Scenario:
Hello and welcome to Big Data Datacenters! We are a leading-edge provider of hosted solutions for many customers, both large and small. We have thousands of servers running on a variety of different platforms that need to be maintained. Unfortunately, we have had a difficult time maintaining our servers as of late. We suffered a few outages with server crashes, which led to some very bad press for the company. Our chief information officer (CIO) is looking to you for help.
What was working in the past has proved to be insufficient. We need a simplified approach to managing disparate systems so that we can proactively identify problems before they become problems. The approach should be reusable, and it should work across multiple platforms without having to rewrite code. It's your turn to step up. As a well-seasoned Perl programmer, we want to hear your opinions.
Discuss the following:
- Why do you think Perl can help Big Data Datacenters manage all of its servers?
- Is a client/server approach the best path here? What are some inherent problems with the architecture?
- Pick an operating system and identify and discuss the commands to show memory usage, CPU usage, and disk free. The commands may be used for a future proof of concept.
You have some competition because the CIO has brought in some other experts as well.