cloud2030

In this episode, we continue our exploration of vibe coding, this time we build a prompt for installing Digital Rebar. We test and refine the prompt across multiple runs, focusing on readiness checks, firewall ports, SSH keys, license file handling, and keeping the model within the provided instructions. We also look at where the install keeps failing, including NAT gateway setup, DNS configuratio...

This week, we continue our Vibe Coding, and use the lessons and prompt instructions we’ve learned from previous sessions to restart the project using the latest version of Vibe Code. We walk through the process of restarting and see the significant difference made by the new tech! We also talk through some alternatives to using Visual Studio. Another great session! The video is available on the203...

In this episode, we explore AI's transformative impact on user experience (UX) and the relevance of stochastic and deterministic systems in designing effective AI interfaces. We give our predictions about the decline of traditional form-based UX in favor of conversational interfaces that allow users to interact with AI more naturally. We go into how AI can enhance user experiences by dynamically g...

This week we examine the emergence of Kubernetes as a common infrastructure platform. We contrast cloud assumptions with bare-metal reality and dig deep on supportability, repairability, and the operational challenges of networking, storage, GPUs, and other specialized systems. We also get into brittle vendor tooling, version changes, and how these can make remediation difficult. I think you’ll li...

In this episode, we debrief several industry events I went to last year, including Supercomputing, KubeCon, Stack, the AI Infrastructure Show, and the Red Hat AI Infrastructure Summit. We dive deep into some observations from the shows and what they tell us about the gaps and fractures in how we are working to build AI infrastructure. We focus on how observability is being used for evaluation, tun...

In this episode, we discuss the October 2025 Amazon outage. The conversation took place during the outage, and though it’s been a few months now, the insights and discussions are still very interesting. We trace how a DynamoDB and DNS-related failure cascaded through core AWS services and had a larger blast radius than expected. We also look at whether the outage was accidental or malicious and co...

In this episode, we discuss the rising cost of using AI and how usage-based pricing, model changes, and capacity limits are affecting daily work as AI moves from experimentation into operational use. We also talk about multi-model workflows, hybrid infrastructure, and examples of using hosted models alongside open models locally for tasks such as writing and named entity resolution. We get into th...

In this episode, we continue our journey even deeper into how agentic vibe coding and other AI-based automation. This time we focus on Model Control Protocol (MCP) and its application in our bare metal automation solution, Digital Rebar. We examine deterministic versus stochastic AI approaches and the importance of reliable system integration without competing with other agentic systems. We highli...

In this episode, we continue our Vibe Coding experiment. Now that we’ve figured out how to interface with MaaS, this time we wrestle with mapping and how different systems interact with each other. We’re joined by Greg Althaus, RackN CTO, who reviews the project and asks some really great questions. We talk about our decision to restart the experiment, taking the lessons we’ve learned to the newer...

In this episode, we talk about Rob Weinhold's book, "The Art of Crisis Leadership." We explore the vital principle of "owning your narrative" in crisis management, and we share some personal stories related to the themes in the book. We analyze the differences between personal and organizational crises, emphasizing storytelling, transparency, and trust as keys to effective leadership. Even if you...

In this episode, we do some live vibe coding– using AI to write code. We share tips and tricks on having the best vibe coding experience and avoiding some common pitfalls. You'll get to hear what we do, how we discover what the steps are, just how easy it is to interact with the system, to set up a basic environment. We also start to explore the limitations of vibe coding. We encourage you to list...

Rich Miller and I debrief our experiences at the AI Infrastructure and Edge Summit in Santa Clara. This show was interesting in the way it combined a lot of different pieces together related to AI. We share our thoughts and critiques on the event's sales-oriented focus, which overshadowed meaningful discussions on AI applications and data governance. Transcript: https://otter.ai/u/5zn42OkdumP-HXId...

