dan takes a poll: server names

[Henry Spencer]

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004, Fraser Campbell wrote:
> I like the hostname mapping to specific hardware.  We had a customer machine 
> called tonga, things got moved around (OS reinstalls) and now I am completely 
> confused as to which machine is which.

DNS hostnames *will* get changed -- if not by deliberate advance planning,
then in a crisis when you've got to deal with the problem first and worry
about the rules later. 

> It is important since there were some hardware issues with one of the 
> machines.  We replaced RAM but weren't sure whether that had fixed the 
> problem, now if we have a problem we'll be scratching our heads wondering 
> whether we've already replaced RAM in the machine giving problems or if it's 
> just time to scrap the whole caboodle.

When you've got multiple identical or near-identical machines (or just a
sufficiently large number of non-identical machines), it's vital to keep
proper records.  There has to be a log, on line or on paper, saying what
got done to which machine when... and the machines have to have unambiguous
identifying names/numbers/whatever which are assigned at unpacking time,
clearly marked on the machines, and never changed. 

People often underestimate the importance of this until it bites them. 

                                                          Henry Spencer
                                                       henry-lqW1N6Cllo0sV2N9l4h3zg at public.gmane.org

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