[sims] Combining SIMS servers?

[ChrisMiles]

Just one less VM to have to update and keep track of really.

 

You end up with two very delicate, very demanding eggs in one basket and gain, what, 1 row on your cluster gui.

Honestly have to be nuts to even consider this unless paying retail for windows/sql licenses.

[localzuk]

You end up with two very delicate, very demanding eggs in one basket and gain, what, 1 row on your cluster gui.

Honestly have to be nuts to even consider this unless paying retail for windows/sql licenses.

At the scale of 1 or 2 schools, I would probably agree, but once you start scaling to lots of schools, it becomes far more attractive.

[mavhc]

If you're running at scale the whole thing should be automated anyway.

[Boredguy]

If you're running at scale the whole thing should be automated anyway.

 

HAHAHAAHHAHAH that's funny, Solus being automated.

 

The choice of having 1 instance of Solus to deploy updates from to multiple SIMS databases, once knowing it's working ok (which rules out the automatic deployment) verses multiple copies is a simple option.

[matt40k]

Next he'll be saying about having a test environment

[Esteban_Child_of_the_Sun]

Everyone has a test environment, some people are lucky enough to have a separate live environment

[PotNoodleTech]

Next he'll be saying about having a test environment

 

Wait.....it's just me????

[mavhc]

Well, now we have VMs it's much easier to make test machines. Can make a test virtual switch so the VMs don't even get access to the production network

[matt40k]

Well, now we have VMs it's much easier to make test machines. Can make a test virtual switch so the VMs don't even get access to the production network

 

But is that a test environment? What does it test? You could use it to test upgrades like SQL Server updates (CU), but it isn't going to be any real value unless you give users* access to it. So if you could apply the SIMS upgrade on the test server, but you couldn't know that SIMS release has a bug until a user actually uses it.

[bobsmith]

but you couldn't know that SIMS release has a bug until a user actually uses it.

 

2 answers to this.

 

1. SIMS releases ALWAYS have a bug so your point is moot.

2. Aren't other schools with less cynical IT staff our test environment?

[DMurray]

2 answers to this.

 

1. SIMS releases ALWAYS have a bug so your point is moot.

2. Aren't other schools with less cynical IT staff our test environment?

 

There is no bug free software.

 

The expectations is vendor sticking to its SLAs fixing it and overall customer perception of services.

[mavhc]

But Capita don't care about the perception of their services because we're "forced" to use it. Do they have SLAs? Aren't they just "if you pay us more, we'll do the job you paid us to do in the first place, but faster"?