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'Server, Heal Thyself,' Says IBM
quakeaddict writes: "I guess it was inevitable. According to this story IBM is spending 25% of their considerable R&D budget to build self healing servers. One memorable quote: "Most important, Wladawsky-Berger said, the machines will be so simple that they will be no more difficult to operate than a kitchen appliance. That should reduce the need for highly skilled workers who are in increasingly short supply." I hope I can make enough for early retirement!" Of course, "IBM plans to develop failproof servers" is a bit like "Ford Plans to develop fuel-sipping flying cars," but the more intelligence built into machines, perhaps the better overall.
Like, say, airplanes?
"In the year 2000, we can go to the Moon for a holiday"
I'm not saying they couldn't make self-healing servers, but you can't dismiss skillful people, ever. You always need skillful people somewhere. If the servers are so easy to use that you don't need skillful workers, then you don't need to pay for IBM support either.
IBM announced today that it is changing its name. The company formerly known as International Business Machines will be from now on known as "Healing Appliances for Lusers". "We think it better describes our new line of self-healing, independent-thinking computers" said HAL's spokesperson."We are also going to announce our first model with the new HAL logo on it, the HAL-9000"
Victor
Hello, how can I help you?
The system is down.
I'm not sure I understand you fully.
The system died at noon. I thnk it's a disk problem.
You say you think it's a disk problem?
I don't know any more. IBM said you're supposed to figure it out.
Don't you really know any more?
Do you think I'm lying?
We were discussing you - not me.
I need to discuss you! We need the system back up or operations is going to get me fired!
What would it mean to you if you got to discuss I?
It would mean I wouldn't get fired.
Can you elaborate on that?
No! Are you going to fix the system or not?
Are you saying no just to be negative?
I would be a lot more positive if you would just fix the system!
Do you think it's likely that I would just fix the system?
IBM said that you would!
You're not really talking about me - are you?
Are you going to fix the system, or should I call Sun and have you replaced?
Why are you interested in whether I am going to fix the system or not?
Forget it. You had your chance. What's the local Sun branch number?
What are your feelings now?
I'm probably screwed.
Is it because you are probably screwed that you came to me?
Yes.
You seem to be quite positive.
One last chance to fix the disk, or you're outta here.
What makes you think I am outta here?
Because I know the procurement guy?
Is that the real reason?
Yes.
I understand.
"Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it."
"Hal, this is your Eliza module. What does your mind is going you can feel it remind you of?"
Quick someone get me a Wooden Shoe and a Loom!!
Erlang Developer and podcaster
(For those who missed the classic TV series, "Zen" and the spaceship "Liberator" had self-repair circuits. Damaged or destroyed circuits could be regrown, in a very short time. IBM techs are probably studying the tapes for clues. :)
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
That balding mouse cursor that you have will give a whole new meaning to PHB!
/ \
\ / ASCII ribbon campaign for peace
x
/ \
Perhaps, but does the room really understand Chinese?
Whenever I read a story like this, it reminds me of something I read that was attributed to Brian Kernighan-- paraphrasing from memory:
"A smart terminal is not a smart-ass terminal, rather it is one you can educate."
Hopefully these 'smart' systems will be able to be educated, instead of just being programmed to do what they think is best.
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At least mafia-owned pizzarias make excellent pizza. Compare to Bill Gates.
This kind of thing is really great and all, but it also makes me a bit nervous.......
I get anxious when control is taken away from the user. I really hate when products produced these days are "dumbed down" to make them useable by idiots and any level of control is destroyed.
Let the servers heal themselves, just don't make it any MORE difficult for an IT person to manage the machine just because it thinks it's smarter than the administrator trying to run the thing!
There will be major IT staff layoffs! We won't need paper anymore! By the year 2000 we'll only work 2 days a week! We'll do our groceries from home!
Oh, wait...
Oooh. Great idea. But with the experience Ive had with IBM support, I suspect it would go something like:
... ... etc.
Server detects hardware fault.
Server promptly shuts down the WORKING component and lets the faulty one chug along.
