# Debugger-Driven Development

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2025-06-16
- Length: 1h 34m
- Episode: 20
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-06-16-debugger-driven-development
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/2d2dca44

## Summary

Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal host Oxide colleagues Dave Pacheco, John Gallagher, Alan Hanson, and Eliza Weisman to discuss debugger-driven development at Oxide Computer Company. They detail the creation of omdb, a domain-specific debugging tool that allows developers to inspect and modify internal state across components like Nexus, CockroachDB, and Crucible. The team explains how omdb accelerated the development of complex systems like Reconfigurator and Fault Management by providing immediate, visual feedback and enabling incremental deployment of incomplete features. The episode highlights how this approach reduced risk, improved demo quality, and allowed the team to ship robust, rack-scale hardware and software faster.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-06-16-debugger-driven-development#t=0) Introduction: Podcast banter and previous episode review
- [6:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-06-16-debugger-driven-development#t=410) Historical Context: MDB, Joyent, and the evolution of debugging
- [27:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-06-16-debugger-driven-development#t=1633) The Birth of omdb: Design, adoption, and ground rules
- [39:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-06-16-debugger-driven-development#t=2360) Reconfigurator and Blueprints: Using omdb for system topology changes
- [1:02:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-06-16-debugger-driven-development#t=3736) Fault Management and Eliza Weisman's demos
- [1:06:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-06-16-debugger-driven-development#t=4008) DNS Propagation and self-exonerating software
- [1:15:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-06-16-debugger-driven-development#t=4556) The Connection Between Debugging and Demos
- [1:24:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-06-16-debugger-driven-development#t=5053) omdb in Production: Simulation, testing, and customer support

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Oxide Computer Company (company)
- omdb (tool)
- MDB (tool)
- Nexus (product)
- CockroachDB (product)
- Crucible (product)
- Reconfigurator (product)
- Humility (tool)
- Solaris (product)
- Joyent (company)
- Manta (product)
- Cosmo (product)
- Oximeter (product)
- Sled Agent (product)
- MGS (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [209: Debuggerception](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-08-03-209-debuggerception) (Embedded.fm)
- [395: I Can No Longer Play Ping Pong](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-12-10-395-i-can-no-longer-play-ping-pong) (Embedded.fm)
- [489: Constructive Cat](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-11-16-489-constructive-cat) (Embedded.fm)
- [200: Oops](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-05-17-200-oops) (Embedded.fm)
- [218: Neutron Star of Dev Boards](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-10-06-218-neutron-star-of-dev-boards) (Embedded.fm)

## 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/2025-06-16-debugger-driven-development. 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.