Notes from the on-call desk

Insights

What we learn keeping other people’s systems alive — written for the person who has to decide, not only for the engineer.

25 August 2026 1 min read What to check before you inherit someone else’s server A short inventory that turns an unknown system into something you can safely take responsibility for.

25 August 2026 1 min read An SLA that means something Response time, resolution time and availability are three different promises. Most contracts confuse them.

25 August 2026 1 min read The only backup that counts is the one you have restored from A restore test takes an afternoon and answers the question your backup report cannot.