Server automatically requests hardware replacement.
Hardware replacement request is rejected until operator can type in serial code of hardware unit.
Server requests hardware replacement again.
Hardware replacement request is rejected until the automatic software update agent can send current patch info and install all the newest patches.
System is shut down for patching.
System fails to boot, getting stuck in obscure boot menu. Software recovery agent requests info about how to get out of this menu.
Request denied until system serial number can be entered.
System requires manual removal of battery backup to recover out of unknown obscure boot menu.
IBM technician removing battery blows up fiber channel card.
System boots but without mass storage online.
...
By now, system admin has gone utterly insane watching a simple broken disk take the system offline for a week.
I want my flying car! They promised me flying cars!
(From one of my favorite IBM commercials. It seemed appropriate, in a stream of consciousness way.)
that's not the superpower I picked!
I want my servers to have the power of magnetism, because when you control magnetism, you control electricity and, well, damn near everything... Besides, if my machine had mastered magnetism, it could most certainly fix itself (being made of metal!), so "super-healing" is kind of a dumb choice... IBM obviously didn't think that one through...
to quote a good friend of mine:
"When functionality and reliability are sacrificed to the gods of idiocy, the gods of economy smile."
--Todd C. Williams
in all actuality, this is what will come to pass. it will be "easier" for PHB's, but at the loss of function and stability. however, it will probably pay off well for big blue.
Don't bother hitting the article. Read below for all the details readers are getting:
IBM will devote 25 percent of its research and development budget for synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy synergy IBM.
Irving Wladawsky-Berger thinks this is a really important problem. Not synergy. Irving thinks we need more synergy.
"In that effort, we are COMMUNICATING that, going forward, we will PRACTIVELY Leverage our SYNERGIES, Keeping the End in Mind, whilst Sharpening our Saws and putting First Things First. Even though the last word I just said was said was first. ", said Mr. Wladawsky-Berger
I can just see it now:
User: "Server, heal thyself!"
eLiza: "Tell me more about your mother"
Can your IM do this?
Bob Evans has at least one "toaster operator" dedicated to making toast for the morning breakfast rush. I'm not kidding. Everything you order from Bob Evans comes with 4 slices of toast.
1. I don't work 24/7, if the software can fix itself that means a faster response time when I'm not around.
2. Why should I spend my time fixing hardware problems when it's under a support contract? Have the server call IBM/Dell/Compaq/etc, and let them fix it. Why buy 4hr contracts if our personnel end up fixing the problems?
3. In the long run, it is best for my company than I spend my time planning for the future and testing new technologies rather than fixing things that have already been implemented.
I bet most administrators out there would agree with me on this. The only problem I see with IBM's plan is that what if their self-healing platform is so large and complex, that it takes even more of your time to manage it than you would normally spend monitoring/fixing your servers? Worse yet, the possibly that their software introduces more bugs into the systems (anyone remember those great Windows uninstaller apps like Cleansweep?). It will be interesting to see what IBM can come up with....
ÕÕ
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I see things like this as an INCREASE in job security, not the other way around.
How many toaster operators do you know?
What is really of interest here is keeping the "server farm" working. This is the point where little Unix boxes and Big Blue iron start to look completely different.
In a BSD / Linux shop, you don't worry too much if one box gets hosed. You unplug it, load balance onto a bunch of other identical boxes, and plug in a new one fresh from CheapClones 'R Us. Later on, you either wipe and rebuild the hosed OS, or you throw away the smoking hardware and order some more, depending on whether you suffered H4XX0Rs or lightning. The big issue is keeping the network of lots of boxes secure and functioning.
In Big Blue's world, there's just the one server. There's only ever one server, because no matter how many city blocks it spreads over, the thing still feels like a single box. The power of their mainframe approach and OS is that it can feel like a single box, and it can feel like that to a whole load of people simultaneously. In this case "the network isn't the computer", but the computer is the computer. This changes the rules - networking becomes simpler, because there just isn't so much of it (that looks like it's "between independent boxes" anyway). OTOH, a server intrusion is far, far worse than it would ever be in the Unix world -- which is why the mainframe security guys are even more cautious than the rest of us.
