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Ask HN: Lone sysadmins of HN, what do you take on vacation?

4 points by LastZactionHero ↗ HN
I'm leaving on a two week vacation, and I've found myself as the only developer left at a company that can maintain the infrastructure. I'd really like to travel without my laptop- it's expensive, it's a distraction, and I want to disconnect as much as possible.

The founder who configured everything recently departed. We have two other developers on the team, but one has shown no interest in dev ops, and the other was just hired. We have a lot of documentation for handling common stuff.

Our infrastructure rarely needs intervention, so I'm not very worried. Still, stuff has happened, so I don't think it would be responsible to head out without some way assist in a major fire.

I've considered:

- VNC by iPad/keyboard to a cloud hosted server configured for infrastructure management

- Dirt cheap laptop: Still a laptop, but light, and ok if lost or destroyed

- RaspberryPi: Enough power to load some sites and ssh to some servers. Hook it up to the TV in my AirBnB.

- Screw it: let go, trial by fire for the other dev

What do you guys do?

9 comments

[ 4.1 ms ] story [ 28.3 ms ] thread
shoo
i think it is unhealthy to stay hooked in to work while you are on vacation. completely disconnect. unless you have agreed to some strange arrangement where you are on call while being on vacation (doesn't sound like much of a vacation to me).

separately from this, the company needs to figure out a sustainable plan for how the infrastructure is going to be maintained if you are not available for one reason or another. you might need to call this out to the powers that be if they're not keenly aware of the risks already.

rahimnathwani
I'm guessing OP understands this, but cannot fix the situation between now and the start of vacation.
LastZactionHero
Yeah, that's it. Our other guy left suddenly, and we've been working hard to hire and train. Meanwhile, I've had this vacation planned for over a year. My company's culture is really positive and helpful, and everyone really wants me to really be on vacation. I fully intend to disconnect, and very likely I'll never hear a word from them. It's just good to have some backup.
rahimnathwani
Take an inexpensive laptop. The others have too high likelihood of failure (SD card corruption, Bluetooth keyboard runs out of charge, VNC connection slow/drops due to flaky WiFi connection at hotel) and/or will mean you carry more (external keyboard+mouse).

If you want to go very light, and have more time than money, then find an older Chromebook that can run SeaBIOS and GalliumOS. Otherwise, just get an X220.

matt_the_bass
If you need to bring a laptop, your company should be paying for it. They should also be compensating you extra for any work you do while on vacation.
jklein11
Take your two week vacation and don't worry about it. If something is truly mission critical they can give you a call and you can coach them over the phone. Two weeks feels like a nice long vacation, but business are rarely made or destroyed in two weeks. When you come back your team will have a new found appreciation for the value you add.
imhoguy
Android phone or tablet with Termux, OpenVPN and Hacker's Keyboard app.

> We have two other developers on the team, but one has shown no interest in dev ops,

I wouldn't tell anyone you have the setup. Write down some basic instructions, send them to devs and CC the founders too. In case help calls get unbearable step in and try your best to save your holiday time.

stephenr
I’ve done basic ops from a Thai beach using an iPad mini with an ssh client.

It was fine for “emergency” type stuff.

This part concerns me somewhat:

> VNC

What part of your infrastructure relies on a fucking GUI to configure/resolve issues?

Rjevski
Honestly, looks like you're looking for something impossible.

On one hand, you're looking to disconnect. On the other, you want to be available if something explodes. Which one is it then?

I'd recommend just grabbing a laptop (the MacBook 12-inch is super lightweight while being powerful enough, I use it as my main machine as a Python developer), and to "disconnect" you just need to find something else to do with your time (I think that most people can't "disconnect" not because they can't but because there is simply nothing else to do - find yourself something rewarding and suddenly you no longer have the urge to waste time on your laptop).