S6E16: "Broken /home"

Posted 2021-09-26 23:59
Modified 2021-09-27 15:17
Comments 0

In this episode, we recap some of our biggest fails.

• Just the Tip
• Notes
• 15 Clams
• Errata
• Music

Just the Tip

• Jthan said he was interviewing someone who never heard of cut(1).
  • But instead of using cut, you may want to use awk instead.
  • There is a jq-like for CSV! It’s called miller.

Notes

Starts at 28m40s.

I was drinking a Heineken and a Troegs La Grave. Paden was drinking New Amsterdam vodka and Deep Eddy vodka. Jthan was drinking Miller Lite.

• Our biggest professional fails!
  • Paden refers to a case where he wiped out a floppy’s contents.
    • He learned to always make backups/copies first.
  • Paden also copy-pasted an error log from a server to chat, and then back to a server which removed a script… which is a Big No-No™ in his org.
  • Paden also formatted C:\ the family computer as a youngling when he was trying to format a floppy.
    • He has the worst experiences with floppies.
  • Jthan ran a script.
    • But he ended up wiping out /bin because he changed the script.
    • And he ran it without set -e.
    • He learned to always (where possible) use absolute paths.
  • I ended up deleting a DNS zone (yes, an entire zone).
    • I “learned” to not make assumptions about a GUI’s functionality, and to always have a backup you can revert to before doing maintenance.
  • I also goofed up a cPanel account migration because their Transfer Tool is absolute trash.
    • In my attempts to fix the accounts, things became even more broken.
    • We ended up needing to turn up a fresh server and restore the accounts to that.
    • I learned that the right time to try a new tool/a tool you aren’t familiar with is, uh, not in production.
  • Not a professional oops, but a personal one — I deleted and moved a bunch of system files on my dad’s work laptop when I was a wee child.

15 Clams

In this segment, Jthan shares with you a little slice of life. The title is a reference to this video. (2m16s in)

Starts at 56m50s.

Jthan wants to know why so many people opt for AMI/golden images instead of using config management (masterless Salt, specifically).

I suggest adding cloud-init into the mix.

Errata

• Sorry if my audio is a bit off; I lost my local track so I had to use the Mumble recording.
• Paden probably remembers seeing this.
  • Y’all wanna co-op it for a game night?
• Paden refers to this.

Music

Author r00t^2
Categories Season Six