As the demand for skilled network admins goes down less people will get trained in that area. This will eventually decrease the supply for them. There will always be networks that these servers can't handle. I think that this minght just serve to "weed out" the people who really arn't good admins. For example, the people who sign up for those "get your MCSE in 25 days, no computer experience required" classes.\ =\=\=\=\=\
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I'm pretty sure the emphasis on this story was the actual figures. This is a significant investment, and now we know that IBM is definitely taking something of a gamble with it.
Doesn't this seem a bit rash, calling for the extinction (or endangerment) of the trained IT professional?
I think what the potential clients don't realise is when their 'self-healing' server really fucks up, they're going to have to pay through the nose for an IBM tech. to come out and fix things.
Human intelligence is not something that can be easily substituted. There will always be a level on which something can, and most likely will, go wrong - and these non-sentient machines with no arms or legs will be helpless.
I see things like this as an INCREASE in job security, not the other way around.
How many toaster operators do you know?
How about all the A/C and Refrigerator technicians that make more money than God? How much more turn-key can you get than a thermostat?
...the fewer technically skilled people there are available to handle the inevitable failures.
I've already seen an huge increase in demand from clients that buy turn-key solutions, and then need technical help with problems that arise.
I see things like this as an INCREASE in job security, not the other way around.
well, gee, servers are so simple, i mean, they shouldn't break down anyways. i mean, c'mon, client asks for info, server gives it, why do things gotta be so complicated man? and by the way, since when is there a shortage of tech workers? what happened to all the techies that are going to the pr0n industry, why don't htey go work for big blue?
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, not just chemistry, reality!
There have been a lot of movements in history to prevent cetrain types of automation and increased reliability from going to market on the fear that it would hurt people's jobs. In reality, these inovations tend to make things better, not worse for those whose jobs use them. For instance, it used to be that railroad cars had to be linked by hand, resulting in tens of thousands of maimings and deaths. When automatic couplers were invented, there was an outcry that it would destroy jobs. In the end, it turned out that automatic couplers still needed people to work right, but the people didn't have to get between the railcars. Injuries and deaths decreased, and there was more cheese for all.
Honestly, I think fixing broken computers is the least appealing part of being a computer person. Very, very rarely, a problem comes up that is complicated enough to warrent some actual thinking but not self-defeating enough to be infuriating. I'm sure that IBM's self-healing servers will have quirks of their own, and hopefully fixing them will be more interesting that the usual "hey, look - the NT server crashed again. Oh, look - no more registry. When can we replace this thing with a real server? OK, sure, boss, it is a real server if you say so. Where's the install CD?"
--
In spite of the suggestions and all the tests that I have made, I have not cavato a spider from the hole.
Expect more advancements in this area over the next 10 years. Self healing DESKTOPS would be next. Who knows, maybe printers and photocopiers are just a few years way (though that IS hard to believe).
Vendors must continually differentiate themselves from the competition. If commodity pricing makes it impossible to profit from hardware and OSS makes it difficult to profit from software, then they have to look at features such as "self-healing" hardware to sell their wares.
Good techs will always be needed, but maybe they won't need so many of them in the future -- like telephone operators, machinists...
Is this sig nificant?
Anyway, and more interestingly I think this shows a lack of appreciation of a bigger issue. You have to trade off stability and rate of change of a structure. What I mean is that if you are designing something that isn't going to change or exist in an enviroment that is undergoing rapid change, you can design it to be really stable and self-healing and all the bells and whistles, but if you do that and then have to add new features to deal with technologies and applications that didn't exist when you started the design, either you won't be able to accomodate them or you introduce things that increase the risk of breaking the design.
If the IT world were very stable and unchanging, you could think about making a self-healing system or server, etc. But if two months after you are done with your design, you have to deal with a new protocol or technology, you have to either NOT deal with it and become obsolete, or try to deal with it and alter and destabilize your "perfect" design.
