[Info-vax] Data Center Operations: DC/OS, Apache Mesos

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2016-06-03 15:55:59 +0000, Kerry Main said:

>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> 
>> From: Info-vax [mailto:info-vax-bounces at info-vax.com] On Behalf Of
>> 
>> Stephen Hoffman via Info-vax
>> 
>> Sent: 03-Jun-16 10:23 AM
>> 
>> To: info-vax at info-vax.com
>> 
>> Cc: Stephen Hoffman <seaohveh at hoffmanlabs.invalid>
>> 
>> Subject: [New Info-vax] Data Center Operations: DC/OS, Apache Mesos
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> FWIW, the "When you’re operating a datacenter, there are a set of 
>> common operations that you do because you have to, not because you want 
>> to. In a single computer environment, your operating system 
>> automatically takes care of these things. When was the last time you 
>> had to manually tell your laptop which processor core to run your 
>> application on?  For those of you who responded with anything other 
>> than “never”, there are some amazing computers at the Computer 
>> History Museum that you might want to check out." line was good for a 
>> chuckle.
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> A bit naïve as well .. a laptop is a single user. A server is 
> multi-user, much more complicated environment, so one should expect to 
> do more support  related work.
> 
> 
> 
> Kind of like comparing the work to maintain a bicycle to an automobile.

I suspect you've missed the point there, Kerry.   To use your examples, 
bicycles have gotten vastly easier and more flexible and more reliable, 
and the required maintenance on an automobile has declined 
substantially over the years.   Data centers have changed substantially 
over the years I've managed them, and data centers are undoubtedly 
going to continue to evolve and to simplify, even if OpenVMS and the 
folks familiar with OpenVMS have to be dragged forward, or if the apps 
ported and the OpenVMS platform replaced and the teams re-tasked and 
retrained or replaced.  Your own beloved app stacking is part of this — 
that's problematic on OpenVMS at least for the foreseeable future, but 
app isolation, repeatable deployment and related tasks are definitely 
getting easier — and more secure — on other platforms.

>> No, I haven't seen a port of Mesos to OpenVMS, and I'd tend to expect 
>> the down-standard C++ support on OpenVMS probably lacks a few features 
>> necessary for the port.
>> 
> 
> 
> Imho, this would be way, way down on the list of priorities for future 
> Dev work. Especially when this is really only in its infancy days.

The early days of VSI, or the early days of Mesos, or of?    For those 
presently tied to OpenVMS and HPE and VSI, sure.   But maybe reflect on 
what that means for VSI and partners, and for the folks — the potential 
current and new customers of OpenVMS and VSI — that do have access to 
these tools on other platforms, too.   What are those folks going to be 
looking for?

> Maybe this technology will emerge as something more important in the 
> future, but right now it is certainly not a done deal.

Maybe ponder that tech is now and will continue to change, that it'll 
always be in churn, and it'll never be a done deal, an end-state or 
finished?

That what is installed now will be junked and replaced — as has 
happened with more than a few applications and the associated OpenVMS 
servers — and with operating system features — such as the deprecation 
of CDSA, of older SSL, and of properly dealing with insecure password 
hashes, for instance.

Maybe start planning for what will have to change in an operating 
system to allow adaption, and proper deprecation and burial, too.   The 
OpenVMS ubiquitous upward-compatibility guarantee being right at the 
top of my list here, of course.

>> But maybe this gives some of you some idea of where parts of the 
>> high-end and data center computing markets are already headed.
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> Mgmt of high end DC's has really not changed in the last 2-3 decades 
> (shades of EMA!) and there is a reason for it .. it's really, really 
> tough  when dealing with multi-vendor, multi-platform, multi-standards 
> and = multiple different views by different groups who all think they 
> know  the right way to do this. 
> 
> 
> 
> Mesos is an OS / App mgmt. approach, but how does this apply to the 
> mgmt of network, server / storage HW / facility infrastructure mgmt.?

In this context, those are apps, too.




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