@alexellisuk Happy to include @digitalrebar as a bare metal provisioner here, BUT… doing infrastructure effectively is more than provisioning; it’s ops. @rackngo has iterated four generations from Crowbar (10 yrs) figuring this out. I wanted to review what we’ve learned…1/10
@alexellisuk @digitalrebar @rackngo Bare metal (while essential) is complex, varied and heterogenous. It does not help to pretend otherwise because trying to narrow the problem leads to a fragile automation architecture or we end up with silos. 2/10
@alexellisuk @digitalrebar @rackngo By embracing the reality that data centers have diverse requirements, we started to build reusable components that handle brown and green fields, legacy and new equipment. 3/10
@alexellisuk @digitalrebar @rackngo But even more, we needed to take a system integration approach to infrastructure. One that considers full life-cycle over multiple protocols and control planes. One that can coordinate changes between compute, storage and networking. 4/10
@alexellisuk @digitalrebar @rackngo One that is modular enough that components are reusable even if they are mixed and matched. One that can be field adjusted without creating a fork. 5/10
@alexellisuk @digitalrebar @rackngo That led us to a platform that extends past “provisioning” into Infrastructure as Code #IaC, #immutable deploys, intent-driven workflow and multi-site coordination. Getting closer to a full cloud API. 6/10
@alexellisuk @digitalrebar @rackngo 8/10 For example, I’m hoping that @kubernetesio Cluster API (which is designed for cloud APIs) will provide a good consumption model for bare metal. Not just “give me a raw machine” but provide a unit as part of an integrated system.
@alexellisuk @digitalrebar @rackngo Ultimately, rethinking how to automate bare metal is about enabling code reuse, sharing best practices and helping operators to collaborate. That’s why @digitalrebar focuses on #IaC, API Intent, workflow & operator self-mgmt. We try to make that simple, but it's complex! 9/10
@alexellisuk @digitalrebar @rackngo If we hide too much behind abstractions then reuse and utility drops. We’d love to have feedback about how well we’ve hit that balance: try it at portal.rackn.io. 10/10