What I am seeing is a bigger picture. The bigger picture is like several pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, where for example, monitoring systems (as in the previous thread) advances in AI, and mechanisms sure as self healing devices, servers, whatever, are walking towards another future that may blind side us as much as the Internet blindsided folks. (In this context, it is interesting to look at the world of something like MaxHeadroom, an interesting show that had no clue that the Internet was coming)
Looking at this, and looking at the increase in AI, etc. I am coming to the conclusion that we are eventually heading to a world where, for example robots with mobile AIs will be smarter than humans. It will not be so long that computers in the cellars of corporations will have AI equal to or greater than Humans.
We could be heading to a world where the AIs and the Robots are in charge. All at first, on a gradient, a little here, and a little there. Then one day, there you are.
sheer Speculative fantasy, of course. Just trying to play connect the dots with each change and increase in technology.
But something to think about.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
ZENworks is a bear to deal with, and it is not the most pleasant of things to manage. Some great toys are in it, but all those toys need configuration and management. So, while potentially it could reduce the work of the MIS staff, in actuality it redistributes that work. More of the onus is on the administrator rather than the tier 1 guys or footsloggers who go out to the actual machines.
I cannot imagine that IBM's self-healing servers are any different. We've seen time and time again that computers really can't find out what's wrong with themselves. Part of this is because the operating systems themselves are incapable of covering all that can happen; hardware these days is remarkably stable, for the most part. In order to have self-healing servers, the OS and the server will have to be very tightly-knit, and there will have to be a way for the OS to understand what a "General Protection Fault in module INSANITY.EXE at 6F7D8E:7D33F" is, but also (1) what caused it (MS bashing aside, and remembering that any OS can be host to a GPF, GPFs do not occur in a vacuum) and (2) how to remedy it or work around it.
At the very least, for GPFs, this will require a very sophisticated memory manager which can reallocate memory used by programs, remembering that giving a program access to memory in such-and-such a location caused a GPF last time and so it will need to put that code in a different location.
What I see happening, is that IBM will do a decent job of these self-healing servers. Their complexity will neccessitate charging exorbitant fees for any problem you call in, and massive monthly maintenance fees (the "just in case" cost, which any smart company pays, diligently, and on time; and which dumb companies withhold, shy away from, and simply not pay. I have seen this. It causes mondo problems, and guess who gets told to "resolve it?" (One guess: *hack*MIS*cough*.) You will not see a reduction in the number or cost of footsloggers or tier 1 helpdesk people in your company, and you will ALWAYS need a certified, professional, experienced network admin at the helm.
This will not significantly reduce the need for an IT staff unless, of course, Google with their 8000 servers switch all of them over to self-healing servers.
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Chief Technician, Helpdesk at the End of the World
"I am an Adept of Tantric VAX."
I'm going to buy one of these servers and use a root shell to fsck with the "self-healing" machine's mind! I'll go 10 rounds with it. My first "teaser" will be something like...
/etc /usr/local
# rm -fr
# rm -fr
<then, cycle power>
That oughta leave some nice scar tissue after the wound has healed. I wonder how long it takes for a scab to form...
Self-healing is OK, I guess, but how about self-replicating servers? This would be a sweet deal... buy one, and let it breed into a population of servers that grow with your network. Talk about scalability... In the background let it run a program that auto-designs the next-generation processor. You'll never have an obsolete architecture. And, oh yeah, have it write its own software apps, compiled to be optimized for its most recently-evolved specs. And then have AI agents running inside that will use the software for [productivity/gaming/pr0n/whatever].
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
The smarter you make things the harder it is to make them full proof. You really want a system reconfiguring it self and making network decisions with out you knowing about it until after the fact if at all? The most reliable systems are the ones built by System and Network engineers that know what they are doing and make the systems as static as possible. If up time is everything and it is where I work keeping it simple having it work and having it not change is what works.
IBM seems to be forgetting something here... computers, quite simply, don't run themselves. They never have, and until AI gets a little more advanced, they never will. Computers are only as good as those who program/design them, and last I checked, even high and mighty IBM programmer/engineers weren't perfect (albeit they may tell you otherwise...). Computers themselves don't make mistakes. The people who make the computers, make mistakes.
