Translated from 日本語 • View original Hello! Sometimes it's an HR project, sometimes it's a branding project!
**Let's interview ISAO engineers, Part 3! ** I will take over from Mr. Dahara and introduce the engineers of ISAO.
This time, we spoke with infrastructure engineer Takashiro!
Mr. Takashiro supports infrastructure operation monitoring
Koshiba: I heard from Mr. Samejima, whom I interviewed last time, that Mr. Takashiro likes to eat, but is he a gourmet?
Takashiro: No, it's more about quantity than quality. Laughter
Koshiba: Is that so? lol Do you have any recommended restaurants? I have an image of only Chinese food around here...
Takashiro: I often go for lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Sakurabo.
Koshiba: After all, it's Chinese! I'm sorry for suddenly deviating from the main topic.
Thank you for the interview!
Takashiro: Yes, thank you.
Koshiba: Mr. Takashiro, like Mr. Kasuya and Mr. Samejima, are working on the MSP project.
Takashiro: Yes, MSPs have three main roles: design, operation, and monitoring, but I am mainly in charge of operations.
Koshiba: What kind of work is it specifically called operation?
Takashiro: We take care of the customer's system and design the monitoring, respond to alerts from the server, and create monthly operation reports. If there is an inquiry from a customer about the system, we will respond to it and change the settings.
Koshiba: Did you do that kind of work at your previous job?
Takashiro: That's right. In terms of the content of my work, it hasn't changed much from before I joined ISAO. In my previous job, I was basically on-premise and took care of servers in the data center, but eventually cloud work began to appear. That said, it didn't seem like I would get to the point of being cloud-based, so I changed jobs to ISAO.
Koshiba: I see, the cloud-based was attractive. Come to think of it, when I joined the company, I was already a "Solution Architect Professional" at AWS. You have already acquired it.
Takashiro: Yes, I took it as a review of what I did in my work. It depends on the project, but there is a limit to the scope of what can be learned only in the workplace. For example, you may have used this function but not this function, so studying for qualifications is useful for making up for such shortcomings and understanding them comprehensively.
Koshiba: Was it useful in your practice?
Takashiro: That's right. Even if you have never touched it, if you know that there is such a service here, you can answer things like "I can/don't think I can" on the spot in a conversation with customers. Also, you can learn faster if you know it in advance than if you know nothing at all.
Koshiba: I was grateful for Mr. Takashiro's qualifications as a company. ISAO is an AWS partner, and obtaining a qualification is also one of the requirements.
Takashiro: In that sense, I was pleased.
Koshiba: By the way, with ISAO, the project will cover the examination fee for obtaining these qualifications!
Extensive to Interesting ISAO Infrastructure
Koshiba: Can you tell us a little more about your work?
Takashiro: The operation team takes over the system created by the design team or directly enters and operates the system that is already running at the customer's place. Inevitably, it is like entering from the middle. Therefore, you need to understand what kind of structure the system you are in charge of. You need to quickly understand the overall configuration, such as how the virtual machine stands and whether it is running in PaaS.
Koshiba: What do you do when you don't know the composition?
Takashiro: I have no choice but to ask. Anyway, the most basic thing is to understand what we are currently in what state it is. Otherwise, you will not be able to cope with the failure.
Koshiba: But ISAO is multi-cloud and the configuration doesn't seem to be uniform.
Takashiro: Yes. There are also Azure, AWS, GCP, and other public clouds. In some cases, it is handled on-premise, and it is very wide.
Koshiba: Does that mean that each person has decided to be in charge and divided the responsibilities?
Takashiro: No, we do not assign people in charge within the operation team.
Koshiba: Why?
Takashiro: We need to respond as soon as an alert is raised. But you don't know when the alert will go up, and it's not something you can choose yourself. Therefore, you need to have a broad understanding so that you can respond to any alerts that come at any time.
Koshiba: It seems to be difficult...
Takashiro: But that's also the interesting part.
Koshiba: Interesting?
