Platform & DevOps·Infrastructure described in a file
nobody knows the names of the machines, and the fix for a sick one is to terminate it rather than to log in.
Cattle not pets
Also calledcattle vs pets, disposable infrastructure
The doctrine that infrastructure should be numerous, identical and disposable rather than individually named and nursed. It is a statement about operational posture rather than technology: the test is whether replacing any given machine is a routine, automated non-event. Where it fails is where it always fails — the one host with something on its local disk that nobody has written down.