Challenge
Online stores and software platforms often run on servers that were set up by hand, years ago, by someone who has since left.
Nobody is sure how to recreate them. A failed server means a long night, and adding capacity for a busy season means copying an old machine and hoping.
Approach
We define the servers in code, so the environment can be built the same way every time.
- Write down, as code, everything a server needs: software, settings and the application.
- Keep that code in version control.
- Build new servers from it automatically.
- Add and remove capacity as demand changes.
- Use the same definitions for a development copy.
Result
A failed server is replaced by building a new one.
- Capacity added for busy periods in minutes.
- Development and production that match.
- Knowledge kept in the code, not in one person's head.
Our advice
If you could not rebuild a server from scratch today, that is your largest hidden risk. Fix it before you need to.
Related service: Cloud computing.