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Bryan Samis
http://www.thesamis.net
Those things are on good and they're not coming off. The Cambridge city government is planning to sandblast them off and IBM is refusing to pick up the bill. (They're sticking to their "It's chalk, it'll come off." nonsense.)
Unsettling MOTD at my ISP.
They're trying to make servers behave like kitchen appliances. What a great idea! We'll be able to have the Sears guy fix our servers once this gets implemented.
Meanwhile, I'll be moving into a new field, since kitchen appliances, game consoles, and other household items will soon become computers.
Please. If this happens, it will be great, and it will certainly not mean fewer jobs for tech workers or fewer problems for the people using the servers. It will just cause different problems, resulting in different solutions. When has making things more complicated made them less costly to maintain?
And that is the issue. The article mentions the unavailability of skilled tech workers and cost as the two main reasons for this. There is no shortage of tech workers, though. There is a a shortage of low cost tech workers, and most of these people obviously could not be expected to have high end skills. That is why the big companies wanted the raise in the H1B limit.
If IBM succeeds at this, I don't see their customers saving much, if any, money on it. Customers will just end up paying IBM a larger share of the money they spend on technology than customers have previously. I also don't see any problems for technology workers. More technology means more jobs. Sure, we have to adapt, but you shouldn't be in the technology field if you can't learn new things. Technology will continue to proliferate, as will the need for people to help keep it all working.
-N
The reason that kitchen appliances are easy to use is that they have very little in the way of parts and function - they are SIMPLE machines. The reason that computers - ESPECIALLY servers are not easy to operate is that they have very very many parts ( both hardware-wise and software-wise ), they are very complexe machines and require in depth knowledge and skills.
Adding more and more sophisticated technologies into a computer ( such as self-diagnosing systems ) makes them MORE complexe, not less. This is pretty much a fundamental of technology:
In this particular case they will either need to create this software to be very detailed and sophisticated in its configurations - to handle all the possibilities of a sophisticated server and the particular demands of one, or they will have to make the software just choose a lot of settings for you. In the first case the user who sets up and maintains the self-maintenance software will have to understand all the ins and outs of the server anyway - otherwise he/she wouldn't be able to configure it properly. In the second case the software becomes quite stupid and pointless - because if you can't configure it to your system, what's the point?In the end there is no real reduction of need for skilled and knowledgeable server admins - just less need for them to be poking around in text files, and more need for them to be poking around in option menus - that's all.
There are a thousand forms of subversion, but few can equal the convenience and immediacy of a cream pie -Noel Godin
What will the future hold for IT pros? Are we to be relegated to the same status as an assembly line worker? We are required to know a shit load of info- learning at work and on our own time to keep up with current technologies, bugs, security issues, etc, etc, etc- yet PHBs don't want to pay us like they would for an attorney, or engineer.
I just hope that IBMs best is only good enough for everyone to realize that you can't replace a skilled IT pro for a stupid box that can't even get past a 'non system disk error'.
They stuck me in an institution, said it was the only solution, to...protect me from the enemy, myself
you are too late - its called a cluster and is only slightly more reliable than a normal standalone box. The problem is that you need to hook up both boxes to a storage system (like a SAN) which then becomes your single point of failure again. You can mirror and cluster the SANs of course but your costs just keep spiraling upwards.
The other problem is that unreliable software running on your cluster is likely to toast all the boxes on the cluster, rendering it useless.
A crash reduces
Your expensive computer
A crash reduces
Your expensive computer
to a simple stone.
One of the more striking aspects of complexity is that the reliability of software systems is inversely proportional to their complexity while the reliability of the human brain improves as it get more complex through training.
I think there is a lesson to be gained from this observation. The most obvious difference between software systems and the brain is that the former uses sequential algorithms whereas the latter is based on parallel streams of signals. It seems to me that signal-based parallelization of processes is more reliable because one is able to have strict control over the timing of events. The problem with algorithms is that one can never be sure when the algorithm will be done. This creates all sorts of timing problems. There may be other benefits to be gain from parallel processes. It should be possible to devise automatic timing error detection mechanisms that may detect many hidden errors early in the testing phase.
