Eron Nicholson from 37signals' ops team discusses team structure, on-call schedules, managing data center outages, balancing project cycles, and global expansion projects. The conversation touches on T-shaped programmers, restructuring on-call coverage, and technological advancements like the Amsterdam project using BGP Anycast technology.
The ops team at 37signals maintains active-active data centers for system resilience.
Global expansion projects include setting up a new data center in Amsterdam for improved service.
Deep dives
Operations Team Structure and Expertise
The operations team at 37signals is structured into smaller regional teams that work together in an on-call rotation. Team members, including Aaron Nicholson, have diverse expertise, such as networking, database management, and systems administration, allowing them to handle various responsibilities efficiently. With a total of 11 team members, the operations department emphasizes automation, utilizing tools like Chef to manage the workload and ensure effectiveness.
System Resilience and Data Center Strategy
The company prioritizes system resilience through strategies like maintaining active-active data centers in Chicago and Ashburn, Virginia. This failover approach allows for continuous operations even in the event of a major outage in one location. By synchronizing databases and distributing workload between centers, applications like Basecamp and Hey remain operational, providing performance benefits and mitigating risks.
Global Expansion and Infrastructure Enhancement
An ongoing project entails establishing a new data center outpost in Amsterdam to improve service for European customers, following the success of similar initiatives for other regions. This technical advancement involves utilizing BGP Anycast technology to optimize traffic routing based on proximity, enhancing user experience and site performance. The company's focus on expanding globally showcases a commitment to improving service quality and infrastructure globally.
In this episode of the Rework podcast, host Kimberly Rhodes chats with Eron Nicholson from 37signals' operations team. He shares insight on his role and the department's various functions. The conversation covers details on the ops team structure, system reliability, global expansion projects and more.
Key Takeaways
00:38 - Meet Eron
02:17 - The structure of the “ops” team
05:15 - On-call coverage and schedule
08:40 - Managing data center outages
13:25 - Balancing project cycles with system administration