I've been a linux admin for 4-5 years (off/on..it's complicated)
But it seems every Unix-y job i get, I generally support developers and their dev environments. Their build boxes, web servers (dev, test and prod), their VMs, their wikis ,etc..
And time and again I just get requests that just floor me, that i can't fathom the...logic. For example:
i worked at one company where the web devs (they did everything on *nix platforms mind you - not .net stuff), refused to use ssh/sftp or even ftp to upload their code. They saved all their code in their automounted home directories off a NIS server. And they wanted their automounted home directory on select boxes to be SAMBA accessible so they could just mount the SAMBA directory in their "My Computer" on their Windows workstation. This way they could copy/paste in the windows GUI, their code from their X drive (dev box) to their Y drive (prod box). I pushed back on this hard because it just seemed ridiculous and unnecessarily complex, and like a situation that was just going to create errors of some kind in the future. I lost this battle.
I support a rather large VMware infrastructure that's all Dev stuff. The variety of vmdk templates has gotten incredibly messy and there's templates being used live that are constantly changed around, there's all kinds of just disorganization (happened before i got here). So I've been asked to create 4-5 basic templates, one or two for each of our product teams. No problem. We get through most of the list - what OS, what additional software and configs, yada yada yada and then ontop of it all they want Gnome, KDE and XFCE on every machine AND for it to be vnc accessible. Mind you - we have about 400 VMs currently and they all ahve desktops and they all have vncserver on them. I always thought it queer but i didn't know what they were doing on them. So i asked. Why all the overhead? Why chew up Gigs of space for 3 desktop environments? WHy connect over VNC when ssh is available? Is there a linux GUI app you like to use? Are we developing linux GUI apps? Is there some *nix specific IDE that's being used here or something? Nope. Every dev in this fucking building (about 40 of them) just like VNCing in and opening the console app specific to a desktop environment (xfce4-terminal, gnome-terminal and konsole respectively). Yes, you heard this right - they need the GUI consoles rather than putty and I should install all three desktop environments and support vnc everywhere b/c they apparently need the entire desktop environment to run a fucking Console binary. AN entire DE for one app.
More on the VM Templates - they require every VM to have both LVM and bonded virtual NICs. I've tried to explain why this is pointless and redundant. No one cares. LVM and Bonded NICs (4 NICs, 2 bonds)
oh yeah - Devs apparently need endless ways to control source. Currently in the place I am in, they use cvs, svn, git, clearquest, clearcase, and synergy. Not joking. In fact, they use git to commit code to svn. I get that different source control systems have different features but come the fuck on. I'm supposed to support all this shit?
Our products are standardized on an OS. So to make life easier - shouldn't our dev and test stuff be too? Some of it is. But most of it in dev has no OS standardization. Here, our devs have too much freedom and frankly - authority over me in this matter too. I'm constantly being asked for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora (and they want Fedora to be as close to Redhat as possible - when i try explaining CentOS they look at me like a confused dog), and even OpenSuse and Arch. I'm then expected to jump from box to box - and fix whatever troubles they have in the future - requiring me to stay up to date with file locations and package managers and repo systems of 5-6 (if not more) distros at any given time. No one cares - as long as the devs are comfortable.
I try to battle certain things and I always lose. Always. No matter the style of my approach. Time and again it seems nothing seems more paramount than keeping devs happy and content and for the life of me i cannot figure out why.
I don't feel like i'm a tyrant of an admin or that i wish for the ridiculous.
Am I alone on this?
[link][11 comments]