Why I'm Finally Documenting This
I've spent 30 years managing infrastructure without documenting much beyond internal wikis and ticket systems. That ends now.
This blog serves three functions:
1. Knowledge capture
Lessons learned from managing production systems shouldn't die in closed Slack or Teams channels. When I solve a problem worth solving, it goes here.
2. Certification accountability
I'm pursuing AWS SysOps Administrator and CompTIA Security+. Writing about these topics forces clarity. If I can't explain a concept plainly, I don't understand it well enough.
3. Professional evolution documentation
I'm pivoting from primarily on-premises Windows infrastructure to cloud-first architecture. This blog tracks that migration in real time.
What Gets Posted
Technical implementations. System design decisions. Certification study notes. Infrastructure patterns that worked. Infrastructure patterns that failed and why.
No tutorials on basic concepts readily available in documentation. No opinion pieces on industry trends. No career advice.
Current State
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner. Six years managing Tyler Technologies infrastructure. Currently deep in AWS SysOps prep focusing on things like CloudWatch, Systems Manager, and EC2 Auto Scaling.
A Note on Optimization
34+ years of infrastructure work teaches you that optimization principles transcend technology stacks. Whether you're tuning database queries or daily routines, the methodology is similar: measure, analyze, iterate, document.
My broader optimization experiments live at atomslab.dev. This site focuses on the professional infrastructure side.
Next post covers my AWS SysOps study approach and why most study guides miss the practical implementation details that actually matter in production environments.