Created: 2025-06-29 Last Updated: 2025-06-29 Stage: seedling
Cattle vs. Pets
I prefer to treat virtual machines like cattle. They are provisioned completely through automation, and when it’s time to upgrade either the host or the applicaiton software a brand new images is created and deployed to a fresh virtual machine. Avoid attempting to upgrade a virtual machine in place. With proper discipline, this strategy helps to prevent system configuration drift and fulfills several requirements from a disaster recovery and compliance standpoint.
Image Creation
When automating the creation of virtual machines, ensure that the process includes steps to update the host software. In our world of ever-increasing cybersecurity incidents, it’s important to keep everything current to help prevent security incidents due to outdated software. Along with installing updated OS packages, ensure tooling like endpoint protection, host monitoring, and management agents is kept updated with current, supported versions.
