FYI Netflix is down

Sat Jun 30 07:30:35 UTC 2012

On 6/30/2012 12:11 AM, Tyler Haske wrote:
 > On 6/29/2012 11:07 PM, Roy wrote:
>> I am not a computer science guy but been around a long time.  Data centers
>> and clouds are like software.  Once they reach a certain size, its
>> impossible to keep the bugs out.  You can test and test your heart out and
>> something will slip by.  You can say the same thing about nuclear reactors,
>> Apollo moon missions, the NorthEast power grid, and most other technology
>> disasters.
>
> How to run a datacenter 101. Have more then one location, preferably
> far apart. It being Amazon I would expect more. :/

First off. They HAVE more than one location, and they are indeed far 
apart. That said, it's all mixed together, like some kind of goulash, 
and the companies who've gone with this particular model for their sites 
are paying for that fact.

Second, and more important. I *was* a "computer science guy" in a past 
life, and this is nonsense. You can have astonishingly large software 
projects that just continue to run smoothly, day in, day out, and they 
don't hit the news, because they don't break. There are data centers 
that don't hit the news, in precisely the same way.

If I had a business, right now, I would not have chosen Amazon's cloud 
(or anyone's for that matter). I would also not be using Google 
docs/services, for precisely the same reason. I'm a fan of controlling 
risk, where possible, and I'd say that this is all in the wrong 
direction for doing that.

No worries, though. It seems we are doomed to continue making the same 
mistakes, over and over.

-- 
Politicians are like a Slinky.
They're really not good for anything,
but they still bring a smile to your face
when you push them down a flight of stairs.