# I Know This! (Purpose-built systems with general-purpose guts)

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2022-02-08
- Length: 1h 20m
- Episode: 4
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/bc3d022c

## Summary

Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal of Oxide Computer Company discuss the complexities of hardware support, debugging, and customer relations, drawing on their past experiences at Sun Microsystems and Delphix. They recount specific incidents, including a fatal e-cache parity error on SPARC systems, a kernel modification that corrupted ZFS data structures, and the implementation of strict support protocols like the 'three strikes' rule. The conversation highlights the tension between customer autonomy and system integrity, emphasizing the importance of transparency, auditing, and post-incident reviews in both on-premise and SaaS environments.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts#t=0) Introduction: Twitter Spaces and Calendly etiquette
- [3:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts#t=195) Debugging war story: The blown power strip and kernel timekeeping
- [6:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts#t=360) The FishWorks warning: Protecting appliances from heroic interventions
- [18:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts#t=1130) James Garfield analogy and the DelphX support failure
- [27:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts#t=1655) Sun e-cache parity errors and the London Underground dust excuse
- [33:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts#t=2018) Transparency in support: The DelphX upgrade and the CV broadcast fix
- [41:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts#t=2478) SaaS transparency, PIRs, and the MITRE CVE database
- [52:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts#t=3165) Shady industry events, raffles, and vendor ethics
- [1:01:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts#t=3690) ZFS data loss, kernel modification, and the mdb -kw tool

## Topics

- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Oxide Computer Company (company)
- Sun Microsystems (company)
- DelphX (company)
- ZFS (product)
- SPARC (chip)
- Dell (company)
- NXP (company)
- LPC55 (product)
- MITRE (other)
- CVE (other)
- mdb (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Finding Hardware Flaws with Laura Abbott](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-05-23-finding-hardware-flaws-with-laura-abbott) (The Amp Hour)
- [141: Malevolent and Trying to Trick You](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-03-02-141-malevolent-and-trying-to-trick-you) (Embedded.fm)
- [Occam's Engineering Razor](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-09-27-occams-engineering-razor) (The Amp Hour)
- [166: Sardine Tornado](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-08-31-166-sardine-tornado) (Embedded.fm)
- [An Interview with Rick Altherr](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-29-an-interview-with-rick-altherr) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-02-08-i-know-this-purpose-built-systems-with-general-purpose-guts. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.