So I've been gone for a long time (lots of medical issues, among other things) but I'm back and working at a new job now. And one of the first big tasks is automation - most of the servers are virtualized, but the management (and creation) is still hap-hazard and arbitrary. But that's going to change..

Each box is built by hand, often by different people, under a vague set of guidelines. Despite the small size of the company, communication is lacking and documented procedures are non-existent. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting articles, notes and rants as I convert this existing infrastructure over to a simple automated "point and shoot" system with repeatable installs, easy administration and even automatic deployment.