Today we continue our exploration of vibe coding by digging into the Model Context Protocol, or MCP. We look at how MCPs connect chatbots to backend systems, why natural language matters for complex queries, and what it takes to build smarter, more adaptable interfaces. The discussion covers practical strategies for refining and automating these systems using API docs, making this a solid deep div...

In this episode, we talk about scale and the hard realities of system failure in large tech operations. We explore why rare failures become common at scale, and what it takes to build systems that can handle that pressure. From predictive diagnostics to component redundancy, we share practical insights on keeping high-performance and AI infrastructure resilient. This is not theory, it is grounded...

Today we tackle the generational infrastructure shift that's keeping IT leaders awake at night: OpenShift virtualization adoption. We dig deep into why organizations are struggling to migrate from traditional VM-focused infrastructure to Kubernetes-managed infrastructure. We explore the real hurdles blocking this transition and unpack the strategic positioning that matters when you're moving to co...

In this episode we dive into the practice of recapturing gear from data centers and how it can be used in the secondary market and the ramifications for that market. What started off as a tangent ended up as a rabbit hole rewarding conversation! Transcript: https://otter.ai/u/QR43ePMfKLNrxH1bZo0Ik8YyKo0?utm_source=copy_url

Today we dive deep into the mystery of Kubernetes installation, specifically OpenShift installation. We help explain why Kubernetes installs look so weird compared to traditional operations, install processes, and where are the playbooks? Where are the scripts? Are the runbooks describing all the steps you need to take? All of it seems to be missing, and in this podcast, we explain why. Transcript...

We discuss whether or not AI export controls work, but we take a really interesting twist because what we talk about is manufacturing. What we talk about is innovation, and it's not whether or not you can control AI chips, but what does it actually take to build innovative product? That's where we really have challenges on export and controls. There's military manufacturing and goods, and that's p...

In this episode, we talk about how to use AI and agentic AI specifically to rethink log collection and analysis, and find and solve really difficult problems generally. There's a bit of a build up and understanding how we got there will help you appreciate the conversation. Resources: https://www.usenix.org/conference/srecon24americas/presentation/cruz Transcript: https://otter.ai/u/P-p1tfjPhD4lbX...

Today we riff on vibe coding, and we talk about the human and economic impacts. Can this agentic coding paradigm the use of AI and how will it impact people just starting their careers or building real applications? What is the trajectory for AI, generated systems and code and what is the risk of AI slop? Transcript: https://otter.ai/u/5G4AnR858BJnYVZiPV7w5tgAh0Y?utm_source=copy_url

NOTE: It appears that the Trump administration decided to allow nVidia chips... even so, this is a very interesting discussion. We discuss whether or not AI export controls work, but we take a really interesting twist because what we talk about is manufacturing. What we talk about is innovation, and it's not whether or not you can control AI chips, but what does it actually take to build innovativ...

DevOps Lunch and Learn focuses on home labbing versus enterprise use cases and why it is so tricky to satisfy the home user with enterprise products. This really is a dilemma because we love to see more crossover and we're going to talk about why. Transcript: https://otter.ai/u/CgO1zVnY5wDFgRNb7XpdUNyIgr0?utm_source=copy_url

In this episode, we continue our dive into the changing architecture of IT infrastructure and look at how containers and container platforms are changing. We also look at the fundamental nature of what people want to buy, accelerated by VMware Broadcom, making virtualization platforms much less attractive, and the shifting landscape here. This is work that is based on a presentation that I've been...

In this episode, we dive deeper into the new architectural trends for infrastructure designers in this coming decade, which is a transition from virtualization platforms first like VMware into containerized platforms first. But this time, we talk through the use of virtualization in containerized systems - keeping VMs but with what changes are necessary to make a containerized virtualization platf...

This episode of the TechOps series goes into high availability troubleshooting. Not just high availability, not just troubleshooting, but actually talking through what it takes to manage and maintain and fix HA systems. This is part of a longer discussion we've been having and so there's some really interesting ideas in the middle of these discussions that I hope will shape your thinking as you bu...