ve adopted custom prompt and color scheme for production. An AHA moment for me. I've always wondered why people cared about all the terminal customization options (I grew up typing on an 80x48 AAA glass TTY). This is a good reason. I've used a custom prompt with the host name built in for decades, but this kind of color issue makes sense!
- lovehashbrowns 9y ago
  I always have so many terminals open that this is a must for me. I have different colors for production and I used ansible to make them consistent. It's nice to not have to waste brain power trying to guess which terminal I'm on.
stephengillie 9y ago
> I really wish there was some practical information course at compsci with these kind of tips to prevent the most common slippages This is everyday Operations work. There is no school that teaches the eclectic mix of OS and container, networks and routes, app/db/code, CI/CD, BC/DR, writing KB articles, running standups and meetings, triage technical issues, configuration management, Change Control, and Incident Management. These diverse skill sets are often called "Devops", but nobody makes a Devops degree. The only way to assemble this experience is while working to support developers.
- dasil003 9y ago
  I also wonder how effective a program can be at teaching this kind of thing. No amount of studying ever ingrained something in my mind as well as the adrenaline shot of somehow fucking up production. I'm not aware of any pedagogical methods to engage the endocrine system, but I find it very useful for retention.
  - kbenson 9y ago
    Well, part of the learning is making the mistakes yourself, and part of it is your paranoid coworkers cautioning you against certain behavior and relaying the horror stories of what it might result in as experienced by themselves or someone they knew. A thedailywtf.com for operations mishaps would probably go a long way.
  - stephengillie 9y ago
    There's a theory that the same person should not be both a Developer and an Operator for the same project - that crucial mental separation between Making something and Keeping It Online gets too blurred when one person wears both hats. I've witnessed this in my own personal and professional projects. I guess it is a counter-argument to the DevOps/Agile philosophy.

gumby 9y ago

> Since then I’ve adopted custom prompt and color scheme for production. An AHA moment for me. I've always wondered why people cared about all the terminal customization options (I grew up typing on an 80x48 AAA glass TTY). This is a good reason. I've used a custom prompt with the host name built in for decades, but this kind of color issue makes sense!

lovehashbrowns 9y ago
I always have so many terminals open that this is a must for me. I have different colors for production and I used ansible to make them consistent. It's nice to not have to waste brain power trying to guess which terminal I'm on.

stephengillie 9y ago

> I really wish there was some practical information course at compsci with these kind of tips to prevent the most common slippages This is everyday Operations work. There is no school that teaches the eclectic mix of OS and container, networks and routes, app/db/code, CI/CD, BC/DR, writing KB articles, running standups and meetings, triage technical issues, configuration management, Change Control, and Incident Management. These diverse skill sets are often called "Devops", but nobody makes a Devops degree. The only way to assemble this experience is while working to support developers.

dasil003 9y ago
I also wonder how effective a program can be at teaching this kind of thing. No amount of studying ever ingrained something in my mind as well as the adrenaline shot of somehow fucking up production. I'm not aware of any pedagogical methods to engage the endocrine system, but I find it very useful for retention.
- kbenson 9y ago
  Well, part of the learning is making the mistakes yourself, and part of it is your paranoid coworkers cautioning you against certain behavior and relaying the horror stories of what it might result in as experienced by themselves or someone they knew. A thedailywtf.com for operations mishaps would probably go a long way.
- stephengillie 9y ago
  There's a theory that the same person should not be both a Developer and an Operator for the same project - that crucial mental separation between Making something and Keeping It Online gets too blurred when one person wears both hats. I've witnessed this in my own personal and professional projects. I guess it is a counter-argument to the DevOps/Agile philosophy.