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NixOS (Linux Systems)

NixOS (Linux Systems)

NixOS is the Linux distribution created from the nixpkgs package repository, which is written in the Nix language. Although our services are based on Kubernetes, there still needs to be some component actually installing packages on servers, and NixOS fulfills this role.

For a good introduction on NixOS and Nix, see the excellent third-party documentation available at https://zero-to-nix.com.

Benefits

  • Declarative configuration management
  • Very little manual configuration drift
  • Easy rollbacks if things break
  • Side-by-side versions of packages

A Quick non-technical rundown of NixOS

Normally, when you're running an Operating System, say, Windows (eww), you have to go into a bunch of settings and windows to make your computer do what you want it to do. These settings are stored in files, which live on your computer's hard drive. NixOS lets you start with those files, and build the OS second. In addition, every package you install has its own directory, with its own dependencies, that are immutable, or unchangeable by users. All this together lets you do some cool things:

  • Declarative configuration management - I can share my Operating System configuration, the apps I use, any custom scripts I might have, etc. really easy
  • Very little manual configuration drift - Since you control the files you use, you can reproduce your exact configuration really easily. Removing a package will completely remove it, since you are literally rebuilding your OS without it.
  • Easy rollbacks - Made a change that breaks things? Just roll your configuration files back to before that change and you're good to go! Think about how hard this might be on a Windows machine…

NixOS is built for 1 core function: reproducibility. A certain config file will build NixOS a certain way, and that assurance is why we use NixOS.

Old Linux Systems (Puppet)

We used to use Puppet. Actually we still do use puppet, and most of our legacy infrastructure is on it. See the link in the first sentence for more information!