Immutable Systems, Smarter Logs, and the Power of Showing Up
The takeaway from FrOScon was clear: continuous learning depends on community, curiosity, and action.
This past weekend I had the chance to attend FrOScon ((Free and Open Source Software Conference that is held at the University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg in Sankt Augustin, Germany), and it reminded me why I put so much emphasis on continuous learning. For me, events like these aren’t just about catching the latest hype or adding more buzzwords to the toolkit. They’re about stepping into a space where new ideas, practical tools, and fresh perspectives collide, and then figuring out how to bring those insights back into real-world work.
While FrOSCon had a wide range of fascinating talks, two left me thinking long after the sessions ended. Each addressed fundamental IT/OT infrastructure challenges: how to secure what we build, and how to make sense of it once it’s running.
1. Immutable Turtles All the Way Down
This session explored Flatcar, an operating system approach that takes the idea of immutability seriously. By shipping both the OS and Kubernetes as immutable, verifiable images, you get tangible benefits in security, supply chain management, and compliance.
What struck me most was how much of this depends on systemd-sysext. This is the ability to extend a minimal OS (or any systemd-based Linux distribution) with layered extensions delivered as images. It’s a modular way of thinking: keep the base stable and minimal, and enable just-in-time functionality when you need it. That’s powerful, especially for organizations looking to reduce attack surfaces while still staying flexible.
2. Introduction to VictoriaLogs
The second highlight was the introduction of VictoriaLogs by its founder, Aliaksandr Valialkin, Co-Founder and CTO of VictoriaMetrics. Logging may not always grab the headlines, but it’s the lifeblood of observability. As systems scale, logs can quickly become one of the most painful bottlenecks.
What I found most compelling is how VictoriaLogs reimagines log storage and querying. Unlike traditional systems that treat logs as an afterthought, VictoriaLogs is engineered for performance, scalability, and usability from the ground up.
A standout feature for me was its exceptional compression efficiency:
VictoriaLogs can achieve compression ratios of up to 50:1, meaning it can store over a terabyte of uncompressed logs within just 20 GB of disk space.
This high compression ratio is particularly advantageous in environments with limited storage or when managing large volumes of log data, which is often the case in OT systems. VictoriaLogs uses efficient compression to manage logs, saving disk space while reducing I/O operations and memory usage, which can lead to much faster query performance. According to VictoriaLogs’ self-proclaimed key features, it can use up to 30x less RAM and 15x less disk space than comparable solutions. If this holds true, it would make VictoriaLogs especially valuable for organizations aiming to improve cybersecurity and simplify debugging in the OT field by allowing more data to be logged with fewer resources.
What’s Next
Both of these areas are worth deeper exploration. My plan is to start with VictoriaLogs, since strong observability underpins every system we build. After that, I’ll dive further into sysext, to better understand how immutability and modular OS design can reshape the way we think about infrastructure.
And, of course, my journey doesn’t stop here. Later this month (in a couple of days actually), I’ll be attending the Linux Foundations Open Source Summit Europe (25–27 August, Amsterdam), another chance to engage with the community, learn from experts, and continue building the hands-on knowledge that drives real transformation.
For me, this is what continuous learning looks like in practice: explore, reflect, and then apply. By engaging with communities like FrOScon (and soon OSS Europe) and digging into the tools and ideas they showcase, I can keep sharpening the craft, and hopefully share insights that help others along the way.