←back to thread

Distributed systems programming has stalled

(www.shadaj.me)
287 points shadaj | 4 comments | 27 Feb 25 16:12 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
Show context
KaiserPro ◴[27 Feb 25 19:15 UTC] No.43197468[source]▶
Distributed systems are hard, as well all know.

However the number of people that actually need a distributed system is pretty small. With the rise of kubernetes, the number of people who've not been burnt by going distributed when they didn't need to has rapidly dropped.

You go distributed either because you are desperate, or because you think it would be fun. K8s takes the fun out of most things.

Moreover, with machines suddenly getting vast IO improvements, the need for going distributed is much less than it was 10 years. (yes i know there is fault tolerance, but that adds another dimension of pain.)

replies(2): >>43197498 #>>43200311 #
1. sd9 ◴[27 Feb 25 19:18 UTC] No.43197498[source]▶
> the number of people who've not been burnt by going distributed when they didn't need to has rapidly dropped

Gosh, this was hard to parse! I’m still not sure I’ve got it. Do you mean “kubernetes has caused more people to suffer due to going distributed unnecessarily”, or something else?

replies(1): >>43197579 #
2. boarush ◴[27 Feb 25 19:27 UTC] No.43197579[source]▶
Had me confused for a second too, but I think it is the former that they meant.

K8s has unneeded complexity which is really not required at even decent enough scales, if you've put in enough effort to architect a solution that makes the right calls for your business.

replies(1): >>43198863 #
3. KaiserPro ◴[27 Feb 25 21:47 UTC] No.43198863[source]▶
yeah sorry, double negatives.

People got burnt by kubernetes, and that pissed in the well of enthusiasm for experimenting with distributed systems

replies(1): >>43200157 #
4. DrFalkyn ◴[28 Feb 25 00:17 UTC] No.43200157{3}[source]▶
Because people, especially Devops, thought k8s was some magic, when all it really does is makes the mechanics easier

If you’re architecture is poor k8s won’t help you