Category Archives: All

Is Edge HCI Necessary?

To explore HCI at the edge, we started with SUSE’s Harvester. It’s an HCI integration of Kubernetes, KubeVirt, and Longhorn (their storage system) plus some PXE booting magic they threw in there. From there we explored how Kubernetes can fit into Edge HCI.

That really morphed into Edge operations more generally. It’s not clear if hyperconverged infrastructure can or can’t fit. We covered items like AWS Outpost which is Amazon’s edge. We included items for the cloud to edge migration from an application development perspective.

There are a lot of fascinating ops and development topics throughout the conversation.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/Y2OH7SuJhPp4VRQSBAJk31-0_eI
Photo: www.pexels.com/photo/crop-person…ontainer-4498143/

Rob’s Hot Take:

Rob Hirschfeld, CEO and co-founder of RackN and host of the Cloud 2030 Podcast, provides insights from the January 4th discussion on hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) for the edge. The conversation explores the operational desire for clean and simple architectures with modular building blocks for easy implementation. However, it challenges the notion that platforms like Kubernetes can create a straightforward, self-building architectural solution for edge clusters, emphasizing the associated cost considerations. Hirschfeld suggests exploring the full episode at the2030.cloud for a comprehensive discussion on the complexities and potential solutions in the realm of hyper-converged infrastructure for the edge.

Resolving Software Dependency Chains

Dependency chains are complex and fragile when you’re depending on software, hardware cloud services that go away or change. In this conversation, we really examine the challenge of having dynamic vendor relationships and what we can do to fix and protect our environments.

It’s really hard to fix what can be vulnerable when it also changes your software supply chain at any moment! And that can impact any device in your infrastructure!! We work through that problem means in practical terms.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/mwpwVINGYfkQ5F5IERXgsM2oHsA
Photo: www.pexels.com/photo/focused-kid…d-puzzle-5063480/

Rob’s Hot Take:

Rob Hirschfeld, CEO and co-founder of RackN and host of the Cloud 2030 Podcast, reflects on the January 11th DevOps lunch and learn focused on managing dependencies in technology. The discussion reveals a critical realization that the interconnected and short lifecycle of technology components results in a near certainty of repercussions when patching or updating one part of the infrastructure. Hirschfeld highlights the serious security and continuity risks associated with unmaintained projects, emphasizing the need for improved visibility and management of software dependency graphs. He encourages listeners to explore the comprehensive conversation at the2030.cloud for insights into addressing these challenges.

What’s Next for Cloud and Edge?

We reflected on 2021 and our four key panelists talked through what’s coming for 2022. Instead of making broad predictions, we focused on the needs of the market. We felt there were many immediate needs around cloud outages and security challenges.

Of course, we also discuss how the edge is coming up along with more physical integrations like for automotive, healthcare, and energy creation and storage. All are very big topics that are local presence related computing.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/7IEszyeZEDGENz3JSzw_-4hmyVc
Photo: www.pexels.com/photo/barefoot-bo…spyglass-7139730/Cloud20302022 PredictLog4jOutagesSecurityEdgeAutomotiveHealthcare

Rob’s Hot Take:

Rob Hirschfeld, CEO and co-founder of RackN and host of the Cloud 2030 Podcast, shares insights from the 2021 End of Year session where predictions for the future were discussed. The focus was on transforming the market from monolithic, single-vendor clouds, including on-premises Edge locations, towards a more ad hoc and composable model that allows multiple vendors to integrate seamlessly. Hirschfeld emphasizes the importance of creating infrastructure pipelines to enable modularity and a multi-vendor experience while maintaining a single control experience for users and operators. He encourages listeners to explore the detailed discussion in the full podcast from December 30th at the2030.cloud.

A Pathway to Standardization

This episode was a fun and interesting ride from boring standards to locking APIs via NFTs!

We started talking about “civilization technology” where standards and regulations are applied to infrastructure. We are expecting this to happen in cloud (eventually) because it allows us to create ecosystems around the infrastructure. The historical patterns that we see in railroads, buildings and electricity will emerge in IT too.

Or maybe they won’t! We haven’t yet seen standards emerging in cloud or open source. And we had some really significant conversations around the interactions between these systems that would drive or resist standardization.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/-hhn6VEjtIQDl3UAHaCPUxCUaXo
Photo: www.pexels.com/photo/slatted-woo…en-trees-1423827/

A Pathway to Green Data Centers?

How do we make data centers green because, fundamentally, they are going to use electricity. But the sources of that electricity, how we respond to shortages of electricity and cost signals about that electricity are all critical to consider. These are the questions that lead us to how a green data center or green infrastructure gets created.

Our discussion also includes how infrastructure at the edge can play a role. Overall, there are A LOT of the factors that go into building and creating green infrastructure, including the motivations and signals that will hopefully change the market.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/9eirv3Rs292n7M1m8d1VaRPPRgA
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/clear-light…ray-rock-1108572/

Rob’s Hot Take:

Rob Hirschfeld, CEO and co-founder of RackN and host of the Cloud 2030 Podcast, discusses the importance of green infrastructure in today’s episode. He emphasizes the need to understand the impacts of power availability on the cost and design of applications and infrastructure. Hirschfeld stresses that building for the future requires consideration of unreliable power, whether due to cost, availability, or shifting dynamics, and encourages listeners to explore the comprehensive discussion in the full podcast at the2030.cloud.

Evolution of Networking Systems

How do we evolve technology in the future?  We centered the answer on networking, but in a very general way.

