[Isn't moving to the cloud a good idea?] Mynet x Beyond engineer conversation
My name is Fujisawa and I am in charge of public relations and recruitment.
This time a discussion project between our customers and our engineers !
Our infrastructure engineer spoke with Mynet Co., Ltd. , which we have been working with since 2018 for cloud/server operation, maintenance, and relocation
Mynet focuses on the game service business is in charge of server operation and maintenance and relocation to the cloud
We delved deeper into the project and how to communicate between the two companies, such as ``Why did Mynet choose Beyond?'' and ``Honestly, how does Beyond operate?''
I usually communicate with Mynet through chat, so this was the first time for some of our engineers to talk face-to-face online, and I'd like to share with you how we had a peaceful conversation from start to finish.
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Mynet Co., Ltd.
・Noritaka Aizawa, Technology Management Department, Engineering Group
This is a department that resolves Mynet's engineering issues, and also handles migration to the cloud as part of its tasks. He drinks the most out of the three.
・Takuya Ikari, Technology Management Department, Engineering Group
After concurrently working in the engineering group, he built an internal common platform infrastructure and experienced server relocation twice. He is the most aggressive of the three.
・Hiroki Horikoshi, Head of Engineering Group, Technology Management Department
My main responsibility is to manage progress, but I also occasionally stick my head in the field. Former infrastructure engineer. He is the oldest of the three.
Beyond Co., Ltd.
・Junichiro Okazaki System Solution Department Section Manager
I was involved in the relocation of Mynet from the beginning, and I had many suggestions and things to learn.
・Yuta Kambara System Solution Department Chief
I have been involved in Mynet's relocation project since March 2020. I have met Horikoshi-san twice online, but this is the first time Aizawa-san and Ikari-san have met.
・Shinji Nakauchi, General Manager, Technical Sales Department In charge of sales for Mynet.
- Kai Fujisawa, Public Relations and Recruitment This time's interviewer.
What is cloud relocation?
Beyond Fujisawa: This time we would like to ask you about cloud/server relocation and operation, so we look forward to hearing from you. First of all, please tell me how Mynet handles cloud relocation projects.
Mynet Aizawa-san: Let me explain the steps involved in the relocation itself. Basically, we acquire the games created by the manufacturer by purchasing them, and after we have completed the transfer of operations, we move to the cloud. It's a flow. If you don't know anything about the configuration of the cloud, you won't know if it can be operated or not, so before acquiring it, we will ask the manufacturer what kind of technology it is running on. Since we are not given very detailed information about the configuration before signing the contract, we are using the limited information we have to estimate the server configuration to a certain extent and consider the feasibility and cost of moving to the cloud.
After that, you will receive a cloud account for the first time after making a purchase. We will check whether the expected server configuration is correct, and if there are any discrepancies, we will revise the feasibility study and ultimately create a prospect that we can migrate with this configuration.
Around this time, I usually ask Beyond if it's possible to relocate. After about a month or two, when the project had settled down to a certain extent, we presented our recommendations as an engineering group saying, ``With this cloud, you can do this at this cost,'' and then we decided to proceed with the project. Please do so. Once you have made a decision, you will be able to place an order, so we will inform the cloud vendor that we will use this cloud, and we will inform Beyond that we will move to this cloud and start at this time. I am allowed to do so.
From there, we will have Beyond investigate the server configuration, and we will carry out the relocation in about two months based on the schedule.
Deciding factor for introducing Beyond
Beyond Fujisawa: Please tell us why you first requested a project from us.
Mynet Aizawa-san: I first asked Beyond for a relocation project about three years ago (2018). The reason for my request was that the cloud vendor I was working with at the time introduced me to Beyond's sales representative, Mr. Nakauchi, and I met him for the first time.
In 2017, the secondary social game business was not well known, and it was very difficult to explain the business format. At that time, I was talking with various sales people about MSP and moving to the cloud, and they said, ``It's not the manufacturer, but the idea of inheriting the titles created and operated by the manufacturer and looking for a long-term plan.' ' ``operation as a goal to increase profits,'' and I couldn't get proposals that suited my needs.
