So, You've Inherited a Mess

They handed you the keys and a pat on the back. “Good luck,” they said, with a look that was equal parts pity and relief. You’re the new sysadmin, the new SRE, the new DevOps guy. And you’ve just inherited a steaming pile of undocumented, unmanaged, and unstable infrastructure. Don’t panic. I’ve been there. More times than I care to count, starting from my first encounter with a closet full of overheating Sun SPARCstations in ‘98. The names change, the tech gets “better,” but the situation is always the same: you’re walking into a digital minefield. ...

January 11, 2026 · 3 min · 573 words · Ops_Mechanic