Origins and Inspiration
Five years ago, a concept began to take shape in my mind, inspired by the ingenious practices of top Formula One engineers. One engineer, in particular, caught my attention: Adrian Newey. Known for his exceptional aerodynamic designs, Newey has maintained a fascinating habit since his university days. He carries a notebook, diligently recording every idea and concept that crosses his mind. Over the years, regardless of which team he works with, Newey revisits these notebooks, mining them for ideas that could revolutionize his current designs.
This practice resonated with me deeply. As a platform engineer, I found myself frequently reinventing solutions at different companies, often implementing similar systems from scratch. I wondered: What if I had my own version of Newey's notebook? A repository where I could document ideas, code snippets, frameworks, and proven systems for future reference and iteration?
The Birth of the Summit System
While contemplating this "engineer's notebook" concept, another passion of mine came into play: design. I've always admired how designers create portfolios and build personal brands. It struck me - what if I could merge these two ideas? The result is the Summit System: a combination of frameworks, time-tested processes, and comprehensive documentation, all wrapped up in my personal brand. It's a platform I can build upon and showcase throughout my career.
Components of the Summit System
Currently, the Summit System comprises several key frameworks:
- OX: A Golang CLI designed for building other Go CLIs, perfect for rapid prototyping.
- Sherpa: Another Golang CLI that bootstraps local and remote Kubernetes control plane clusters, which can then be used to create additional Kubernetes clusters.
- Everest Kube Distro: An opinionated Kubernetes distribution providing everything needed for day one and day two Kubernetes operations.
- Ascender: A Markdown documentation framework for documenting all other frameworks, which can also serve as a knowledge base for processes and procedures.
These components work in harmony, much like the essential tools and skills needed to reach a mountain's summit. Hence the name: The Summit System.
Looking Ahead
In my next post, I'll dive deeper into OX, exploring its capabilities and how it can accelerate CLI development in Go.
The Summit System is more than just a collection of tools - it's a philosophy of continuous improvement, knowledge retention, and personal growth in platform engineering. By documenting and refining these tools and processes, I'm not just building a platform; I'm crafting a legacy of knowledge and expertise that evolves with each project and challenge.
Stay tuned as we continue to ascend the peaks of platform engineering together! ( See what I did there, lol )