However, about a week after I spoke with Mr. Nakauchi, we received a proposal from Beyond that matched exactly what we wanted. At that time, Horikoshi and I were excited while doing it (lol)
Beyond understood where we were finding value and then made a proposal, which is what led us to introduce it.
Mynet Horikoshi: I was looking through the chat logs a while ago, and the first case started in November 2018, two years and eight months ago. At that time, I was talking about the future by saying, ``Please create a chat group as the number of titles increases,'' and Mr. Nakauchi said, ``I'll do my best to create a group!'' hand. So, when I counted, there were 19 groups, including the one I just closed.
Beyond Nakauchi: That's a huge number.
Mynet Horikoshi: That's half of our title.
Mynet Aizawa-san: Well, considering the pace, we ask for it once every two or three months.
Beyond Nakauchi: Thank you.
Effects of introducing Beyond
Beyond Fujisawa: Has anything changed since you started working with us?
Mynet Aizawa: Before we asked Beyond in earnest, there weren't that many projects that asked an MSP to operate them. One thing that I have noticed that has clearly changed since I started entrusting everything to Beyond is that the emergency work and psychological burden has been significantly reduced.
When dealing with problems outside of business hours, engineers tend to work on their own, but this means that even if a failure occurs due to a simple cause, it can take a lot of time if the initial investigation is incorrect. There are a lot of things, right? Since we were able to ask Beyond to do some initial research, I feel that it has become easier for the engineers to focus on the project.
Mynet Ikari: On a personal note, I think my infrastructure skills have improved since working with you. Previously, I had only created one simple infrastructure within the company, and I only knew the major AWS features such as EC2, S3, and CloudFront, but as I moved along with Beyond, I I learned a lot about infrastructure.
The thing that left the biggest impression on me was the migration between clouds, and since Mr. Okazaki previously taught me how to migrate database dump files and other files stored on servers, I was able to use them during subsequent migrations. I was able to create a test environment. I would say that it is extremely helpful in that regard, and I am using it as a reference. Thank you for also telling me how to set up swap.
Beyond Okazaki: No, I'm very grateful.
Mynet Ikari: Also, I think Beyond has had a pretty big influence on morale In a previous migration project, there were still issues with the project, and I was unsure whether to move it as is or go back to the previous server and make adjustments. Personally, I wrote in the chat that I wanted to do it (relocation) with the intention of dying if I could persist, but Mr. Okazaki responded, ``I'm not defeated emotionally, so if there's something I can do, please let me do it.'' Thank you for doing that. I think morale is really high in places like that, and I think that has a big impact.
Mynet Aizawa-san: That's a good story.
Mynet Horikoshi: Speaking internally, the reaction Igari received was also felt by other people. He had never touched infrastructure before, and among server engineers, he had a strong impression that "infrastructure is scary, isn't it?" Even people who write code feel this way, and people in other industries also think that servers are scary, but as I worked with Beyond, I realized that this is how we can solve problems. I feel like the hurdles to touching the infrastructure within my company have been lowered, and I feel like the hurdles to touching the infrastructure within the company have been lowered.
Beyond Okazaki: Lately, I've been doing a lot of things, and I feel like it's okay for Mynet to do this much. I provide infrastructure knowledge, but I also feel sorry for having to do this for them.
Mynet Horikoshi: Well, the number of people who give Oka-chan (Okazaki) and Kanbara-san a TO in chat has increased since a while ago, right? I think that's an interesting effect. I think they are also trying to figure out things like, ``How much should I rely on you?'' and ``Will Mr. Nakauchi get angry if I tell him?''
Beyond Okazaki: I don't mind if you ask me at all!
Beyond Fujisawa: Has the way you communicate between the two companies changed from the beginning to now?
Mynet Aizawa: There hasn't been much change in a good way. I guess this means that the amount of grass* growing increases when there is light seaweed.
* Grass = w
Mynet Horikoshi-san: I'm glad that Oka-chan is now growing grass.
Beyond Okazaki: If it were grass, I would let it grow lol
Beyond Nakauchi: Mynet might be the only customer I've ever chatted with who makes such a big deal out of me.