The ability for a vendor to distribute technology and then connect things together and then build networks of that technology is a core component of how networking is evolving.   Ultimately, this is about building technology systems.

Sadly, that led us into a very dark place where we really thought through who’s going to own all of that infrastructure and their motivations.  How can we make sure that the people’s needs and the systems and the vendors’ needs are well aligned?

Transcript: https://otter.ai/u/H8ik1HcmSExVBRklYbSCsV4yu2k

Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/shallow-focus-photography-of-keychains-1194036/

Rob’s Hot Take:

Rob Hirschfeld, CEO and co-founder of RackN and host of the Cloud 2030 Podcast, reflects on the November 2nd DevOps Lunch and Learn session, which explored the motivations and impacts of building highly networked systems. While acknowledging the significant societal benefits of interconnected technology, Hirschfeld emphasizes the importance of understanding and mitigating the potential risks, particularly regarding data control and accessibility. He advocates for building inclusive systems that prioritize adaptability and service to the greater good, inviting listeners to explore the comprehensive discussion on these critical topics at the2030.cloud.

Software Supply Chains [#Log4Shell]

Our scheduled topic was supply chains generally, but the Log4Shell vulnerability dominated the discussion. We dove into the challenge of patching and fixing a library that is literally in nearly every device or service for years and years.

That led us to supply chains in the context of software, and specifically Java Log4j. This is a critical topic and our conversation about it was very thoughtful. We really covered the angles of what it takes to produce and maintain a supply chain for software. Then we discussed alternatives and things to consider when you building anything: software products or physical products in which embedded systems and components impact your designs.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/CJ8pYF1La6tetFasqZhEojo_zoY
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/carton-cont…-in-rows-6294430/

Rob’s Hot Take:

Rob Hirschfeld, CEO and co-founder of RackN and host of the Cloud 2030 Podcast, reflects on the December 16th discussion centered around the supply chain, particularly focusing on Log4j and software components. He underscores the importance of understanding the provenance of software components and emphasizes the necessity of maintaining a robust patch and update process, especially considering embedded systems like Java. Hirschfeld advocates for a shift in mindset towards viewing software as an ongoing process rather than a static deliverable, inviting listeners to explore the insightful discussion further at the2030.cloud.

Broader Impacts of AWS Outage

We discussed the Amazon outage of December 7. Instead of simply blaming Amazon, we went looking for how the outage impacted people globally. We considered how hyper scalars are being treated and how these outages can be avoided or understood. We focused on who is impacted and what companies who are building on top of Cloud providers can do going forward.

We really took a classic Cloud 2030 approach for a very important and timely topic. Enjoy our discussion about the business impacts, understanding of the market and forward looking approach.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/cY4fk8mWIovIfkwfT4LDw2uy4QY
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/a-person-ho…ked-eggs-7719168/

Rob’s Hot Take:


Rob Hirschfeld, CEO and co-founder of RackN and host of the Cloud 2030 Podcast, provides insights on the December 9th discussion regarding the Amazon outage on December 7th. Fresh from the outage’s impact, Hirschfeld highlights the industry’s reliance on cloud providers as utilities and underscores the need to acknowledge their business interests, which may not always align with customer needs during disruptions. He advocates for building resilience both at the provider and consumer levels, emphasizing the importance of understanding and mitigating the risks associated with hyperscale infrastructures. Hirschfeld invites listeners to explore the comprehensive conversation at the2030.cloud, focusing on industry-wide reflections rather than attributing blame to specific providers.

What is Platform Engineering?

What is platform engineering? And why is it necessary and how to make it work compared to DevOps.

In this conversation, we really hit on the challenges of creating automation teams for building automation in scalable ways. Frustratingly, we never really came up with a particularly good answer to “what is a platform team” and why you should care. Strangely, your organization is probably building one.

Transcript otter.ai/u/zJeQbqXIyD8kZUxfKQdvQAfQGog
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/building-co…chnology-9617733/

Rob’s Hot Take:

Rob Hirschfeld, CEO and co-founder of RackN and host of the Cloud 2030 Podcast, reflects on the November 9th DevOps Lunch and Learn session focused on platform engineering. He highlights the challenge of executing platform engineering initiatives despite the straightforward concept of improving automation and tooling at an architectural level. Hirschfeld emphasizes the importance of defining success metrics, empowering teams to enforce standards, and adopting consistent, repeatable patterns and practices to advance the industry’s maturity. He encourages listeners to explore the insightful discussion at the2030.cloud for a deeper understanding of platform engineering’s significance.

A Path for Cloud Standardization?

We discuss standards, de facto standards, and cloud standards. It comes down to how we are creating repeatable results for the cloud marketplace.

Ideally, we’re creating marketplaces where standards can be shared. We’d consider Amazon as the primary example, but we also talk about hardware and Kubernetes which have their own marketplaces.

Ultimately, we asked if we are creating standardized cloud infrastructure? The short answer is no.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/kGT8pGfbslZRgFktM0pE3AifwWI
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/measuring-g…tar-pick-3988555/

Rob’s Hot Take:

Rob Hirschfeld, CEO and co-founder of RackN and host of the Cloud 2030 Podcast, reflects on the November 30th DevOps Lunch and Learn session focused on standards and vendors’ attempts to establish standard operating processes. He highlights the market’s lack of convergence or trust in vendor-driven standards, emphasizing the durability of certain influential standards in the industry compared to vendor-specific APIs. Hirschfeld underscores the ongoing need for standard operating models and APIs to address market complexity, encouraging listeners to explore the insightful discussion at the2030.cloud for deeper insights into standardization efforts within the industry.