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Backplane is shutting down

backplane.io

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Re: Backplane is shutting down

#61

Post by jiveturkey »

closeparen wrote: post #59

“Backplane” refers to the rear interior surface of an equipment cabinet, where there’s often a maze of electrical conductors for routing power/data around the various rack units or cards it can hold. Examples include blade servers, very serious routers, and theatrical lighting dimmer racks. The system can be expanded and serviced (without interruption) by installing and removing modules, but the backplane is forever.…

> rear interior surface of an equipment cabinet.

it refers to a component interconnect backplane, an electrical / signal bus. not the rear interior surface of a cabinet.

Re: Backplane is shutting down

#62

Post by v1k0d3n »

so i'm curious then...

considering that this is displayed on the CNCF interactive landscape page, does it mean that backplane will be quickly removed from the service proxy group, or does anyone think that CNCF is already aware? i reaalize it's not backed project or anything, but it clearly made it there somehow. considering how hot CNCF is right now, made even more apparent by the 8K+ sized crowd this week, i would imagine that the CNCF website brings a nice bit of traffic to these small companies.

it's too bad...backplane's vision seemed promising albeit lofty, and against some heavy odds (with some big players in the space).

Re: Backplane is shutting down

#63

Post by germainelong »

ksajadi wrote: post #58

I've been bitten by service shut downs like this and over the years, here is the "rulebook" I've made for myself to reduce the risk: - Don't use products from startups with unknown, dubious business models that are clearly subsidised by VC money until they "figure out how to monetize". (recently I saw a company saying "our business model is still firming up, whatever that means). - Open source doesn't mean it's safe.…

2. Open Source is relatively safe when you are able to self-host it. It is good to setup an environment and test the features on your own machines and also check how easy is to extract the data.

1-3 is a roulette. Unless they have a technology that you cannot substitute with an open source solution then it is difficult to justify using it. There must be a solid extraction plan available so that you can move your data to an alternative solution in reasonable time. Sometimes it is better to hire a team and expand existing open source solution with necessary features. Sometimes this could lead to a side product and another stream of revenue.

Re: Backplane is shutting down

#64

Post by germainelong »

bertjk wrote: post #25

I like the basic technical idea behind Backplane, which is that your backend servers "dial-out" and connect to the edge load balancers. Does anyone know why this technique is not used more? Or is it actually common but I just haven't heard of it? If so who/where is it actually done this way?

Why not just use nginx and zerotier?

Re: Backplane is shutting down

#65

Post by JoshLedgard »

At KickoffLabs we used them to handle a bunch of routing on behalf of our hosted customers.

The timing was less than ideal for sure.

However they arranged a good support system with the folks at Fly.io. We’ve already transitioned new customers to it and they are helping to migrate existing sites and certs next week.

I think it’s a risk you just have to take, but we learned a lesson that for things that are dependancies for your business it’s good to have a couple of alternatives lined up or working side by side. :)

Re: Backplane is shutting down

#66

Post by mooreds »

ksajadi wrote: post #58

I've been bitten by service shut downs like this and over the years, here is the "rulebook" I've made for myself to reduce the risk: - Don't use products from startups with unknown, dubious business models that are clearly subsidised by VC money until they "figure out how to monetize". (recently I saw a company saying "our business model is still firming up, whatever that means). - Open source doesn't mean it's safe.…

> Don't use products from startups with unknown, dubious business models that are clearly subsidised by VC money until they "figure out how to monetize".

This is why I tell every startup I talk to (not that many, to be fair) to charge as soon as they possibly can, preferably in the first months after launch (b2b of course, consumer is a different beast).

Re: Backplane is shutting down

#68

Post by bfritton »

Signez wrote: post #39
bilbo0s wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A self-funded slow-growth profitable startup can be a much more stable bet... I think his point is that Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are even safer.

I may be mad, but I'm at a point where I would trust a self-funded slow-growth profitable startup waaaay more than Google to run a service in the long run. Decades of "quickly started, even more quickly deprecated" services have taken their toll.

Agreed

Re: Backplane is shutting down

#69

Post by oliwarner »

germainelong wrote: post #63
ksajadi wrote: post #58

I've been bitten by service shut downs like this and over the years, here is the "rulebook" I've made for myself to reduce the risk: - Don't use products from startups with unknown, dubious business models that are clearly subsidised by VC money until they "figure out how to monetize". (recently I saw a company saying "our business model is still firming up, whatever that means). - Open source doesn't mean it's safe.…

2. Open Source is relatively safe when you are able to self-host it. It is good to setup an environment and test the features on your own machines and also check how easy is to extract the data. 1-3 is a roulette. Unless they have a technology that you cannot substitute with an open source solution then it is difficult to justify using it. There must be a solid extraction plan available so that you can move your data…

Having source and license to run something, and being willing and able to self-support the software through (eg) security issues are two very different prospects.

This is network infrastructure stuff. Not the kind of thing you leave to fester.

Re: Backplane is shutting down

#70

Post by nine_k »

oliwarner wrote: post #69
germainelong wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2. Open Source is relatively safe when you are able to self-host it. It is good to setup an environment and test the features on your own machines and also check how easy is to extract the data. 1-3 is a roulette. Unless they have a technology that you cannot substitute with an open source solution then it is difficult to justify using it. There must be a solid extraction plan available so that you can move your data…

Having source and license to run something, and being willing and able to self-support the software through (eg) security issues are two very different prospects. This is network infrastructure stuff. Not the kind of thing you leave to fester.

At least, it gives you a much longer runway to migrate off the no-more-supported solution.

SaaS, if it closes shop, becomes instantly unavailable.

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