Mynet Horikoshi : I think it's really good that relationships change, and that we start to understand the distance between us. I don't like it when I start with "Thank you for your help" every time.
Mynet Aizawa: It also leads to smoother communication. If you can break up the phrase, "Please wait a moment, I'll check."
What do you think about the relocation and operation of Beyond?
Beyond Fujisawa: Are there any points about working with Beyond that make you think it's easy to work with?
Mynet Aizawa-san: Beyond basically doesn't show any reluctance when it comes to requests. They don't create a sacred space for their work, and they basically help with whatever we ask them to do, even if it's not efficient. There are places where they tell me things like, ``Let's do this because our research showed this,'' but they also have the premise of doing something even if they're not very good at it, and they ask, ``How do we do it?'' I feel like it's easier for us to work together as a team because we have a lot of people.
Mynet Horikoshi: I think one of the important elements of being an engineer say, ``I don't know what I don't know.'' If you say, "I don't know, but it's okay," you're bound to have an accident, right? But if we both know something that we don't understand, then we can set a path to do this or that so that we can both understand. So, I would be very grateful if you could tell me that you don't know. Kanbara-kun, something like that happened to you too, right?
Beyond Kanbara: Well, to be honest, I had no idea what it was.
Mynet Horikoshi-san: That's right. Even though I've been doing this for decades, there are still things I don't know, and no one knows everything. But even if you don't know something or have never done it before, if you try it, you will know it and you will have done it, so I think we should focus on that.
Beyond Okazaki: There are a lot of things that I don't usually understand either. I don't know, but I'm trying to find out what I know. Mr. Horikoshi and Mr. Ikari taught me things that I didn't know and helped me achieve results.
Mynet Horikoshi: Even if we both say we don't understand, it doesn't necessarily mean we don't understand the same thing, and it's really good to teach each other things that we both understand.
Mynet Aizawa-san: Relocation is definitely a good idea. That's a bit too fuzzy to say, though.
As with any relocation project, there comes a time when you have to step into the black box that has somehow been created during operation. Beyond has been very helpful to me in that I was able to understand the system little by little by actually relocating it and troubleshooting it, and by interacting with it here and there. thank you very much.
Beyond Okazaki: Thank you very much.
Mynet Horikoshi: Even on my days off, I look at alert notifications for failures, but it's so much easier just to look at them. In the past, I would have to boot up my PC, go inside the server, see the situation, respond, and then restore it after a while, which would have taken about an hour of my time. Now, when the alert goes off, I check that Beyond has started responding, and I think everything is probably fine, so I check again 15 minutes later and see that a recovery report has been received that says, "Response has been completed." It's like, "How wonderful!" The best.
Beyond Fujisawa: Do you have any requests for Beyond's Okazaki or Kanbara, such as "I want them to do more like this!"?
Mynet Aizawa-san: We've already been proactive in many ways... Do you want more grass to grow?
Beyond Okazaki: Grass can grow at all lol
Mynet Ikari: I don't have anything negative either. For a relocation project, I asked Beyond to investigate the directory to be migrated on the server, but at the time, there was a server that stopped working at night, and the investigation revealed that the server was not eligible for migration. is not it. I thought that Mr. Okazaki must have researched it during a time when people were sleeping. I was always worried about whether it would be okay.
Beyond Okazaki: There were a lot of things going on during the day, so when I happened to be checking it out at night, I thought, ``Oh, this isn't working.'' I'm the type of person who likes to do everything when I'm in the mood.
Mynet Horikoshi-san: I think Oka-chan should be more stingy with our methods. I'm asking someone in an inefficient way, and should I stop them? Even when I thought about it, Mr. Okazaki replied, ``I'll do it with that.'' Well, you can say that. ``There's a better way, so let's do it this way.'' I don't think they know either. So I guess I don't have to be shy about that. Actually, Kanbara-san is stronger in that area. Mr. Kanbara says a lot. "What should we do about this?" I really like that.
Beyond Nakauchi: This is the current child.
Mynet Aizawa-san: Kanbara-san puts in all the necessary documentation, so even those who see it for the first time can understand it and think, ``Wow!'' I can understand why they are making such a proposal. I'm watching the chat and thinking it's really cool.
