After almost decade in DevOps I spend as much time digging through forgotten repos as shipping code. Updating Sentry led me to GlitchTip, Redis Sentinel and hours of code-sleuthing—proof that documentation gaps turn DevOps into full-time software archaeologists.
Early in 2023, challenged by rising Kubernetes issues in production environments, I crafted an audit methodology to diagnose clusters, identify misconfigurations, and establish best practices. Delivered by summer, it enabled clients to transform reliability and performance.
Strapping a Raspberry Pi Zero to my wrist, I built the "PiSpot Watch"—a chunky, lovable smartwatch that briefly challenged the Apple Watch, at least in spirit. From learning FreeCAD and 3D-printing cases, to battling hardware quirks and automating deployments with Ansible—this was my IoT odyssey.
Managing updates isn't trivial; it's a complex, rewarding challenge. Upgrade management at scale involves orchestrating updates across Kubernetes clusters and workloads. While automation aids efficiency, the true art lies in understanding client needs and ensuring seamless, invisible upgrades.
When our CTO declared it "impossible" to know how WiFi users connected across our messy network, I took it as a personal challenge. However, looking back now, I ponder over how much better my decisions could have been with proper mentorship.
