Advent of Sysadmin 2025

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Account requirement and monetization

  • Some object to needing an account to access the Advent scenarios, especially when the main site already lets you spin up a server in one click.
  • The “sign up to track your progress” message is criticized as misleading; commenters note cookies could track progress without user accounts and see this as user-tracking rather than necessity.
  • Others are fine creating a free account but want clearer information about the Advent content before registering.
  • The creator clarifies it’s easy to test the platform without signup and adds a clearer button on the Advent page.

Nature of the sysadmin challenges

  • A humorous “12 real-world sysadmin/devops challenges” list resonates strongly: stopping bad practices (root logins, shared creds, ancient dependencies, AWS root keys), pushing config management, containers, secrets vaults, etc.
  • Commenters emphasize that none of these are technically hard; the difficulty is organizational authority, politics, and migration planning.

CI/CD tools: Jenkins vs GitHub Actions vs others

  • One challenge (“move from Jenkins to GitHub Actions”) triggers a long tools debate.
  • Anti-Jenkins points: frequent security issues, operational overhead, plugin complexity, configuration fragmentation, and painful multi-team, multi-server reality.
  • Pro-Jenkins replies: with PXE/k8s, CasC, Vault plugins, and good discipline, it can be low-maintenance and powerful; also FOSS and cheap per dev.
  • GitHub Actions is praised for simplicity and integration but criticized as half-baked, with quirks around runners and complex workflows.
  • Alternatives discussed: GitLab CI (good but with container/artifact overhead), Buildkite (easy runners), Drone/Woodpecker and others; many agree all CI systems have sharp edges.

What “sysadmin / devops / SRE” means

  • Debate over whether “sysadmin” and “devops” are now synonyms and how SRE fits in.
  • Some describe modern small/mid-size cloud shops where devs own app code, “devops” owns infra/ops, and nobody is a formal DBA until things go badly.
  • Others contrast classic roles (dev, ops, Unix admin, DBA, network) with current blurred responsibilities and buzzword-driven renaming.

SadServers platform, UX, and learning

  • Several users praise SadServers, including using it for DevOps/SRE candidate evaluation and appreciating how well it works over a shared screen.
  • Pain points: browser Ctrl+W closing the tab, strict check scripts rejecting valid solutions, lack of editors in some containers; the creator responds and adjusts checks to focus on end results.
  • Free VMs are sandboxed with browser terminals only; paid accounts get internet and SSH access.
  • Some want Kubernetes/container-specific content and Windows challenges; the creator notes k8s scenarios already exist, with more (including podman, possibly Windows) planned.

Advent format and “12 days”

  • Commenters discuss why many “Advent” events have shifted to 12 days: time pressure and content load.
  • Others explain the difference between liturgical Advent, the 12 Days of Christmas, and modern 24- vs 12-day calendars; Advent of Code’s move to 12 days is cited as another example.