Mynet Horikoshi : There is a client/contractor in any business, but I think of Beyond's relationship as a partnership. Take a break on your days off.
Beyond Kanbara: I have been involved with Mynet for a long time, so I have a lot of feelings for them. Even on my days off, I find myself wondering if the alarm is ringing.
Regarding future relationship
Beyond Fujisawa: What kind of relationship do you want to build with Mynet and Beyond in the future?
Mynet Horikoshi : I would like to gradually eliminate relationships based on people. My current situation is good, but I'm also becoming an individual. If one person disappears, something is missing, right? I would like to gradually eliminate individualization so that no one is left behind.
Beyond Nakauchi: It will be after the corona virus is over, but I would like to continue interacting with other engineers.
Mynet Horikoshi-san: There are bound to be times when Okazaki-san was handling the issue on chat, but someone else was actually handling it. It would be interesting to see something like that.
Beyond Fujisawa: By the way, what does Beyond think is easy to do with Mynet?
Beyond Kanbara: There are too many...
Beyond Okazaki: It's really easy to do.
Beyond Kanbara: When we are asked to do something, Mynet often comes together to think about it. I thought to myself, “What nice people!”
Beyond Okazaki: I'm really grateful that they take into consideration the proposals we're making, and they also look into the infrastructure part of the project together. I'm also studying this, so it's helpful.
Mynet Aizawa-san: I think that when we can work together when dealing with problems or solving problems, we are both able to perform at our best. I think it's an extremely productive activity where we can share what we know, gain new knowledge, and solve unknown problems. I think there will be many more situations like this in the future through relocation and operation, so if we can solve them together, it will be enriching for me, and if I can give something to Beyond, that would be a great thing, so I will continue to do so. I think so.
Mynet Ikari: When a problem arises, Beyond really works together to investigate it, so I hope we can continue to improve each other's technical capabilities. I would also like to have a relationship where Mynet can properly share information with Beyond and understand the situation regarding relocation and operation.
Mynet Horikoshi-san: I feel like they're both adults. I guess I'm more of a snob and don't want to lose. To Oka-chan and Kanbara-san. When I run into a problem, I always come up with great ideas. I want to solve it first. You may have thought, ``It's amazing that Mr. Horikoshi knows this much,'' but in reality, he's just investigating things behind the scenes. I think engineers have this feeling of not wanting to lose.
Mynet Ikari: Yes, there is. think. Yeah.
Beyond Okazaki: Yes. I would like to have a relationship where we can improve each other.
Beyond Nakauchi: I'm really grateful that you treat me like a partner. The engineers involved with Mynet are steadily improving their technical skills, and I can see that from my perspective as a sales person. I hope this relationship continues forever.
A final word from Beyond
Beyond Okazaki: I am grateful to Mynet every day. We want to do everything we can, so if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Please continue.
Beyond Kanbara: Compared to Okazaki, I'm still a shallow infrastructure engineer, and I feel like I'm causing a lot of trouble for Mynet. However, I have enjoyed working on each project, and I believe that we are able to grow by working together on a service. Thank you for your continued support.
A word from Mynet
Mynet Aizawa-san: I really like the atmosphere where we can both think positively even when things are difficult to deal with, so I would be very grateful if you could continue to work with us. I am always grateful for your help.
Mynet Ikari: I think there will be more opportunities for us to cooperate with each other in the future, so we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your continued support.
Mynet Horikoshi: Let's go out for drinks once the coronavirus is over.
A relationship where we can improve each other
I felt that Mynet and Beyond were able to build the best relationship as business partners, as my knowledge of infrastructure between the two companies increased through cloud migration, and I also grew as an engineer.
We look forward to your continued support as we continue to support the game's operations through relocation and operation, and to help us both improve our technical capabilities. Thank you to Mynet's Mr. Horikoshi, Mr. Aizawa, and Mr. Ikari for speaking with us this time!
was published on ``AUTOMATON'' in which Mr. Mynet Horikoshi and our company's Okazaki Nakauchi were interviewed about cloud relocation
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