About 15 years ago while I was still at Micosoft I switched over to a group that worked on the IT Pro challenges, the world of a system administrators running the IT infrastructure. Watching how a group would provide guidance it seemed like software patterns could be applied to IT infrastructure. One of the people I connected in that conversation was Bill Loeffler. Unfortunately, Bill passed away 3 years ago from melanoma and wrote a post about our past.
I wish I could have this conversation with Bill as after 15 years I have finally figured out how to apply patterns to IT infrastructure. The path to get there though led me through data centers as they are critical parts of cloud infrastructure. Then to design and construction of data centers.
And last week I found a paper that does a good job of describing software patterns in a way that can be used for IT Infrastructure.
“Te pattern concept lets us think about the world in a new way.Pattern languages can be used to research and communicate design expertise to make it more widely effective. Te idea of a simple, creative process opens the field of creativity for everyone. And the ethics of design – with the quality of living systems at its core – supports better design.
Alexander’s thinking seems even powerful enough to question the status quo of the existing world and to show a way to correct its deficiencies. Tisclearly points to a world after capitalism. A better world needs a new top priority, and must put profit into a subordinate position. The new top priority is the quality of living systems, the quality without a name
in English, Lebendigkeit in German. All people can understand this quality and use their in born feeling for this quality. Alexander suggests making design knowledge available to all people, so that all people can better act as designers of their personal spheres and as co-designers of our shared world.
May this rethinking of the world succeed”
Patterns are a powerful concept. IT infrastructure has patterns that can be combined with software patterns to create new systems.