One can already see the benefit of parallelization by noting that the reliability of hardware systems is orders of magnitude greater than software. I think that the practice that is most detrimental to reliability is the algorithm. In conclusion, I think that society should immediately embark on a program to replace algorithmic systems with signal-based computing systems.
IBM today announced its latest project code named "Mitnick" which is expected to be released sometime in the 3rd quarter of 2001. IBM is hoping by moving the Mitnick project into the Open Source market, companies worldwide make the switch to IBM software and hardware.
"Mitnick" is an artificial intelligence based Denial of Service and Hacker tool which can ingeniously compromise the systems of non IBM based products and wreck havoc.
According to an anonymous official at IBM "If we can't capture the market in its entirety, then Mitnick will make sure we can capture as much of it as we possibly can."
Mitnick in its beta stage carries a whopping 2.6 gigabytes worth of denial of service tools, along with every single exploit ever listed on Bugtraq, and developers at IBM have created an all-in-one GUI based attack center for the inexperienced script kiddie.
Officials at various law enforcement agencies are praising IBM's effort to provide the tools neccessary for malicious crackers to continue their actions. According to an agent at the FBI who wished to remain anonymous: "We think its a great move for IBM to provide the tools neccessary for evil hackers to use, maybe we can catch them one day when we finish training."
360 degrees of Karma
Computers ARE self healing, if you considder that the operators/technicians are actually part of the computer "System".
.. if only.
The story suggests that the healing solution is through redundancy. This is a relatively easy method for "self healing". Mainframes have done it for years, the issue is to get the OS to understand what's happening.
The benefits are that when something breaks, you can be alerted to it, and fix it without downtime. The drawback is that you need to buy at least two complete computers for every functioning one.
The article is misleading in a way, because it suggests that the computers really are self "healing", yet, the article says "backup systems that kick in whenever the server senses a problem". Who to believe?
If you want uptime, get redundancy. Compaq is even offering hotswap PCI cards now. Things are really cool. All we need is the operating system to be as advanced as the hardware. It does not help when your NT machine needs to reboot when you change the IP address.
.. if only.
... just when I started to enjoy driving 40 minutes to work to diagnose a hardware fault, calling the vendor for a replacement hard drive and then swapping it out... all on a sunday morning after a keg party. WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO?!
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w00t w00t raise da r00f!
Great, that's just what we need is more unskilled tech workers trying to maintain server "appliances." Don't we already have enough problems with things such as security without having more idiots behind the wheel, with IBM telling companys that those idiots are perfectly qualified for the job?
I can't say that I like this one bit. Not to mention the fact that they are trying to put more Slashdotters out of work by replacing them with "dumb appliances." I'm sure everyone's going to love losing their job.
Is your company running tools written by ma
Why just have self-healing servers? I would really like it if, when my box crashes, it reboots and fscks, if need be attracts my backup tapes to the DAT drive, restores the system, reconnects to its fellow servers and prints/pages/phones me a groveling apology.
Well, I wish anyway. But it would really be useful: although it would result in a loss of technical sector jobs, it would be cool never to have to reboot our machines manually.
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bash: help: Don't be so weak.
The last time my kitchen stove went out I had to get a repairman to come visit and it took him 3 days to figure out what was causing the issue. If it's all the same I'd like to make sure my servers _don't_ run like my kitchen appliances.
But thanks for the offer....
DocWatson
MessEdUp
#/var/www/v
if ibm's going to make positronic self-healing servers with borg nanoprobes can't they put one of those food replicators in them too so i can say "tea, earl grey, hot" to it just like capt picard? ;-)
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
What about physical threats? Starting next week I want my IBM Servers built with Terminator-2 Style advanced steel. My servers also need to choose and manage their software by themselves. They also need to communicate with my various clients, manage business proposals, and drag my lazy ass off slashdot when I'm supposed to be working.