Takashiro: With ISAO, you can touch Azure, AWS, and GCP without being tied to a single vendor. In addition, there has been an increase in monitoring the use of cloud SaaS such as Datadog recently, so we can catch up with new skills and technologiesIt's also interesting to do it.
Koshiba: There are opportunities to experience various technologies and an environment where you can actually try them.
Takashiro: I'm over 40 years old, but I've seen articles on the Internet about engineers over 40 who can't change jobs because their skills are not accepted by the public.
Koshiba: It's tough.
Takashiro: In order to prevent this from happening, I think that if you don't study, touch, and use the latest things, you will miss out. It's not an environment where you can only be told that you can only do 〇〇, so I try to learn and get my hands on it for the time being. In that sense, ISAO is a grateful environment because you will inevitably be exposed to various knowledge, and you can learn it in a way that is busy with work.
Koshiba: By the way, when do you feel joy?
Takashiro: When something goes wrong, it's when you can point out the problem and improve it.
Koshiba: It's like Nazotoki.
Takashiro: That's exactly what it feels like. When the plot was exactly what I had envisioned, I thought, "Well, I knew, this is the reason (doya)." Laughter
Koshiba: That's good. Laughter
Takashiro: However, in reality, it rarely works that well, and there are more things to do while holding your head while researching. But while doing so, I know the cause, the response is over, and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I was able to restore it! That's the real pleasure of being an engineer.
Is Cloud My Child? Loovers? Or...
Koshiba: What kind of existence is the cloud to you? How are you confronting it?
Eagle City: Exists?
Koshiba: I wonder how lovers and partners look like.
Takashiro: Hmm, is it like a subordinate? For the infrastructure I take care of, it's like, "I'm in charge of these guys!" It's like a commander and a soldier. When I was on-site, I was attached to this secret server that I had spent a lot of time on. But the cloud scales and falls as needed. That's why I don't have any attachment to individual components.
Koshiba: I see.
Takashiro: But that's the correct way to use it as a cloud. Make as much as you need when you need it, and disappear when you don't need it. If you think about it this way, the feelings towards servers have changed quite a bit between on-premise and cloud~. In the on-premise era, the server was like my beloved child, and I gave it an elaborate name...
Koshiba: Huh? Is it a name?!
Takashiro: Yes. So, when AWS was becoming more popular in Japan, I was shocked by a presentation on re:Invent that said, "Don't name your server one by one." I think the way of thinking is completely different from when I was on-site. (*This slide from AWS re:Invent in 2013)
Koshiba: By the way, what kind of name did you give Takashiro?
Takashiro: Well, it's normal. "Web01"...
Koshiba: No, no~, there must be something more to it because it's an elaborate name!
Takashiro: Well, that's not what you expect. It's something that customers can see...
Koshiba: That's right~ For example, the name of the animal!
Takashiro: That...
Koshiba: Then, what is your favorite musician name?
Takashiro: So...
Koshiba: By the way, is it your lover's name?
Takashiro: A little...
Koshiba: Oh! Because I like to eat, the food...
Takashiro: Let's get away from the topic!! Laughter
Koshiba: Yes, excuse me. Laughter
Takashiro: No, I'm distraught and excuse me. Laughter
If you don't want to be tied to something, ISAO is recommended!
Koshiba: Finally, please give a message to those who are thinking of applying for ISAO in the future!
Takashiro: If you want to do all the cloud, ISAO is good. Since it is not limited to a specific cloud vendor, the range of skills that can be acquired is large. Also, from a company perspective, there is no strict hierarchical relationship, and if you want to do this, you can do it. Cloud technology is also recommended, but it is recommended for those who do not want to be locked on to a specific technology! It is easy for engineers to move because it has design, operation, and monitoring from upstream to downstream, and you should be able to find a place where you can demonstrate your abilities.
Koshiba: That's right! ISAO is looking for people to work with! So, Mr. Takashiro, thank you very much for today!
Koshiba: By the way, please put my name on the server that I will be composing today...
Takashiro: I don't wear it!!! Laughter
