Manually Created Machines
Manually created machines refer to physical or virtual machines that are provisioned and configured by an administrator or engineer through manual processes, typically using command-line tools or graphical user interfaces (GUIs). This approach involves the following steps:
Hardware Selection: Choosing the appropriate hardware components, such as the number of CPUs, amount of memory, and storage capacity, based on the intended workload.
Operating System Installation: Installing and configuring the desired operating system, such as Windows, Linux, or macOS, on the machine.
Software Installation: Manually installing and configuring the necessary software applications and dependencies required for the machine to perform its intended function.
Network Configuration: Setting up the network settings, such as IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway, to enable communication with other machines on the network.
Security Configuration: Implementing security measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and access control mechanisms to protect the machine from unauthorized access and cyber threats.
Manually created machines are often used in scenarios where there is a need for fine-grained control over the machine’s configuration or when specific software or hardware requirements must be met. However, this approach can be time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to manage at scale.
Examples of manually created machines include:
As an alternative to manually created machines, many organizations are adopting Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices, where infrastructure resources are defined and managed using code, enabling automation and consistency in the provisioning and configuration process.
Here are some tools and products that can help with manually created machines:
1. Configuration Management Tools
2. Provisioning Tools
3. Operating System Deployment Tools
4. Remote Management Tools
5. Monitoring Tools
Related Terms to Manually Created Machines:
Virtual Machines (VMs): Machines that are created and run within a software environment rather than on physical hardware. VMs are often used to consolidate multiple workloads onto a single physical server or to provide a more isolated and secure environment for applications.
Containers: Lightweight, isolated environments that can run different applications or services. Containers share the operating system kernel with other containers on the same host machine, but they have their own isolated file system and resources.
Serverless Computing: A cloud computing model where the cloud provider dynamically manages the allocation and provisioning of servers and other infrastructure resources. Developers can write code and deploy it to a serverless platform without having to worry about managing the underlying infrastructure.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC): A practice where infrastructure resources are defined and managed using code, rather than through manual processes or configuration tools. IaC enables automation, consistency, and version control in the provisioning and configuration of infrastructure.
Cloud Computing: The delivery of computing services over the internet, including servers, storage, databases, networking, and more. Cloud computing allows organizations to access and use these services on a pay-as-you-go basis, without having to invest in and maintain their own infrastructure.
DevOps: A software development methodology that emphasizes collaboration, automation, and continuous improvement between development and operations teams. DevOps aims to streamline the software development lifecycle and deliver high-quality software faster and more reliably.
Site Reliability Engineering (SRE): A discipline that focuses on the application of software engineering practices to the operations of distributed systems. SREs aim to create highly reliable, scalable, and maintainable systems that can withstand failures and outages.
Platform Engineering: The practice of designing, developing, and maintaining the underlying infrastructure and services that support software applications. Platform engineers focus on creating scalable, reliable, and secure platforms that can handle the demands of modern applications.
Before you can create and manage manually created machines, you need to have the following in place:
Hardware Resources: This includes physical servers or virtual machines with sufficient processing power, memory, storage, and network connectivity to meet the requirements of your workloads.
Operating System: You need to choose and install a suitable operating system on each machine, such as Windows, Linux, or macOS.
Software Tools: You will need software tools for provisioning, configuration management, and monitoring of your machines. This may include tools like Ansible, Puppet, Chef, Terraform, Nagios, or Zabbix.
Network Infrastructure: You need to have a properly configured network infrastructure, including switches, routers, and firewalls, to connect your machines and allow them to communicate with each other and with external resources.
Security Measures: You need to implement appropriate security measures, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and access control mechanisms, to protect your machines from unauthorized access and cyber threats.
Documentation and Procedures: It is important to have proper documentation and procedures in place for managing manually created machines, including instructions for provisioning, configuration, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
Skills and Expertise: You need to have skilled and experienced personnel who understand the underlying technologies and best practices for managing manually created machines.
Depending on your specific requirements and the scale of your infrastructure, you may also need additional resources such as cloud computing platforms, virtualization software, and specialized tools for managing large numbers of machines.
After you have manually created machines, the next steps typically involve:
Provisioning: Installing and configuring the necessary software and applications on the machines to make them ready for use. This may include operating system updates, security patches, and application dependencies.
Configuration Management: Establishing and maintaining consistent configurations across all machines. This can be done using configuration management tools like Ansible, Puppet, or Chef, which allow you to automate the provisioning and configuration process.
Monitoring: Setting up monitoring tools and systems to keep track of the health and performance of your machines. This allows you to detect and respond to issues before they cause outages or disruptions.
Security Hardening: Implementing additional security measures to protect your machines from unauthorized access and cyber threats. This may include installing firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and access control mechanisms.
Documentation and Knowledge Transfer: Creating and maintaining documentation that describes the setup, configuration, and management procedures for your manually created machines. This helps ensure that other engineers and administrators have the knowledge and resources they need to manage the machines effectively.
Maintenance and Updates: Regularly applying software updates, security patches, and bug fixes to keep your machines up to date and secure. This helps prevent vulnerabilities and ensures that your machines are running at optimal performance.
Capacity Planning: Monitoring the usage and performance of your machines to identify potential bottlenecks or resource constraints. This allows you to plan for future capacity needs and scale your infrastructure accordingly.
Disaster Recovery and Backup: Establishing disaster recovery and backup procedures to protect your data and applications in case of hardware failures, natural disasters, or other disruptions.
Continuous Improvement: Regularly reviewing and improving your processes and procedures for managing manually created machines. This can involve adopting new tools, technologies, and best practices to enhance efficiency, reliability, and security.