[lelanthran]

> It's fun the first time, but becomes an annoying faff when it has to be repeated constantly.

I have to ask - do scripts not work for you?

When I had to do this back in 2005 it was automated with 3 main steps:

1. A preseed (IIRC) debian installation disc (all the packages I needed where installed at install time), and

2. Which included a first-boot bash script that retrieved pre-compiled binaries from our internal ftp site, and

3. A final script that applied changes to the default config files and ran a small test to ensure everything started.

Zero human interaction after powering a machine on with the disc in the drive.

These days I would do it even better (system-d configs, Nix perhaps, text files (such as systemd units) can be retrieved automagically after boot, etc).

[chickensong]

Your example only covers basic provisioning. The additional items mentioned by the parent comment can be a significant investment, both initially and over time.

[lelanthran]

> Your example only covers basic provisioning.

No. It covered setting up all the applications needed as well (nginx, monitoring agent, etc), installing keys/credentials.

What did parent mention that can't be covered by the approach I used?

[chickensong]

I guess I read your comment as OS, the app, and configs, while the parent mentions auxiliary items, ending with "etc etc". The point is, all the extra things that aren't the app take knowledge and resources to set up and maintain.

Sure you can script all the things into 3 steps, just like you can draw an owl with a couple circles.

[lelanthran]

> The point is, all the extra things that aren't the app take knowledge and resources to set up and maintain.

Maintain, maybe. The setup for everything extra can scripted, and include a few packages I had to build from source myself because there was no binary download.

[chickensong]

I hear you, and I'm passionate about automating all the things. I just wanted to add some perspective to the discussion to set expectations for less experienced people who might be considering a switch from PaaS to DIY.

I'm not a PaaS user, and I encourage people to avoid vendor lock-in and be in control of their own destiny. It takes work though, and you need to sweat the details if you care about reliability and security, which continue to be problem areas for more DIY solutions.

If people aren't willing to put in the work, I'd rather they stick to the managed services so they don't contribute to eroding the already abysmal trust of the industry at large.