[FX.php List] [OFF] This is gonna sound dumb

[Dale Bengston]

At my last corporate job, the IT group named all the servers after  
characters from the "Toy Story" movies. My old CDML/web server was  
Potatohead. This designation was used by the internal network/DNS  
(potatohead.company.com or Potatohead.local in Bonjour), but was not  
broadcast to the outside world.

The character name stayed with the function the server provided.  
Potatohead had at least three hardware incarnations while I was there.  
Potatohead is still there, running CDML and OS9, serving up a solution  
I wrote in 1999 (still in use).

So I guess the point of this is, be sure you pick a naming convention  
you're willing to stick with for a long time!

Dale


On Jan 9, 2008, at 9:09 AM, Jonathan Schwartz wrote:

> Well, I was thinking that there is more to it than that.
>
> Aside from the server name, there is also the Reverse DNS Name.  I'm  
> not sure that I want to broadcast to the world what machines are  
> used for, such as production.mydomain.com. Also, what happens when  
> you have multiples of the same function?
>
> So, for each machine, there are multiple "ID's" to track:
> 	- Physical machine (CPU/MAC Address)
> 	- Physical machine's name (I have labels on my colo machines that  
> are now out of sync).
> 	- IP address
> 	- Domain Name for the IP
> 	- Reverse DNS Name
> 	- Server Name (in the OS)
> 	- What the machine is used for (FMP Server, Mail server, Web  
> server, etc)
>
> One suggestion I've heard is to use nonsensical labels, such as pet  
> names, city names, etc. Then, the name doesn't tie the machine to a  
> particular function.  This is similar to the convention used for  
> creating FMP key fields: Existent, Persistent, Unique and  
> Meaningless.  (There's a fifth, but I forget what that is).
>
> One thing I have learned/realized...not to think of the "server  
> name" and the machine as the same thing.  Future physical machines  
> might/will replace current machines, but the function of the machine  
> stays the same.
>
> I thought that this might be applicable to fx.php developers,  
> especially since FMP best practices recommends multiple machines for  
> Web applications.
>
> After creating the list above for illustrative purposes, I think  
> that the best solution is to create a reference chart to keep score,  
> keeping Domain and Name and RDNS Name permanent, with everything  
> else variable.
>
> Sorry/Thanks for letting me have this thinking-out-loud process.  
> It's harder than it appears.
>
> Jonathan
>
>
>
>
> At 11:48 AM +0100 1/9/08, Gjermund Gusland Thorsen wrote:
>> name them
>>
>> dev
>> testing
>> production
>>
>> for your own pleasure...
>>
>> ggt
>
> -- 
> Jonathan Schwartz
> Exit 445 Group
> jonathan at exit445.com
> http://www.exit445.com
> 415-381-1852
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