[Info-vax] VSI and Process Software announcement

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2016-09-25 11:43:29 +0000, Dirk Munk said:

> Kerry Main wrote:
>> You seem to want to make it so easy that an end user could install an 
>> OS into a prod environment.

Everybody has to go through this, just because we had to walk to school 
all winter long, in the snow, up hill, both ways?

>> Imho, that is just crazy. Regardless of the method, I want experienced 
>> SysAdmins to have their hands on new OS deployments. Yes, I know there 
>> is work to be done to make it easier than it is today, but the bottom 
>> line is there are just way to many variables and landmines that could 
>> impact other OS's to let a rookie deploy a new OS to a prod environment.
> 
> You're absolutely right. I've worked in an environment where everything 
> was set up with easy to deploy templates. etc. The result was that no 
> one understood what they were doing, they didn't understand all these 
> settings because they didn't have to think about them. If there were 
> problems, they didn't know where to look, or how to fix the problems.

I remember the uproar over the shift to depot repairs and board 
swapping, too.   When the repair techs stopped using solder and a 
'scope.

Welcome to modern computing technology.   We each — we all — depend on 
the knowledge of other folks.   Of the code and the tools of others.   
None of us are experts in everything.   We are increasingly integrating 
our servers and software with more packages and tools and platforms.   
Trying to make our configurations and deployments easier, more 
manageable, more repeatable, and requiring less human interaction is 
the goal that most of us have.

I'm glad that OpenVMS moved forward.   Part of moving forward is 
keeping the best of the old ideas, and rethinking or replacing the 
areas that are no longer advantageous.    That includes reworking or 
rethinking or replacing the console serial line, and 
manually-configured, local deployments booted from DVD, among other 
approaches that seem increasingly antebellum.



-- 
Pure Personal Opinion | HoffmanLabs LLC