tags: #publish links: [[SRE and DevOps]] created: 2021-07-24 Sat --- # Treat your servers like cattle not pets https://devops.stackexchange.com/questions/653/what-is-the-definition-of-cattle-not-pets Credited to Randy Bias: http://cloudscaling.com/blog/cloud-computing/the-history-of-pets-vs-cattle/ This framing is popular in DevOps circles the last decade or so. - **Pets**: get special care and feeding, are individual, unique and irreplaceable, you're very unhappy if one dies. - **Cattle**: There's lots of them and they're all the same to you in function. They all get the same standard, efficient treatment. It's pretty normal for some to die or retire and be replaced.