Linux estates that are built the same way twice.
Standardised, automated and patched Linux infrastructure — configuration managed as code so servers are reproducible rather than individually cultivated.
The problem with hand-built servers
Linux servers built by hand diverge. Each one accumulates its own history of fixes and one-off changes until nobody can say what is on it, patching becomes risky, and rebuilding one means archaeology rather than automation.
- Servers were built by hand and no two are configured quite the same.
- Patching is deferred because nobody is confident about what might break.
- Rebuilding a server means reconstructing it from memory and old tickets.
- Hardening is inconsistent and drifts after the initial build.
What we build
Configuration as code across the estate, with a hardened baseline, automated patching, and drift detection so servers stay as they were defined.
- A hardened build standard aligned to recognised benchmarks
- Configuration management covering the estate, not just new builds
- Automated patching with maintenance windows and rollback
- Drift detection, so manual changes surface rather than accumulate
- Centralised logging and monitoring for the estate
- Access control and privilege escalation managed centrally
How it runs
Bring existing servers under management first — the new ones are the easy part.
- 01Audit the estate
What is running, on what version, patched to when. This routinely finds hosts nobody was aware of.
- 02Define the baseline
A hardened standard build, aligned to a recognised benchmark and adjusted for what your applications actually require.
- 03Bring servers under management
Existing hosts adopted into configuration management incrementally, rather than requiring a rebuild.
- 04Automate patching
Scheduled patching with defined windows, staged rollout and a rollback path.
- 05Detect drift
Deviation from the defined state reported, so the estate stays as designed rather than slowly diverging.
What changes once it is running
What managing configuration as code changes about a Linux estate.
Rebuilds become routine
A server can be recreated from its definition rather than reconstructed from memory.
Patching stops being deferred
Staged, automated patching with rollback removes most of the reason for putting it off.
Hardening holds
Drift detection means the baseline stays applied rather than eroding after build day.
Recovery gets faster
Codified configuration is what makes rebuilding into a recovery option rather than a last resort.
How an engagement is shaped
Incremental adoption. Nothing here requires rebuilding the estate first.
Estate audit
One to two weeks establishing inventory, versions, patch status and configuration variance.
Baseline and adopt
Standard build defined and existing hosts brought under management in waves, starting with the least critical.
Operate
Patching, drift detection and monitoring running, with optional managed operation.
Common questions
The things buyers ask before they commit. If yours is not here, it is a good first question for the assessment.
- Which distributions do you work with?
- Enterprise Linux and Debian-family distributions in the main. The configuration management approach transfers across distributions; the baseline content differs.
- Do we need to rebuild our servers?
- No. Existing hosts are adopted into management incrementally. Rebuilding is an option for the ones that have diverged too far to reconcile, and that is a case-by-case call.
- Which configuration management tool?
- Ansible in most of our work, because agentless operation suits mixed estates. If you already run something else competently, we will work with it rather than migrate you for its own sake.
How long to rebuild your most important server?
If the honest answer is days and some archaeology, configuration as code is the fix.